Articles by "online shopping"
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at November 26, 2019

Three Significant Times for Best Online Deals on Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Boxing Day Events



The Black Friday day is one of the most popular shopping events in North America (Canada and USA). You can get lower prices on many products online and in-store. 



 Sometimes, it is better to buy an item during the Black Friday because it may be the unique period of the year where you can find the lowest price for an article or a service(such as mobile), It is an excellent opportunity to buy your Christmas gift in advance(my post). 

I know you are in excited to find the best deals on Black Friday, that is why I will share with you three essential times to get the best deals during the Black Friday online shopping event:

1. Before Black Friday
2. During Black Friday
3. After Black Friday


1. Before are Black Friday and Cyber Monday 

Before Black Friday you can : 

Subscribe to the newsletters of your preferred store or the favorite stores to get news about the significant discounts on many products. You can unsubscribe anytime. 
Read the online weekly flyers to know in advance what will be on sale. 

Make a checklist to know what you will buy in advance. This strategy will also help manage your budget efficiently.

Some stores may offer the early deals on Thursday(such as 24 hours before). 

 Avoid holiday debts

Have a shopping plan to save money and time. Know in advance what you plan to buy and where you will find the best deal(check my price comparison website list).

 Establish a budget for your purchases. By this way, you will avoid high holiday debts. You can even buy in cash or use gift cards to manage your money efficiently and smartly. 



2. During Black Friday and Cyber Monday

Should you buy online or in a physical store? 

You have the choice! 

If you already identify your item, it is better to buy online because you will save the time to stay in the cashier line. However, there might be a delay in the shipping process.


If you need to check and try your item, if you need to talk to a sale representative, shopping in a physical store may be a good option. However, you may waste time in the lines especially when you go to a favorite store. 


Please always check your store’s website to confirm when the Black Friday event will start. Some stores may start their sales one or two days before. Most online retailers usually begin their sales at Midnight. 

3. After Black Friday 

The Cyber Monday is the next Monday following the Black Friday. Some prices main remain the same but not all the time or not for all items. 
Which items have a lower cost? 

You can find many discounts on products and services such as mobile devices (smartphones) and service, electronics, computer devices, appliances, clothes, books, furniture, and much more. 
How to get additional benefits? 


A. Online Coupon 

It is an excellent way to lower your invoice. You may search to find some online coupon websites. The coupon sites may offer various discounts; please visit more than one coupon website to compare their offers. 





B. Online Price Comparison 

With these websites, you can compare your item’s prices anytime. 

Here is a list of some favorite price comparison websites :

In Canada
In the United States
www.shopbot.ca
www.pricebat.ca
www.bizrate.ca
www.comparator.ca
www.pricefinder.ca
www.shoptoit.ca
www.Nextag.ca
www.google.com/shopping
www.bizrate.com
www.pricegrabber.com
www.shopping.com
www.moneysupermarket.com
www.nextag.com
www.pricewatch.com
www.shopping.net
www.pronto.com


C. Rewards Programs 

Some loyalty websites (like Ebates, Airmiles) may also offer some good deals on their products. Please check their sites for more details. During that event, you may receive some unique offers. Don’t let them go!





D. Email Offers 

If you accept newsletters from the stores, keep watching their offers to know about their fantastic online deals including the in-store deals. 




Return and Refund Policies 

Please read the conditions of sale carefully during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Some rules may change, and it’s your responsibility to know the sellers’ exceptions related to the order cancellation. 


Read other articles on this blog to know the best ways to return an item. 

Remember: if you realize you don't need an item, return it !


Stay Safe Online 

During this pandemic be careful when buying online.
If you need more details about online security, I invite you to read my book : Internet Security and Privacy Self-Awareness




Popular Store for Good deals


For Canada
www.amazon.ca
www.bestbuy.ca
www.shopbot.ca



For USA
www.microsoftstore.com/  
www.amazon.com
www.bestbuy.com
www.blackfriday.com/


You can also perform an online search and type the word “Black Friday” and also “Cyber Monday.” 





Are you looking for more ways to protect your online transaction for the holidays.
Click here to find my books !




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at October 07, 2018

Proven Tips and Tricks to Follow The 

 Location of Your Order


You have placed an order, and you were happy to grab a terrific deal. You received a confirmation by email that you should get your shipment no later than five days. However, after the delivery date expected, you never received anything. You decided to find out what’s going on with your shipment.



Here are the five best practices to help you find out the 

 location of your shipment:

1. Use the Tracking Number of your Order

Once you place an order, you will receive (usually by email) a tracking number issued by the carrier. Each carrier has its tracking number sequence.

A tracking number is a group of numbers and letters used to identify the location of your order during shipping.

Example: 1Z12896347768.

2. Identify your Tracking Carrier
Your shipment may be handled by any carrier, like UPS, USPS, Canada Post, Federal Express, Purolator etc.

You should receive a tracking number and eventually a tracking link that should be included in your email order confirmation or your online invoice.



3. Check your Order Status 
It’s possible to verify the status of your order usually after a couple of hours. You can check it directly on your store's website, or you can just open the carrier's website to check your order status.



4. Manage your Late shipment?
Sometimes, the order delivery delay can be longer than 

 usual for different reasons:
  • Out-Of-Stock Item
  • Customs Delay
  • Pre-Ordered Item
  • Christmas time
  • End-of-the-year
  • Big Discount Events
  • Unknown or Other Reasons

Don't wait to start investigating with your seller to learn the status of your order.


5. Resolve the Issues Related to your Order Delivery

To fix these kinds of issues, you have the following choices:
  • Contact the carrier and provide the tracking number confirm the delivery.
  • Contact your seller (by email, chat or phone) and ask him to follow up with the carrier. Sometimes it’s better to let the seller follow up with the retailer who could resolve your problem faster.
  • Furthermore, I suggest reading the seller’s return policy so you can negotiate a full refund in case you don’t agree to the terms. It’s good to contact the sender as well and inform him that his item(s) will be returned to his warehouse.
  • Keep all your invoices until you resolve your issue.




Thank you for your reading time!

Mark M.





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at April 09, 2018



In this blog, I group the 6 methods of payments in two main categories:
  • The mixed virtual payments(which include the same time digital and physical).
  • The digital payments.

   

The Mixed Payment Methods

You can usually use a combined payment method in both online and physical stores. For example, the credit card can be used online but also in the physical stores.


1. Credit card 

People had started using the credit card at the beginning of the 1900s when the Western Union Company began issuing charge cards to its customers. After that, other financial companies followed, using these popular methods of payment in online shopping.

2. Money order (online wire transfer)

To use the online wired transfer to a seller, you usually need to open an account first before using this option in your shopping process.


Little story about a scam related to a money transfer request 
I remember a person who offered a lot of computer devices at a pretty low price in an auction website, but he wanted to be paid only by wired transfers; some people were very excited and decided to buy. The seller just took the money and never shipped any items! After a couple of days, I went back to this website and saw the comments (reviews) of some people who complained they had not received their items.


3. Interac

In your area, many banks may offer the online Interac to let you pay securely with your Interac account. Make sure your bank offers this service.
The Interac system will use the money from your bank to pay:

  • An online seller.
  • A service provider.
  • Someone who also uses the same service.

The virtual payment methods



Virtual payments are used when you buy only from online stores. They include many solutions offered by some companies and financial institutions.

4. PayPal 
PayPal is one of the most popular online payment methods. PayPal acts like a virtual bank to save your PayPal money, transfer money to other PayPal users, and pay your digital invoices. Please read the policies in the PayPal website for more details.


With PayPal, you can pay someone or an online seller with:
  • Your credit card by using PayPal as a payment gateway 
  • The bank account registered to your PayPal account
  • Your PayPal money you collect by selling goods to people or the money transfers you received. 
Furthermore, your PayPal money can be transferred to your bank account and vice versa.
PayPal also has the functionality to encrypt and memorize your bank account, so you can select it in the payment process. You are also able to store one or more credit cards securely with PayPal, and when it’s time to pay, you just have to choose which credit card you want to use while shopping.



5. Google Wallet 

The Google wallet, developed by Google, is another virtual payment gateway to complete your transactions. It acts almost like PayPal. The Google wallet module is included in your Google account. It uses single sign-on technology, so you won’t have to log in with multiple accounts.


6. Amazon payments

Amazon is an online payment offered by some webstores; it's mainly used by Amazon customers to pay the sellers with the same credit card information registered in their Amazon account, so they don’t have to re-enter their credit card numbers or mailing addresses.

In this blog, I include only the most popular payments. However, you can find other methods of online payment like the Bitcoin, etc.


Whatever the method of payment you use, make sure you know the best security tips to protect your financial and confidential information online!


Thank you for your reading time!

Mark M.

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at March 07, 2018

The 9[nine] main steps used by Tina to shop in an online store or in a physical store


This article introduces the comparison between physical shopping and online shopping.

Online and physical shopping journey

Are you new to online shopping or need to know what is behind the curtain?

 In the following table, you will discover the different steps used by the buyers when they enter a physical store and an online store. 

Tina will help us discover the comparison between online and physical shopping steps.



Please read carefully

Tina is visiting a physical store

Tina is visiting an online store

Tina enters the store and picks up a cart.

Tina uses a navigator to do an online search to find a store. She wants to visit the webstore.

Tina signs up for membership in store.

Tina has the choice to create an online account to receive promotions and newsletters.
She will fill out a form to complete the registration process.

Tina walks into the store to see or check her items.


Tina does an online search or clicks the main categories of the web store to see the items listed. She can also make an online search on the store's website to find the items faster.

Tina picks up her items and places them in the cart.

Each times Tina finds the desired item, she adds it to his virtual shopping cart.

Tina goes to the cashier to pay her items.


Once she finishes her item selection, Tina clicks on the shopping cart to check the amount to pay.

Tina pays her items with her debit or credit card.

Tina chooses a method of payment (Credit card, PayPal, wire transfer, Interac) to complete her order.

Tina goes back home and enjoys her item!

Tina chooses the delivery options according to her needs.

Tina goes back to the store to return her item.

Tina receives the order, but there was a mistake. She fills out a claim like an RMA (Return Merchandise Authorization) request to return the item to the seller. She can also use an online order cancellation form to proceed.

Tina goes back to the store to get her item changed.

Tina also has the choice to request online an item exchange.
As you can see, there is not a significant difference between online and physical shopping. The process is almost the same; however, there are many differences related to the advantages and disadvantages offered by each of them. See more details in the following comparison tables.

comparisons between online and physical shopping

Online shopping 

Advantages

Disadvantages
The visit of an online store takes less time.
It’s impossible to touch or try an item. However, you can search for a video preview of people who tried it.
Fast online profile creation.
Price varies from one site to another.
Customization of your items and also your online customer profile.
Additional delay in returning an item in some particular cases.
Your purchase history is always available.
Price's negotiation available only by email, chat or phone.
Cost summary, you can see the cost of your orders.
Cannot see and touch an item.
Customer comments and reviews are available online. You can see the feedback left for an item.

Access to many online discounts

Stock status is available in real time.

Delivery at home or pick up in store, available at some places.

Online price comparisons to find the better price for an item.



Physical shopping

Advantages

Disadvantages
It’s possible to touch and try your item in a store.
More time required if you have to visit many stores.
There is no long form to fill out when you need to return your item.
No history of your order, so you may have to keep your files manually.
You can negotiate the price on an item right away.
Unknown stock status.
You can’t predict if the item will be in stock.
You have to go back to the store to return an item.
You can see and check the quality of your item.
It may take more time to compare your prices.


Thank you for your reading time!

Mark M.

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