If you asked me five or Six years ago, if I did online shopping I would have told you “nope”. However, now I find that probably 98% of my wardrobe was bought online. I think the combination of it not being as popular and my fear of whether it was safe, was what held me back. However, times have changed and It far easier to go online and find exactly what your looking for, instead of scouring the mall. If you are new to online shopping, here are some tips and tricks I have learned over the years that can help you and even save you money.
- If you are unfamiliar with the website, look it up first. I will always look up a website and read the reviews on it if I am not 100% sure about it. However, if this is still not reassuring enough for you, then shop from websites that you know other people have and had a good experience with. My favorite website is Red dress boutique. It took we a while of browsing it before I actually made my first purchase. Now, half my wardrobe comes from them. However, I did my research first.
- Speaking of research, make sure you check the return policy. Lets face it, in the real world what looks amazing on the model, does not necessarily look good on me. With that being said, I always check the return policy. If something doesn’t work, which often happens you want to make sure that you can return it and get your money back. Some sites have a two week return window, while others have a month, and some just have store credit. So look this up before making any purchase.
- Join website email lists and follow them on social media. First off, most sites give you a coupon code when you sign up for their emails, second off you will know right away if there is a sale or new merchandise added to the site.
- Join loyalty programs. They do not cost any money. They simply keep track of the purchases you make and give you points for them. The other day I received an email from American Eagle telling me to claim my free pair of jeans. I thought it was a joke, until I put the provided code in. Abercrombie has a good loyalty program, as well as Nordstrom.
- Carrying on with the topic of saving money, look up promo codes before you complete your purchase. You are not going to find them every time, but some websites you can. Shein is a website that I frequently purchase from, and I have always been able to find a promo code for all my purchases.
- My last piece of advice is check measurements. When you are on a website look at the measurements of the clothing item. If you are unsure, I usually go by the bust measurements. I can determine if an item will fir or not based on that. Also, this is important when you might be shopping on Amazon or Shein. Shein is an Asian website and Amazon sells from a lot of third parties that Are also Asian. They hav different sizing, so paying attention the exact measurements will help you know what size to purchase.
