Is Shopping Like You are Poor Making You Poor?

By: Matia Bryson

A recent article on the Time magazine website made an interesting observation about online shoppers. Apparently those shoppers who go to the internet to make price comparisons before they purchase are not the ones you would expect to have the greatest need to find bargains. Savvy bargain hunters who use comparison shopping search engines have incomes above that of the average American. The poor, who could really use the price breaks, are not comparison shopping on the internet.

With over one-third of all Internet users visiting eBay each month, eBay has the surprising demographic of more than half its buyers earning an income more than seventy-five thousand a year, and three-quarters of its buyers are over the age of thirty-five. Search engines report that their more affluent searchers are likely to use the terms “cheap,” “bargain” or “discount” in their searches.

So what types of shopping websites do the poor surf? Perhaps it is merely to fuel their daydreams, but the poor are browsing exotic cars, expensive designer clothing and high-end electronics.

If you are not already using the power of the internet to find those bargains, here are a few tips for you.

1. Start by going to a comparison shopping website, such as Froogle, or find sites by doing a search for “comparison shopping.”
2. Get a feel for the range of prices, but do not buy immediately through a comparison site because they may only list sites that pay them. Follow up with a search in a regular search engine.
3. Look for reliability as well as price. Make sure a website has a secure site, a street address, a telephone number. Be sure you understand the return policy.
4. Always take into account the cost of shipping. With shipping added in, you may be better off in a store.
5. Leverage the power of information by printing off the best price for an item and taking it with you when you shop in person in a store.

With all of this bargain hunting on the internet, is the humble offline garage sale becoming an endangered species? Apparently not, you would think if you look at the garage sale listings on the Craigslist website. In April 2002 they had a mere two thousand garage sale ads and in April 2007 there were one hundred twenty thousand.

Make the most of the power of the internet to hunt down and buy those bargains. There is no reason to feel like you are slumming when you do. Now you know you are in good company.

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Matia Bryson is a bargain hunter that relishes the hunt as much as the find. She has created a home study course for eBay shoppers.