Where does the necessity for extended warrantees or insurance protection end? Well for most electrical items around the home such as washing machines, TV’s, refrigerators, DVD players and laptops/computers, shoppers can often get caught out with breakdown insurance or accidental cover pushed onto them by the retailer.

The truth behind this is that although the insurance will offer protection, so should your home contents insurance, meaning that you may be paying for something you do not need. In the same light, when purchasing a camera for your holidays for instance, many stores will offer you insurance against damages, including new for old if the product cannot be repaired.

Now this can be beneficial if you drop your camera, break the lens or screen etc. However the insurance will not cover you against theft but then your home or holiday insurance should cover electrical items stolen from the home or abroad whilst on holiday. A choice that is offered but not always needed, always check with existing insurance policies you have before deciding to take additional insurance out on purchases.

As the summer approaches you will start to see that many sites are advertising summer sales and so is a good time to grab some bargains. Anything from clothing stores to gadgets and miscellaneous item outlets are beginning to offer discounts on items in their product ranges to entice shoppers to make a purchase.

As with all stores, both in the high street and online, you can now get yourself a bargain on products and items such as clothing and accessories that are left over from last season. As with all online stores, many shoppers will be focusing on the summer ahead and trawling the internet for the best deals on last minute breaks, or may even be considering a holiday within the UK if the weather forecast remains bright.

1. Use a search engine to find exactly what you want such as “Airsoft BB guns” or “London vets”. This broad search of keywords will give results based on what’s on a website.

2. Use a website which you think may stock the product. This is the most common method, mainly because of brand loyalty. If you’ve bought from a website before, or heard of its name through marketing, you’re more likely to search for that particular company and their website.

Searching online will usually give you the best price as you avoid having to pay all the business costs associated with high street shops. Online businesses and shops avoid all the overheads such as payroll, national insurance, tax, rent, heating, lighting, and the rest. All these costs are added onto the price of your product.

When buying online be careful to take note of the price of postage/shipping. This can add a lot more to the price depending on how big the product is and how far it’s being shipped.

We are living in an age of technology, where people are now shopping online instead of visiting a store. Below are some of the pros and cons of online shopping:

Pros

Convenience: You can now do your weekly shop online and get it delivered straight to you door without leaving the house.

Cost-effective: It is now much cheaper to buy online than visit the shop. There are also more deals available online meaning you can save even more money.

Time management: There is now no need to spend time going shopping, you can avoid queuing and spending time finding a parking space. Shopping online allows you to manage your time effectively so you get all your jobs done.

24/7 access: You can shop online anytime of day, it can fit in and around your schedule so there is no need to worry about opening and closing times.

Cons

 Postage and packaging: You have to pay a postage and package fee, which doesn’t work out cheaper than visiting the store.

Security: Many people are scammed online when they use their credit card online as many websites are unsecure, which therefore makes internet security questionable.

Page limited: You are limited to how many items are listed on each page, which takes time to upload.

Takes time: If you have a slow connection, it can take a very long time to browse, select and pay.

Credit card only: You can only shop online if you have a credit card which the website accepts, so you can’t pay by cheque or cash.