When Grandpa told you money doesn’t grow on trees, he never imagined a little thing called the Internet could grow some green for you.

The Internet has many uses, one of which is retail shopping. You can go online and buy anything from lunch with billionaire William Buffet to a car to travel deals to clothes, shoes, computers, food, used underwear ..... literally, anything your heart desires. And deals are to be had everywhere.
If you want to save money shopping on the Internet, you can. All it takes is a little research and some Tiger Woods-style, Web-savvy intensity.

Ben Popken, editor for Web site The Consumerist, said the group blog empowers and entertains today’s consumerist society.

“The Internet is an amazing tool because it allows people to search and find and get connected to deals that they might not have been able to find before,” Popken said.
 
Trinity University professor and chair of economics John H. Huston pointed out there are several ways the Internet helps people save money.

He said the Internet provides people with a lot of information, thereby creating informed buyers who are less likely to be overcharged.

Huston elaborated by explaining how the Internet helped him avoid being taken advantage of when he was purchasing a part for his dryer recently. He was able to research the cost of the part on the Internet before buying it from a local provider.

The Internet also allows for economies of scale in which people are able to buy from a national provider who is able to sell things at a lower cost per unit than a smaller, local provider.

“The beauty of shopping now with the Internet is you have access to so many more vendors, which means you can comparison shop a lot easier,” said Paul Vaughn freelance graphic artist, writer and consultant.

Similarly, Popken said companies have realized the power of the Internet. They are conscious of online deal-seekers and purposely provide online-only coupon codes and discounts to attract more customers.

By finding coupons and online-only deals on sites such as%slickdeals.net and fatwallet.com, Popken said people are able to stretch out their dollars, and companies are able to reduce the cost of publishing coupons and deals.

The Internet also helps people save money by reducing the time it takes to purchase an item. Huston added that sometimes money that would have been spent on time and gas are the biggest savings of all.

Vaughn said the Internet is a place where people can buy something without having to leave their homes. He said Web sites such as cnet.com list deals on the Web and provide shopping advice as well as reviews for products.

Popken said eBay, the world’s biggest auction service, is an alternative to driving to garage sales all over town. It provides people with the opportunity to find things that they might not have found otherwise.

Although Huston said he has not done a lot of research on how the Internet helps people save money, he has studied the difference between what people pay in online auctions such as eBay and traditional auctions.

He found that, for example, with rare coins, the Internet prices were generally lower. However, he said it’s difficult for people judge the quality of the product they’re buying. He attributes the lower cost of online auction items to the buyer knowing less about the product than the seller and cautions people to be careful from whom they buy.

Huston said overall, he has a positive view of the Internet and its ability to make all kinds of things readily available, but, as with anything, there are also minuses.

In order to avoid being taken advantage of Huston suggests that people who are not very familiar with the Internet and online shopping stick with the better-known providers they have learned to trust.

Popken suggests people set up a separate bank account for PayPal and transfer funds into it when they plan on buying something off of eBay.

He recommends that when shopping online, visit sites like% resellerratings.com and Googling the company name with the word “scam” to see if any claims about the company have been made.

Popken also advises people to purchase things online with credit cards instead of debit cards because if something goes wrong with the transaction, the credit card company will handle the problem.

“First and foremost, people need to use critical reading skills,” Popken said. “Don’t just go with the lowest price you find. If you haven’t heard of the retailer before, you need to check them out first. See if it’s legit. If it looks unprofessional, then they might be ripping people off.”

Huston said similar to the way his students have to be careful of where they are getting their information from blogs and other non-established sources, people shopping online need to be aware of who they are buying from and possible problems that may arise.

The Internet “is one vast garage sale of information that includes some really good stuff but also some poor information,” Huston said.

Samantha Hensley | 210SA