Which month for which product?

Bargain Buys

Courtesy of dealnews.com the following outlines what months you can get the best deal for certain products.

January: Winter clothing

Late January/February: Older electronics (once new items are introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show, stores put old stock on clearance), current-year calendars, top-brand HDTVs.

June: Bedding and linens (deals are even better than for January white sales).

September-October: Jeans.

November: Lower-end laptops, clothing on Black Friday, cookware (continues into December).

December: Laptops, especially higher-end systems; bicycles.

Mid- to late-December: Toys, video games.

The Perfect Shopping Trip

Just as a reminder of why we love online shopping so much, this is the location my family and I were camping at when I bought my latest US haul from Zappos & Zara (who by the way accept payment via paypal!). No after Christmas hassles just a lap top , glass of wine and beautiful view in the middle of nowhere - the perfect shopping trip

Eyre Peninsula (SA)

What to buy - toiletries & cosmetics...

In committing my family to our 'Global Sourcing" experiment, one of my aims was to determine whether there really was as much threat to all Australian retailers as the media hype made it appear or was the competitive threat particular to specific products and therefore specific retailers. For that reason I was particularly interested in the price comparison of everyday toiletries and whether it would save us money by sourcing our everyday needs such as sunscreen, deodorant, soap etc. It may seem obvious that the answer would be no, but I wanted to ensure that I had fully researched the prospect before coming to that conclusion. My research has however concluded a positive no, it's not worth buying your everyday toiletries including the cheaper skincare product ranges such as Olay etc from overseas as the shipping makes it cost prohibitive. In light of this, I have added an additional rule to my previous experiment parameters.

Rule 4: Where an item can be purchased from Australia for less than $15.00 then the item should be sourced from here. 

Urban Decay

The more expensive skincare ranges are another matter and are unequivocally worth buying from overseas, and I am fairly certain that most people know that cosmetics are definitely cheaper to source from overseas. The following cosmetic and skincare list has been compiled based on the most popular products purchased by our customers over the last 6 months:

• MAC
• Bobbi Brown
• Too Faced
• NARS
• Maybelline
• Ole Hendrikson
• Makeup Forever
• Clinique
• Benefit
• Dior
• Aveda
• Urban Decay

Online Shopping Budget Tips

1. The shopping list principle applies as much for online shopping as it does for in store shopping. Survey your wardrobe and work out what pieces you need for next season. A list will keep you focused and not caught up too much with impulse buying. We do however recommend an emergency fund for those must have finds.

2. If you wouldn't pay full price for an item, think carefully about whether you are buying the item because of the price or because you really like it. A bargain is not a bargain if you don't wear it.

3. Plan ahead for the upcoming season and monitor USA trends as they tend to be ahead of Australia's which means finding trend pieces before they hit our shores. Remember that the US is coming out of summer just as we are going into it, meaning plenty of end of season bargains.

4. Check that you are shopping from the US site and not the Australian site. Many retailers show higher AUD prices for the same item to enable them to factor in fluctuating exchange rates.

5. If you still feel nervous providing your credit card details to overseas retailers then we recommend having a second debit card with minimal credit available. Once you know how much you are planning on spending transfer money to cover your purchases but limits available cash to any would be credit card thieves (also makes you watch how much you are actually spending!)

Any other useful tips please let us know so that we can update our suggestion list.

Happy Shopping

The USA Shopping Affair Team

Childrens shoes

For those parents out there, you'll understand the parent guilt concept. Is their lunch box contents healthy enough, to timeout or not to timeout, is TV the ultimate evil when it seems like such a life saviour and on and on and on. On that list of course is the shoeing of the said child, will my child be permanently damaged if I don't put the correct shoe on them. But have you seen the price of children's shoes!! There isn't even that much material to them, especially when you are talking about shoes for a 2 year old. Luckily online shopping helps me alleviate that guilt, I bought the below Timberland shoes for both of my kids from their sale (it's coming into winter over in the US so lots of good summer goodies) www.timberland.com.

Toddler & Junior Hypertrail Fisherman Shoe

These are great shoes for summer as they feature gaps for air flow and have a water resistant coating so hopefully they will keep in reasonable condition. Very sturdy and supportive with a cover to prevent stubbing of toes which inevitably leads to tears. Good flexibility which means I actually get to keep them on my 2 year old's feet as she has an aversion to shoes. I bought the toddler pair for USD $14.99 and the Junior pair for USD $24.99, a bargain in my book.

Got a recommendation of a children's shoe brand? Let us know and we'll see what we can uncover.

Happy Shopping!