School is in session. Please pay attention; there will be a pop quiz! Does buying online scare you? It shouldn’t. There are few keys to making the experience simple, painless and cost effective.
Quick Shopping Tips from Shopping dot 101
- Use Amazon.com Customer Reviews
- Pay attention to shipping prices
- Froogle’s learning curve is worth it
- Look carefully at smaller vendors
- Email vendors before and after the sale
Search and re-Search
I was recently buying some gifts. A friend of mine had told me about the “space pen”, with gas-pressurized ink allowing writing upside down. It takes its name from the fact that all NASA and Russian space missions have taken the pen with them to outer space. Clever aren’t they?
Visiting Amazon.com, I typed in “space pen”. I got back a cool looking bullet pen, by Fisher Space Pens for $19.00. The reviews all gave the pen 5 stars. Great! I clicked to add it to my shopping cart. Amazon often offers free shipping, but this product did not meet the requirements.
Looking closer I saw, the actual vendor was not Amazon but The Writer’s Edge, hence no offer for free shipping. Not to worry, I trust Amazon to vet their vendors for excellent customer service and quality. Simple, right? Maybe…
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