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Shopping Tips: Advice to Keep Your Wallet Safe and Full

1. Do a background check: At the Better Business Bureau's Web site (search.bbb.org), you can search records by Web address. If a retailer isn't listed, that isn't necessarily a bad sign. It means that the BBB does not have any information on the business, good or bad. If you have a choice between buying from a company with a satisfactory BBB record and one that's not listed, go with the one that's on file.

2. Save with refurbs: Companies often sell factory-refurbished items at a substantial discount, and often with a limited warranty. These may be defective yet unused products that have been restored by the manufacturer, or even special-order items a customer cancelled at the last minute. Dell and Sony sell refurbs in outlet sections on their Web sites. You can also find deals at Refurbdepot.com.

3. Clip coupons: Several sites gather coupon codes that can score you free shipping or a percentage off the original price. Two good ones are Dealcoupon.com (linked to the highly useful bargain site Dealnews.com) and Specialoffers.com.

4. Go straight to the source: Online retail shops (like Amazon.com) sometimes feature other sites' products and then relay orders to those sites. If you find an item you want, don't click the Buy button immediately. First check the manufacturer's or original shipper's site to see if you can get the product for less. Cutting out the middleman can save you money.

5. Use the right tools: The SquareTrade SideBar for Internet Explorer (just released at Squaretrade.com) automatically searches for lower prices when you shop for certain consumer electronics (for example, digital cameras) at online stores like Amazon.com and Tiger Direct. The tool pulls in pricing info from Shopping.com and displays the details in a pop-up sidebar. It also looks for listings on eBay and your local Craigslist. In addition, it promises shopping protection by displaying a warning when you enter a known fraudulent Web site.

Erik Larkin