How to Shop Online

Here are more detailed steps for how to shop online, simple enough so that if you can read and follow instructions, you should be able to do it. With practice, you'll be so fast you won't remember just how you did it any more.

Research and Decide

1. Do an online search for the desired product. That's the first step for how to shop online. I also recommend doing research on the store or shopping site as well. More on how to research online shops and stores

2. Compare the prices and features and shipping conveniences offered from several sites. Make notes. The internet is a Comparison shopper's paradise. There's so much to choose from! But you have this advantage - you can take all the time you need to choose. Just learn how to shop online smartly! More on helpful Comparison Shopping sites.

3. Decide at which online shop to buy your item(s). This is usually the hardest part. In the end it is often an intuitive decision, but there are security criteria to use. More help on choosing online stores.

Check for Secure Shopping Site

check for closed padlock to indicate secure site

4. Make sure the shopping site's shopping system is secure, and offers the payment method you can or want to use. At the very least, read the "Terms of Service" and decide if you are ready to complete the transaction. Is this the scary part of how to shop online? More on Secure Shopping Criteria.

Check Out with Shopping Cart

5. Put the items in your shopping cart by clicking on them or the BUY link close to them. (It's smart to keep a running total on some scrap paper. It saves having to remove things from your shopping cart when you gasp at the total.) Most sites will take you to the shopping cart each time, then allow you to click on "continue shopping" if you want to add more items.

6. When ready to buy click on shopping cart, and carefully check each item for accuracy, and the shipping charges, if any. If the total comes to more than you planned to spend, you can click "remove" to get items out of the cart. This is NOT a trap if you know how to shop online.

7.Fill out the form with your name, email, mailing address (if required), and your payment card type and number, etc. Click the last button. Click it only once! It may be slow because the system is dashing off to other financial sites to make sure your card number is good, and to process your purchase; if you click twice you will most likely be billed twice! More about using credit/debit cards.

8. Find the link for the printer-friendly receipt, and print out your receipt on your printer for a hard or paper copy record. Put it where you store all your other purchase receipts, or enter it into your bookkeeping right away. (Note: if you don't have a working printer, you can save it to your computer, and then get a copy to a friend's computer from where you can print it out). More on troubleshooting online invoices when you have a problem with a purchase.

Receive Your Purchase(s)

9. Wait for your purchases to be delivered by mail or courier. Or, download. If you bought digital products like software or e-books, after your payment is accepted, you will be taken to the download page, where you click on the link, and the download begins. You can have your item(s) in minutes! Sometimes in just seconds. This speed and convenience will soon be one of your most favourite parts of how to shop online! More on downloading your purchase.

(Believe me - at first my shopping experiences sometimes took me days, and then hours, as I carefully moved from step to step. Now I have much more confidence so I can be done in a matter of minutes. You will soon be like that too. You will become a smart, confident Power Shopper!)

What is a power shopper? It does not mean a BIG SPENDER in my mind, but someone who learns to take advantage of all the best ways to shop online so you can be both frugal and wise in every purchase. Here I want to help you become a true Power Shopper with every advantage.

Would it help you if I could tell you where to find the online shops and stores that you can trust because someone has carefully screened them?

Would it help you if I guided you to where the best deals are found, and when the biggest online sales are on? Better prices than in your local store!

What if I guided you to get a rebate on every purchase you make? YES, you can make money back from every purchase!