Online shopping deals abound as Black Friday, holiday shopping loom

Thanksgiving is only two weeks away, which means Black Friday and the madness of holiday shopping are also right around the corner. Online shoppers looking for deals should follow these tips.

Posted 10:21 p.m. Nov 8, 2017 — Updated 4:56 p.m. Nov 9, 2017

Monica Laliberte

Thanksgiving is only two weeks away, which means Black Friday and the madness of holiday shopping are also right around the corner.

Consumers generally want to get the best deal when shopping, and there are some easy ways to line up the best price for those who do their buying online. There are several websites that can help shoppers save time and money.

InvisibleHand is a free browser extension that tracks prices at 11,000 online stores. It does not collect a consumer's personal information and can alert shoppers if an item they've browsed can be found cheaper somewhere else.
Honey is another option. It automatically sweetens a shopper's discount at checkout. The site collects data to help shoppers save money, but they say the site doesn’t sell it to third-parties. "As long as you’re shopping at one of the participating stores, Honey goes out and Honey finds discount codes for you, and enters them automatically when you check out," said Nikhil Hutheesing, money editor for Consumer Reports. Money Editor

Online shoppers can also save money by playing hard to get.

If you put things in a shopping cart but don’t buy them, some retailers will send an email the next day, offering a discount to complete the purchase.

"Sometimes you can even get a better price, just by asking," Hutheesing said. "If there’s a live chat option, you can go in, tell the representative how much you like the product, but you think it’s a little pricey –– and ask if there are any promotions or discounts.”

Shoppers should consider using sites like‘Raise’ and ‘CardCash’ to create their own discounts. Unused gift cards can be purchased below face value and then used t to purchase gifts for others.

Consumer Reports says shoppers will get better deals, depending on the day of the week they made their purchase. For example, televisions, fitness trackers and smart watches all have better deals on Cyber Monday, the magazine found. But better deals were found on computer laptops on Black Friday.

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