How to Get the Best Shipping Costs for Online Purchases

 It is not surprising why many people decide to shop online instead of in traditional stores, especially since you are able to save a substantial amount of money by doing so.  However, the sales price of an item is not the only area where consumers can maximize their savings.  There are also several ways that you can save money by lowering the costs associated with shipping

Find Coupons and Promotional Codes

Do not underestimate the saving power of using coupons and promotional codes for your online purchases.  Focus on the coupons that provide you with a percentage instead of a flat rate discount, because these are the offers that can save you the most money on large orders.  For example, if you find a coupon that allows you to save 15% off any order of $100 or more + free shipping, then you will be able to reduce the sales price of your order along with having the entire order shipped to you for free.  Even if you are unable to get a good deal on shipping, finding and redeeming a coupon can help to soften the blow. 

Explore Websites That Offer Free Shipping

One of the first things that you need to do if you are interested in lowering your shipping costs is find websites that have the products that you need that offer free shipping.  In some cases, they will offer free shipping on specific products or, in other cases, may require you to reach a minimum sales limit first before qualifying for this type of incentive.

Amazon is a great place to start, because they offer free shipping on the vast majority of their available products and also offer a Super Saver Shipping incentive qualifying orders that are at least $25, according to Amazon.com.  Even though this company made over $1.5 billion in shipping revenue in 2011, they spent close to $4 billion in outbound shipping costs primarily so they could attract more customers by offering these types of deals, according to Statista.com.

Explore to Site-to-Store Offers

Many department stores and retailers offer free shipping to local stores on orders that are placed on their online websites.
This saves customers both time and money, because the products may be delivered to stores quicker than to homes and the customer will not have to pay for this additional convenience.  More than half of the Site-to-Store orders that are placed on WalMart's website are placed by customers that are making their first online purchase on the site, according to Internet Retailer.

Online shopping is a great way to save money, especially if you need to place large orders.  However, finding ways to effectively reduce or even eliminate shipping costs will allow you to maximize the amount of the money that you are able to save by doing so.  Continue to shop competitively when shopping online, but make sure that you keep an eye out for online coupons and promotional codes as well as Site-to-Store offers.

 





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