Curvy's guide to the world of online shopping

I love (did I mention) LOVE on line shopping!!! If your are like me and your goal is to be frugal while still maintaining fashion fierceness. let me be your guide. This guide is for all, no matter what your size is...

Step 1: Finding a trustworthy website. Everyone is fearful of being taken advantage. A lot of the places I have shopped have been based on recommendations from friends or on line reviews. On my blog, I will only comment on sites I have personally used. Join their facebook page. Customers will make comments on their experiences dealing with the company. Companies are not perfect, they do make mistakes, items go missing or products can arrive broken. What you look for is how the issue was resolved. If the customer service immediately responds and a solution is reached, that is a sign of a company that cares about their clients. This is what I look for.

2. Always review the shipping. I am located in Canada so before I fall in love with that sweater, I check to see if the company has international shipping! I also check to see is it a flat rate (one cost for all my items) or if it based on weight. If you are lucky some shipping is free or free after you have reached a certain cap. Don't forget that duty and taxes may be added on when your items arrive at your door.(Look for goods that are made in the United States, Mexico, Chile and Costa Rica. These countries have free trade agreements with Canada, and goods made there can usually, but not always, enter Canada duty free.) This part is important, review the return policy! How much is it going to cost you to return that pair of pants that looked good on line but look terrible in reality.

3. SIGN up for their email offers. A lot of companies offer you a  one time percentage off if you agree to receive their emails. These emails are packed full of really good deals, sometimes you get in early on the offer before other consumers do. If you don't want emails cluttering up your regular email, open up a free account such as gmail, yahoo or hotmail and have them sent to a secondary account just for this purpose. 

4. KNOW YOUR SIZE..Measure twice order once! On line companies quite often will have directions on how to measure yourself. You can be a large on one  site and a 2X on another. The number is not important, the proper fit is.

5. If you are shopping outside of your country..know the value of your dollar. Is your dollar worth more, less or on par in the company you are shopping with. I got some amazing deals when my dollar  was worth more then the american dollar. If you don't feel comfortable using a credit card or you don't have one you can use a service like paypal.

6. CLEARANCE..look at the clearance, you can find some fantastic deals there. I have a teenager who eats his weight in food everyday, I need to save money somewhere!

7. My last important rule find a promo code. When you get to ordering page, quite often there will be a box that says Promo code.  Do an internet search, using the words "promo codes" or "online coupons" of the store you want the code for.  You will find several pages dedicated to promo and sales codes. They will even give you the percentages of times the codes have worked.  Try them. I lucked out once doing a search for promo codes for the Australian store Virtu, It was for free international shipping and I saved 30 dollars!. 

If you have any questions, please feel free to leave me a comment!