There are some great deals to be found online. Whether old, new, used, antique or refurbished, chances are you can find that piece you have been wanting for a great price online. Not only do most retail stores offer reduced pricing online, but online only sites can offer very competitive prices; if you know where and when to shop for online deals.
Flash Sale Sites
There is a somewhat new trend for online shopping called flash sales. Retail companies mark down there products- sometimes up to 70% off- and place them on a flash sale site. The company can get up to three months worth of profit from this one week sale and we can get ridiculously good prices on great things. Sites like One Kings Lane and The Foundary are great for home decor pieces, stationary, pet supplies, and furniture. OKL also has sale collaborations with designers where the designers sell things they have found and, even, some of their own pieces.
Fab is another great flash sale site. They have everything from clothing to to pet supplies to gadgets. There are some great deals to be found and shipping is quite cheap.
If you are a member of Amazon, you have their flash sale site, MyHabit, available to you. This site has everything that amazon has and a bit more. It is not uncommon to see designer purses and accessories on MyHabit, along with all the house decor pieces you desire. Membership for all these sites is free, all they need is e-mail and password, and possibly, an invitation from a friend... Friend.
Coupon Sites
Places like Groupon and Living Social have become so uber popular, especially in urban areas. I have a good portion of my family who check these sites daily for deals on restaurants, activities, and vacations. It is definitely worth a look, especially if you live in an urban area or are planning to visit one.
Product Stock Sites
For those of us who love places like Marshalls, TJMaxx, and Home Goods, there are the online equivalents. These sites are even great for those who do not like these stores. The deals are great and you get some really awesome stuff! I had never even given these sites a glance until we purchased our home and I realized just how expensive it is to fill it with pretty things. I happened upon Overstock one day and found almost the identical chandeliers I was looking at from Restoration Hardware here, and for almost a 10th the price. They were purchased and now hang happily in our living room for all to see.
One of the greatest perks of sites like Overstock is free shipping. You may have realized by now that I bring up free shipping a lot, that is because I hate hate hate paying for shipping. The guessing game of knowing how much is in my cart but not knowing how much it will cost drives me insane. Sites with free shipping are already money savers and should be in every Thrifty Girl's arsenal.
Amazon Prime
I have already had a mini rant on shipping in this post, so we do not need to go there again. Let's just leave it at Amazon Prime is great if you order from them more than six times per year, or watch any paid for shows online, or have a kindle. Two day shipping is free for prime products (most the site), or you can get credit and take 5 day shipping for free as well.
Really, the credit thing is a nice thought for me and I may use it one day as a tool to gain more patience. We'll see.
Prime members also get free rentals on movies, books, and shows. Downton Abby Seasons 1 and 2, anyone? The membership is about $75 per year and so worth it in our house. You can try a two week membership for free, then decide if you would like to keep it. It is best to start the trial when you are going to be ordering a lot of products, that way you get your money's worth whether you keep the membership or not.
There are some great deals and steals to be found online. Just remember, if you were not going to buy it in the first place, it is not a deal. Things like buy one get one half off are only great if you were getting two anyway, otherwise, it is a just a waist of money.
To keep from doing those "it's on sale, I need it" purchases, I only go looking to these sites for a particular purpose. If I know that we will be buying a new rug or chair or wallet soon, that is what I look for at OKL or any other sale site. If I know we want to go to a few museums while in London, that is what I look for on Groupon. Going to a site with the knowledge that you want some new workout clothes or a cute new bag makes it much easier to find what you want and say "no" to everything else.