|
Holiday PlanningHoliday Buying with Online Auctions
by:
Matthew Goodman
It's effort to be that time of year over again
once
you start thinking just about holiday presents for everyone. For me, last year was a 1st as I set out to save money in a rather unique way: purchasing most of my gifts on eBay. Online auctions have become part of our everyday lives and for alot of us, a great way to save money. As a manual in this effort, I've compiled a list of tips that I used last year during this time.Tip 1: BudgetingThe 1st step that I always take in holiday buying is to establish a budget of what I can well
spend. After many an years of lesson learning in overspending, I began to list each and every gift that I required to get on
with the total figure of money to spend. Next I then assign everyone into three categories:Family - Husband / Wife, Children, Parents - anyone who is considered really close 2nd Family - Relatives that are not as close as those under 1), friends, etcWork - Coworkers, bosses, etcUsing these three categories, I then assign a dollar figure to each category. This establishes a starting point in the beginning of the budget. The next step I use is to pencil in the gifts that I cognize I want to buy. After assignment these prices, I then re-tabulate the budget figure among those left in the category. Continued
in this method, I can systemically cost down the gifts that I need to purchase and have a cost target for those that I have not distinct on yet. This is especially helpful in Tip #2.Tip 2: The Gift WizardThe biggest challenge that I always have is always selecting the gift. I find it really difficult to move up with a gift for a twelve year old girl (being a middle aged man) so I enlist the help of my new friend the Gift Wizard. Upon entering the wizard, you are required to enter the person's age, gender, hobbies, interests and so on. The wizard then presents you with gift ideas tailored to your entries. For example, for the twelve year old girl the following is the list that it generated:AquapetsBikesBratz DollsCare BearFurReal FriendsGame Boy AdvanceHarry PotterMadelineScooby DooShrekBy clicking on these options, I can see some products inside
these categories that a twelve year old girl strength
like. Victimisation our budget from Tip #1, we can further segment these selections and get a targeted list of potential gifts.Tip 3: Gift Icons Once you have ready-made your selection, one of the better aspects of buying on eBay is the seller's use of gift icons. Sellers victimisation the gift icon habitually
offer the following services:Gift wrapGift cardsExpress shippingGift Recipient shippingBeing all-thumbs with wrapping paper, this option is especially pleasing to me. If you are likewise a traveler on holidays and need to get gifts to another location, the gift recipient shipping is likewise a great option. After the 9/11 attacks, with field safety being increased, no longer can you bring wrapped items on board with you. For me, this was especially hard as it meant that I would-be spend hours upon hours once I got to the else location wrapping, or in most instances trying to wrap, presents once
I should have been eating, drinking and being merry.
Just just about the author:
Just just about THE AUTHOR
Matt Benny goodman is a freelance writer and small business owner in New York.
He wrote this article for an online directory of saving money tips. See much tips and tricks for saving money.
Circulated by Article Emporium
| |
