Sneaky ways to save money every time you buy something online – from eBay tool to deal stacks

MoneyMagpie Editor and financial expert Vicky Parry shares hidden ways to snap up online bargains to save money on your everyday (and not so everyday) shopping

Most UK adults will buy online at least a few times a year, while some rely on it all the time for everything from buying groceries to furniture to takeaways. But you could be overpaying whenever you buy online! Try these sneaky online shopping tips to reduce the cost of your internet bargains even further than you might expect.

Shop for spelling mistakes

If you’re a regular user of eBay, you could be missing a trick by using the obvious search terms. Spelling mistakes are one of the most common reasons that listings go for much less than they should. This, and being listed in the wrong category.

However, if you search for the spelling mistake rather than the proper item name, you could nab a bargain – especially if you search all categories to sweep up the ones in the wrong one, too. Try sites like TypoHound, which help you find common spelling errors for items to spot the cheap listings.

Become an eBay buying pro with free tools

You can also use third party tools to save money on your eBay purchases, as well as using the spelling error trick. Lastminute Auction, for example, lets you find auctions ending within the hour that still have a price of £1 or less. Or, use a free website like Hammersnipe, which lets you set your maximum bid and it will automatically bid for you in the last few seconds of the auction, increasing your chances of nabbing a bargain.

Stack deals where you can

You might assume that if you apply one discount code or deal, others don’t apply. However, there are two reasons you should try stacking deals. First, some retailers allow stacking by savvy buyers anyway – and second, complex back-end setup for deals on websites means non-stacking instructions can sometimes be missed.

Being a loyal customer helps. For example, shopping at Superdrug or Boots online with their loyalty cards will give you special price access. But with some deals, you can also stack with special discount codes – so it’s always worth reading the fine print.

Use cashback sites for exclusive discounts

Cashback sites are a great way to earn a small percentage back on your online purchases, so you should always use them whenever you shop online. TopCashback, QuidCo, and Swagbucks are the most popular – sign up to each of them, as some retailers have exclusive deals only with particular cashback sites.

But it’s also always worth checking the retailer page before you click through to get your cashback. That’s because they will often have exclusive discount codes you can use to get extra off your purchase. While other discount codes you might find on the internet will cancel out your eligibility to claim cashback, ones listed on the cashback site mean they can be stacked.

Use a price tracker tool

For purchases that you can take your time to consider buying, it’s always worth using a price tracker tool like CamelCamelCamel or Honey. This is particularly important if you’re planning to buy things in sales, because you can see if the price was previously artificially inflated to ensure the sale price fits retail laws.

That’s because, for something to be advertised as a sale price, it must have been available at the previous price at least 28 days prior. So, when retailers plan sales, the more unscrupulous ones will inflate the price a month before the sale and then bring it back to its usual retail price in the sale – making it look like a saving, when you’re really not saving anything on the usual price.

Sign up to free webinars

Online events are a surprising way to get exclusive deals and discounts for services and products. This might be signing up to attend a YouTube or Instagram Live session with your favourite influencer or attending a free online webinar offering a taster session for paid courses you’ve been eyeing up. You’d be surprised how often you will have access to good deals by doing this!

You might not receive an immediate discount code during the event (though often will), but be emailed a special code afterwards as a thank-you for attending. So, make sure you sign up with your marketing-only email address and select that you allow marketing communications so you don’t miss out on exclusive deals.

Search forums and social media for referral codes

Referral codes are brilliant because they often give hefty discounts or special extras to a product or service that you want to buy. However, you might not personally know someone already signed up to the retailer – which is where social media comes in.

Check topic-specific forums for unique codes, look on Reddit, or enter ‘retailer + referral code’ in the search bar of any social media site. If that fails, make a post! People who have a code will always be happy to share it, because referral codes have incentives for those who share them.

Sign up to newsletters and download the apps

You can often get extra or exclusive discounts by downloading a retailer’s app. The push to shop on your phone means shops are keen to encourage app downloads – and that means welcome discounts, app-only discounts, and sometimes app-only products, too. If you don’t enjoy the app you can always uninstall it after use!

Finally, make sure you sign up to newsletters. This might be retailer-specific to get a welcome discount code, or a special deals and discounts newsletter that tells you about the latest offerings you could claim online. They often have unique discount codes or extras compared to voucher code sites online, so it’s worth signing up.

• Some of the brands and websites we mention may be, or may have been, a partner of MoneyMagpie.com. However, we only ever mention brands we believe in and trust, so it never influences who we prioritise and link to.