What is Christmas shopping without a trip or two (or twelve) down the toy aisle at your favorite stores? I, of course, have been on more than one toy shopping trip during my preparations for Christmas. Because toys make up such a good portion of our family’s holiday shopping list, it’s incredibly important that I get the best deals possible for each toy.
If you’re in the same boat this year, you may need some tips and tricks to get the most out of your money. Although I’m still working on honing this particular craft, I thought I’d share with you some of my favorite tips. Please share with us if you have any other great ways to save on Christmas toys.
Comparison shop like crazy. I can’t say enough how important it is to compare prices for toys. Today, I looked at the same board game on Walmart.com and Amazon.com. To my surprise the games varied in price by almost $15. It was the same game! If you can find a store that will match its competitor’s prices, go ahead and shop there. Otherwise, the savings you’ll enjoy will more than make up for the hassle of driving to multiple stores.
Look for promotional codes or coupons. So many stores use promotional codes or coupons these days that I never complete an internet purchase without looking for a code first. Look at sites like My Bargain Buddy or Retail Me Not to find a listing of current promo codes. You may even find links to printable coupons to use in stores.
Know the return policies that apply to your purchases. Sometimes the unthinkable happens while you’re shopping for toys; you find a better price on the time you already purchased. When this happens, I simply purchase the cheaper item and return the more expensive one to its original store. Before you do this, though, you have to know the return policies for your retailers. Can you return that doll you ordered at Target.com to your local Target store? If you have to pay return shipping, shipping costs may eat up any savings you’ll enjoy with the cheaper price. Know when you can make returns and how they have to be made.
Use rebates websites like Ebates or Mr. Rebates when shopping online. As long as you have time to wait for items to be shipped to you, shopping online can be a great way to save on toys. Once you’ve found the best price possible for your purchases, you should begin your internet session at a rebate site. You can earn anywhere from 1% to 25% back on your purchase just for starting at their site.
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Speaking about how to save money…I want to share what I found…For my son… I wanted to share this Christmas shopping idea.. I found this site called EZwingame. They are giving away free things like a Nintendo Wii ( which I played for to give my son) as well as Calvin Klien perfume for me.
I liked your post
July
I would add to that to do all of your shopping on the internet over Black Friday weekend.
I have spent a total of about 5 minutes in a brick and mortar store so far this year and my shopping is about finished.
Black Friday shopping, do it on the internet, and save all your receipts. Those are my basics.
Great post
Here’s another good one to check out. This site has current Amazon coupon codes and and any recent Amazon price drops http://alertzon.com/blog/amazon-coupon-codes/