Cutting the cost of Christmas shopping

If you've still to do some Christmas shopping these tips could help you save money. And if you've already done your shopping, well, maybe they'll help you save money in future. .

Ok, not my usual subject matter, but as an avid bargain hunter I thought you might find some of the following tips I've picked up over the years helpful. And, even better, maybe you have some tips of your own to share.

Of course, the simplest way to cut the cost of Christmas shopping is not to do any...but that would make for a very short article, so let's assume you're not a bah humbug and look at some ideas for saving money.

Use deal websites

The Internet makes it very easy to share news of a bargain and many websites have sprung up to facilitate this. I find www.hotukdeals.com the quickest and simplest to use - if you're not careful you'll end up making lots of impulse buys, but it's a good source of bargains, both online and on the high street.

Use discount vouchers

The humble discount voucher has moved into the 21st century with lots of websites now offering free vouchers and codes to use on both the high street and online. They're often aimed towards higher margin items such as clothes and meals out, but if you can find a voucher for your purchase it'll cut your bill. Hotukdeals has a reasonable discount code section, while www.vouchercodes.co.uk and www.save.co.uk both offer a good selection of online and printable discount vouchers.

How do these sites make money? They usually receive a commission from the retailer if you shop online via their sites or use one of their printed vouchers, which brings me nicely onto my next tip.

Use cashback websites

If you click on a link to an online store there's a good chance it's a paid 'affiliate link' (note: I don't include any such links on this site). This means the website providing the link will receive some commission from the retailer if you buy. Wouldn't it be good if you could pocket the commission yourself? Well, thanks to 'cashback' websites you can.

Lots of cashback websites have sprung up, two that I've used for some time now which appear to be reliable are www.quidco.com and www.topcashback.com. Quidco takes a £5 annual admin fee while Topcashback is free - commission rates sometimes vary between sites so it's often worth checking more than one. You basically visit the retailer via a link on their site then make your purchase as normal. Provided the transaction 'tracks' ok you should normally receive the cashback in your bank account within a month or two.

The cashback system seems to work well (I've received about £600 over the last 3 years), but as it's never guaranteed treat cashback as a bonus rather than the reason for buying something.

Use shopping comparison sites

These websites use automated web surfing to compare the price of items on a number of different websites and make their money via affiliated links, as mentioned above. While they can be useful in helping find the cheapest place to buy an item, they'll claim the commission if you buy via them.

But there's nothing stopping you from using these sites to find a cheap retailer, then visiting that retailer via a cashback website to ensure you pocket the commission.

Of the many shopping price comparison sites I find www.google.co.uk/products the quickest to use.

Cut out the middle man and import directly

Much of what we buy these days comes from China, so why not buy direct? It might not be practical or safe for larger items, but if you like small gadgets you'll have a field day at sites like http://www.dealextreme.com/ and http://www.priceangels.com/. Prices are low and include delivery, although this usually takes 2-3 weeks or more - so probably too late for this Christmas.

90% of what they sell is cheap disposable tat and this irks me somewhat, as it's not good for our planet. But search and you'll unearth some genuinely useful, well-made, bargain items.

Ebay outlets

A recent trend among big retailers such as Tesco and Argos is to open an ebay outlet store - which they use to shift surplus stock and returns at discount prices. More often than not the prices are still a bit on the high side, but there are sometimes bargains up for grabs, so worth a look. You can view a list of outlets here deals.ebay.co.uk/outlet/.

However, while you should be ok with large retailers, bear in mind ebay's appalling terms and conditions for faulty/incorrect items that state buyers are responsible for return postage (see my article < ahref="">here).

Warehouse clubs

Aside from grocery shopping, one of the few times I venture into a store and put up with crowds and queues is a trip to Costco - a members warehouse. It's not hard to be seduced, there's a very wide range of high quality items (from electrical goods to homeware and clothes) and food at very competitive prices. The membership criteria is so wide ranging almost anyone can join, subject to an annual fee (about £25 from memory). Makro is also be quite good, although less accessible as they only accept trade members.

Haggle!

Maybe it's a dying art form, but don't be afraid to haggle - even if it's just using a price match policy in stores like John Lewis (i.e. enjoy the price charged by a shabby shop down the road with John Lewis service and backup). It really is as simple as asking. OK, you probably won't get money off your weekly supermarket shop, but when buying larger items or in bulk always ask for some money off - you'll be surprised how often it works.

Don't pile up expensive debt

It's stating the obvious, but little point hunting down bargains if you'll buy with borrowed money that ends up costing you a fortune. If you can't avoid borrowing at least try to get a zero percent credit card or repay the money as quickly as you can in the New Year.

Right, I think that's all for now. Happy shopping and please post any tips of your own below...

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