What should you know in order to save money when online shopping? Am I going to have to sit around cutting out coupons while looking for deals? You will be happy to know that these activities are not time consuming. Just read this article and put these tips to use.

Before you begin shopping online, be sure you have good anti-virus software. Unfortunately, online shopping is ripe for fraudulent activity. Scam artists can build a storefront with the intent of infecting your computer with virus and malware. If you have protection, you will be safe.

Amazon Prime

If you buy from Amazon a lot, you should invest in Amazon Prime. Amazon Prime usually costs $79 per year, but you get so much for that money. 2-day shipping is free for most everything, and faster delivery options are at reduced rates. In addition, this membership provides you with an excellent movie library where you can stream movies free of charge. That adds up to a lot of savings.

Prior to entering any personal information on an online store’s website, check out the site’s URL. If you see HTTPS at the beginning, you can be assured that your data is being encrypted. Websites lacking this prefix are not secure and may allow a hacker or identity thief to access your information.

No matter what store you’re shopping at, be sure to go over your purchases with care prior to clicking the confirm button. Depending on what the site is like, you may have trouble figuring out what size or color of a product you want. Be sure you are getting what you want before you pay for it.

If you do a lot of online shopping, consider signing up for a service that provides you with free shipping from specific stores. These services often provide a list of partner stores, and may even offer a free trial period you can use to try out the service and determine if it is worth it. Experiment with a variety of services to find out which one would fit your needs best.

Avoid making any purchases you really do not need right now until certain holidays. Internet retailers often hold sales to honor holidays, including President’s Day and Independence Day. Some sites not only discount but provide free shipping too.

Check out coupon sites like Coupons.com before you start your shopping. You may be able to find coupons, both from the store itself or direct from the manufacturer. All you have to do is remember to get the coupon, then go shopping.

Try to only shop with a company that is located in the US if you live there too. When shopping with such entities, you receive the benefits of state and federal consumer protection measures. Purchasing items from sites outside of the U.S. means you won’t be protected.

Use online calculators if you don’t know how good a deal really is. This goes double if you intend to take out a loan to pay for your purchase. Crunch all the numbers to ensure that you really are doing the right thing. You are likely to be shocked at what you discover.

It is important that your personal information, especially credit card numbers, are protected whenever you shop online. Make sure that every site you shop on is secure. To determine if a site is secure, look for a small padlock icon. In most cases, you’ll find this on or near your browser’s address bar, typically in the upper-right corner of the window.

Double check your credit card statement following an online purchase. Ensure that your charge is exactly what it should be. If your statement shows a higher amount that you had not expected, call the customer service department of the store. Never hesitate to have your bank stop payment in such cases.

Before you confirm your order, if there is an area where you can enter in a coupon code, launch another browser and look for one. There are a lot of sites you can look at that have coupon codes listed. Just search for your retailer and check out your options. Doing so takes only a matter of moments, and you could save a ton of cash!

Go over a product’s reviews before making a purchase. Regardless of the brand or price, many products do not meet customer expectations. Knowing this ahead of time can save you money.

Buy earlier to save on the shipping. If you purchase an item long before you need it, you can use the slowest shipping option. You can save money by not choosing an expedited shipping method.

Sign up for emails to get special discounts. It is free to join mailing lists. This lets you get alerts about promotions, sales, and special deals that aren’t available to other shoppers. You will save a lot of money when shopping online by becoming a member of a store’s mailing list.

Seek the opinions of friends and family about their favorite online retailers. There are now millions of options out there, and doing a simple search online will likely only lead you to the most popular places available. Friends will know the best places to shop.

Having read this article, you must make good use of it. Use what you’ve gone over here, and you’ll see the savings start to pile up. The harder you work to follow the guidelines set forth, the more money you will save and the better you will feel.