5 Ways to Save Time When Christmas Shopping Online

Online Christmas shopping can be a hassle and a waste of time if you don’t plan ahead. Today I’ll show you 5 ways to save time when you do your Christmas shopping online.

If you’re hassled by the shopping rush during Christmas like me, you will know exactly how important it is to organise yourself. Before I even begin to shop online for Christmas presents I’ve created lists packed full of places to shop, links to products, compared prices, e.t.c.

Today I’m going to write down a few pointers that help me to get the online Christmas shopping done as soon and as effortlessly as possible. If you have a special tip for others readers tell us about it with the new comments section below, we’d love to read about them.

The first and main pointer for saving time when you shop online is of course getting organised.

1. Who’s Been Naughty or Nice – Making a List

Make a “Who’s Been Good & Bad” list. If you’ve ever wondered how Santa does it, it’s because he made a list ;) Get all organisational around Christmas time and you’ll get the shopping done quicker. I make a simple text file with a list of friends and family that will get a present this year. Once you have the list together you can add all the things you want to buy for your friends and family.

When I say all the things I mean all of them. Adding gifts you couldn’t possibly afford to give are still ok, as long as these gift ideas are suitable for the person in question. Writing down presents you’ll never get is a good way to get you thinking about your friends and maybe spark a new idea. This list will end up being the hub of all the shopping information you need when you start shopping, it’ll save heaps of time once it’s organised.

Make a list of friends and family, so you know what ideas to look for before you start looking.

2. Searching for Web Sites with Google Australia

If you can find your gifts in Australia it’ll be a better, safer bet than ordering from overseas during the Christmas rush and having delays to the delivery. So when you search Google for Christmas present ideas, make sure you select the link named “Pages from Australia” on the search results page (left side menu). Once that’s done take a quick look at the search results by opening the links in a new tab or following the links making sure they sell products. Copy down the web sites that look good and are secure. You can take a look at our 10 steps for safe shopping guide for help in identifying a safe shop. When you find suitable shops, copy them into your Christmas shopping list.

Don’t spend too much time searching through international web sites if you’re not planning to order from them, Buy Australian!

3. Payment Options

Saving time by setting up a new payment option may not be as apparent as it seems. When you shop at an online store for the first time, your order is normally put in an authorisation state until someone can confirm you are a trusted shopper. Once the retailer gets used to you ordering from them ,the orders are processed faster. Some retailers also take a lot of time to process credit cards every time you order.

One way to avert this delay is by setting up a PayPal account. I have a PayPal account and I generally use it the first time I shop with a new online store or if I know the retailer waits for the credit cards to clear before processing orders. Putting a third party in between the retailer and yourself is good practice to establish a trusting relationship. If things go wrong you can moderate through PayPal and generally get issues resolved quicker. Most business have a PayPal payment option, and paying through PayPal generally assures both parties that the transaction is good to go, making it faster than credit cards or bank transactions.

Add some trust to your shopping order with an instant payment to the retailer through PayPal.

4. Filling in Forms and Store Registrations

When you’re shopping for the presents you’re bound to need to create a new account with the online shop you’re shopping with. So filling out the application forms are a real time waster. Did you know there’s software that can fill in the details for you with the click of a single button?

We use a software product called 1Password for our Apple Mac computers and it’s a perfect and secure way to fill in user names and passwords when we visit our favourite online stores. There’s also another one we use on the Windows machines called Roboform. These form fillers will save a heap of time filling out forms to log into shopping accounts for Christmas. Once you buy the software you’ll find it useful all year round as well :)

Save some time filling in forms with “form filler” software.

5. Ordering with Fast Delivery

Ok, I understand that saving money can often wavier the thought of saving time, but there’s no time to waste when it comes to online shopping as retail stores are overrun with orders at Christmas time. With that in mind, it’s probably not a good idea to delay the delivery further with a slower, cheaper courier option. You just can’t guarantee the delivery will meet it’s Christmas day deadline. So if you have the option of fast delivery grab it, even though it might cost a few more dollars.

Pay for the fast delivery if you can. Christmas is the busiest time of year for couriers as well as the retailers.

Summary

So there you have it, five easy ways to save time when you’re shopping online for Christmas presents. Generally speaking though, these pointers can be used any time of year. If you take the advise with regarding to the searching within Australia, organising / link research, form filler software and payment options you can save time every time you shop online.

Don’t forget about the new comments form below, tell us what time saving tips you use when you shop online?

Happy Shopping!