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eSmarts: The Community for Bargain Shoppers

How to Shop Online

Internet shopping is growing extremely rapidly and for good reasons. For merchants, the costs are lower because there are no expensive retail outlets or sales personnel. For shoppers, you don't have to leave your home or office and price comparisons are easier. However, with multitude of stores (and new ones coming up everyday) and with search engines and agents that are meant to help you find the best prices, it can become very time consuming and confusing. And that is where we come in. We research, review and organize the information for you. We do the work to make your online shopping easier and enjoyable as well as help you get bargain prices. While price is a major factor, we also review service, content, selection, availability and reliability. We even test out the merchants' claims by actually shopping from them. Our objective is that you should have a good total Internet shopping experience ­ competitive prices and good reliable service.

Once you know what you want to buy, you need to find a reliable store that will sell it to you for the lowest possible price. Look for stores that look like they were professionally done and clearly state their policies. Make sure that you check their return policy because you are ordering the product without having the ability to test it out first.

Additional Tips

Avoid sales tax. If the merchant charges sales tax for your state, look for a merchant that will not collect sales tax from you, other things being equal. Currently the laws concerning the collection of sales tax for Internet commerce are somewhat unclear, and you should check with your tax professional concerning the laws in your state.

Pay with a credit card. The credit card companies offer important protections.

Service is important. While you want the best price, you can not ignore the service. Lousy service can ruin your shopping experience. Some stores are sacrificing service to offer the most competitive prices. Look for stores that offer telephone customer service (preferably toll free) that is open 24 hours or seven days a week. Check out our reviews on service, especially our actual shopping experience.

Proximity is key. Because UPS Ground is the cheapest shipping option at most stores, you can get your delivery much quicker if you order from a store which is close to you. UPS can usually delivery an item across a couple states overnight, but cross-country may take a week or longer.

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