I buy some of my clothes from Blair. I'm not much of an online shopper. Actually, I'm not much of a shopper at all.

I buy all my school books online and gently used. I usually save between 50% and 80%. Many are an international edition that is brand new and 60% off! There are several good used book "finder" sites. I usually just google "used books" and then comparison shop from the 1st few hits. Amazon and Albris are 2 favs. I have also picked up many gardening-type books this way for almost nothing!

I always check E-Bay for big ticket items. Two years ago I got a new pool heater and saved a bundle. Same for the flea treatment I use on my cats. Many companies buy in bulk and auction off products on E-Bay. This year I got Advantage Top Spot for almost nothing!!

I am allergic to the perfumes in most products so I often comparison shop the herbal online stores for the best deal of hair care stuff, etc.

I don't know what I'd do without online shopping!! I do almost everything online from pay bills to order new license plate stickers! And, of course, I get my daily gardening fix right here!! I think it's great when people post about online sales, etc.

Use e-bay for some japanese morning glory seeds and a few other things I've purchased there.

Only other on line shopping I do is for my craft business supplies for my business. Those I buy direct from the manufacturer with a tax id number.

Fran

I do more online shopping this past couple years. Before, I only bought plants & seeds & bulbs online. So far, I have ventured to books and stuffs. The largest item so far is a big screen TV from Amazon.com I need to talk my kid out of instant gratification, though. He would buy things when he wants instead of shopping around and he likes to pay for fast delivery. What happened to the frugality that his parents are observing religiously?

I do MOST of my shopping on line, particularly since this past winter when WS began using up all my daylight time and then of course the beautiful garden that came as a result took all my daylight time this spring and summer!

Here is my strategy:

Clothes: LLBean - I find using their charge card gets you free shipping and monograming, plus no tax in my state and quick delivery. Always shop the "sales" section of their site.Pay the bill each month, so they aren't making any interest on me.

Ebay: I am hard to fit. If I find a brand or designer that "works" I keep an eye on ebay for listings. Works especially well for something you fall in love with and then the manufacture stops making the style (for me Charter club cashmere cardigans (MACYS) and a Maidenform bra. The key is investing a bit of time to learn how to use the search engines so you are only looking at exactly what you want (For instance I put this all in the search: Charter club cashmere cardigan XL New with tags). Set up a paypal account to make shopping easy.

Food/groceries: yes I still go to the market for fresh stuff, but I have found that Amazon can save me a bundle on things we consume in large quanties."Lady Gray" tea bags, coffee and cliff and Luna bars come to mind.

Amazon has become my reference point for all other shopping. If I see I need a frying pan, I check prices there (where else can you see and read reveiws on a dozen different kinds of 12inch frying pans?)Buy one if I see a good deal or at least know the "going rate" when I am looking at one in a store.

Shoes: I have wide feet. Using the search engines on Shoebuy.com helps me find exactly whats available. No shipping/free returns - easy. And good buys too for good quality.

Want to get really crazy obsessed with online shopping? I spend at least an hour a day cruising this sites "forums" where folks write in about great buys they have found on the web that day: Fatwallet.com, dealtaker.com,
slickdeals.com. Lots of "computer/tech stuff" to wade through (I rarely buy any) but worth it when you find 500ct Queen sheet sets listed somewhere for $25 bucks! Around the holidays these boards really heat up - I got tons of gift ideas and bargains last year.

Craiglist.com - Probably where I have saved the most money. My husband and I have never spent big bucks on furniture - would much rather take a trip or save for our kids college education, so our home was furnished mostly with nice hand me downs from parents or antique pieces I have bought cheap and refinished.LAst year I decided I wanted a "real" bedroom set - one that all the pieces matched! A friend told me about craigslist. Doesn't operate everywhere, but we have it here in Long Island, NY. Bascically it's a webased garage sale - but lots of people are selling brand new furniture because they are moving. I got a complete solid oak bedroom set - 6 pieces - for $500 (originally over 3k), a white Ikea bedroom set for my daughter for $250 and a Brand new living room (couch, love seat, matching chair, coffee table and 2 end tables) for $500 . Fabric/cusions were like new - bachelor who owned it worked all the time. We have had to borrow a truck from a friend each time to pick the items up, but so worth the savings. Inside my house is starting to look as "Martha" as the outside gardens!

Happy shopping!
Nancy

This isn't about online shopping, but for all I know, it could be. I just haven't tried it. I wanted to toot the horn of Bed Bath & Beyond's very liberal coupon policy.

Despite what it says on the coupon, you can use as many 20% off coupons as you have items. (Some stores will tell you only 5 per transaction, but that info is old hat since they updated their POS software. If they do insist on 5 items per transaction, they will ring up as many transactions as necessary to use all your coupons, 5 per.

They accept expired coupons.

They accept competitors' coupons.

They accept competitors' expired coupons.

In addition, I use my Discover points to purchase BB&B gift cards. A $25 gift card costs $20 in points, yielding a 20% savings.

Therefore, when I use a coupon and a gift card, the net result is 36% off everything I buy ($1 x .8 x .8 = .64). If the item is already on sale or clearance, all the better. They are liberal there, too.

Oh yes, I forgot to mention one other thing. If you don't have your coupon with you, you can bring it back after the fact and they will apply the 20% discount retroactively. That's smart business on their part.

Happy shopping!
seedmama

Biographical note: I am from a ruaral culture that bought almost everything that had to be purchased from the Sears catalog. So the transition was easy, after a bit of becomeing familiar with Amazon.

If it is not at WalMart or immediately available at Lowe's we go to Amazon.