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Five ways to save money when buying online

Here's how to buy and save when shopping online: 

5. Ask and you will, probably, receive discounts

Nam Y. Huh/AP/File
Michael Hammen, left, and Eliana Blancas purchase a Sony PlayStation 4 at Lincoln Park Best Buy store in Chicago last week. Just because you shop online, doesn't mean you can't ask for a discount.

  • By Kara Kamenec Contributor

If you aren’t satisfied with your price at checkout, contact the site you are buying from and ask for a deal. Most reputable merchants will reply to your inquiry, and the majority will work to meet your request.

Online retailers often have an abundance of discount codes and special offers reserved for customer service inquiries or incomplete purchases. A discounted purchase is better than no purchase in a retailer’s mind. Thus, they usually offer a select group of customers, such as frustrated customers or those who have abandoned online shopping carts, special discounts to ensure a purchase is completed.

Rather than first experiencing a negative shopping experience, or abandoning your online shopping cart for days in hopes that the retailer will e-mail you a discount code, you can take the proactive route and simply ask. By approaching the retailer directly and asking for a buying incentive, such as a promo code or free shipping, you save time, energy and, with any luck, a decent amount of money. 

– Kara Kamenec is the commerce editor for Ziff Davis and editor for LogicBuy, a website dedicated to bringing consumers the best laptop deals and technology discounts from around the Web.

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Mark Sappenfield
Editor

Dear Reader,

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