Six Ways To Save Time And Money While Holiday Shopping

If youre struggling to finishor even startyour holiday shopping, if your gift list is growing longer as your wallet and your calendar countdown shrink, and if panic is beginning to set in, you can stop worrying. If you know where to look, you can still purchase thoughtful, creative gifts and get great deals on them to boot, advises Art Beroff, coauthor of The Bargain Hunters & Smart Consumers Field Guide: How To Buy Almost Anything For Next To Nothing! (Avebury Books 2003, available at Amazon.com). The trick is use the time factor, coupled with smart shopping tactics, to your advantage.

December 18 2003--If youre struggling to finishor even startyour holiday shopping, if your gift list is growing longer as your wallet and your calendar countdown shrink, and if panic is beginning to set in, you can stop worrying. If you know where to look, you can still purchase thoughtful, creative gifts and get great deals on them to boot, advises Art Beroff, coauthor of The Bargain Hunters & Smart Consumers Field Guide: How To Buy Almost Anything For Next To Nothing! (Avebury Books 2003, available at Amazon.com). The trick is use the time factor, coupled with smart shopping tactics, to your advantage.

1.    As time goes by. If you can handle the approaching-deadline anxiety, waiting to shop until the season is well under way can be a good thing. The closer the holiday deadline looms, the more retailers mark down merchandise, Beroff says. One week before the big dayor even one dayis a terrific time to pick up bargains on everything from clothing to Christmas ornaments.

2.    Leave the shipping to them. Save money, as well as time and effort, by purchasing gifts for out-of-town recipients via mail order or the Internet. Having the merchant send gifts directly to your friends and relatives means you dont pay double shipping (first to you and then to recipients). Most merchants will even provide gift wrap and cards with personalized messages either for free or for a nominal fee. Better yet, some merchants offer free shipping for purchases over a given dollar amount. But dont wait until the last minute to shop by mail or Internet, Beroff cautions. Allow an average of 10 days for delivery or youll pay extra for express shipping to get your gift to its destination on time.

3.    Think outside the gift box. You dont have to spring for something expensive to make someone happy, and you dont have to go with unimaginativeand priceyofferings like gourmet food baskets for the difficult recipients on your list. Shop specialty catalogs, Beroff says. Theres one for every interest: cooking, crafts, fishing, knitting, movies, and military history, to name just a few. Find them, and then shop them online, by entering fishing [or whatever your choice] catalogs in your favorite search engine.


4.    Bulk is not just for dog food. Pick up imaginative gifts at great savings by purchasing in bulk. As we explain in The Bargain Hunters & Smart Consumers Field Guide, retailers often give discounts for bulk purchases, Beroff advises. When you spot a nearing-Christmas sale on holiday-themed table linens, for instance, offer to buy a dozen sets if the merchant will provide an additional discount, and then give one to each host or hostess on your list.

5.    Beauty makeover electronics. Save a bundle on electronicsanything from computers to digital cameras to plasma TVsby shopping for reconditioned or refurbished items. These are pre-owned products that have been returned to the manufacturer and then given a complete makeover, Beroff explains. Theyve been spruced up, cleaned, repaired, and brought back to like-new condition. And they generally come with a full manufacturers warranty. Find these great deals by entering refurbished electronics in your favorite search engine or by going straight to the manufacturers site and then entering refurbished or reconditioned in its search window.

6.    Let them eat cake. Or any other restaurant fare. Everybody likes to eat out, and the food tastes even better when someone else pays the tab. Purchase gift cards online from national restaurant chains, Beroff suggests. You can choose from several denominations and have them delivered directly to your recipients. Even better, some chains provide you with discounts, free meals, or other rewards for gift card purchases over a given amount.

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