Customers are shunning the usual high street shopping frenzy in favour of online orders (Image: Getty)

Christmas shoppers issued warning over common mistakes when purchasing online

There are loads of amazing deals online for toys, electronics and other Christmas gifts - but you need to be aware of some common mistakes made while purchasing that could cost you money.

by · Daily Record

Christmas shoppers who are prepping their lists last minute this year have been warned not to fall for common online mistakes while searching for gifts.

While the shops are open late night on Christmas Eve for some festive shopping, a lot of people prefer to opt for some online retail therapy in the lead up to the big day.

However, there are plenty of ways that you could lose money while shopping online, from things like website scams to hidden delivery fees.

Thankfully, experts from MoneySavingHeroes have shared a list of common mistakes that people make while shopping online for Christmas.

Read on below to find out more.

Not sticking to your original budget

Most people will set a budget for their Christmas gifts each year, but it is a rare occurrence that people actually keep to this while buying presents.

In order to actually stick to the amount of money you want to spend, then you should write a budget out for each person instead of overall, and try not to go over the top.

You can make this budget stretch further by finding discount codes for various retailers, and looking for the sales available.

Not keeping an eye on prices

Be careful of scams this Christmas (Image: Getty)

The prices of your dream Christmas gifts will increase and decrease over the next couple of weeks, so it is crucial you keep an eye on these peaks and troughs.

With Black Friday over and done with, it's best to see if there are any other sales available on website, and keep an eye on any upcoming deals.

Buying the first item you spot online

Instead of just buying a product at the first spot, you should really be using online shopping to your advantage.

There are so many price comparison websites available where you can contrast various prices of one item across different retailers.

Shoppers can also use Google Image search in order to find out if the item is being sold cheaper on a different site.

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Not paying attention to delivery fees

You should also factor in delivery fees when setting your budget, as there tends to be some hidden fees on different websites.

Delivery fees can cause people to go over budget easily, and can then eat into money you've kept by for other people.

Keep an eye out for discount codes on free delivery for places, and always add in extra money for delivery fees just in case.

Falling victim to shopping scams

It is essential that you are shopping on sites that you trust, as fake retailers can cause you to be scammed and your bank details potentially being stolen.

You should always check if there is a padlock in the search bar next to the website URL when you are entering your bank details.

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While this isn't the only thing that can tell you if a website is safe, this does make it more difficult for scam artists to steal your payment details.

If you are worried about making a purchase from a website, it is a good idea to check the customer reviews for positive stories.

Only buying new products

If you are always buying things brand new, this can be an expensive habit to have - but they are high quality most of the time.

However, you often can grab the same exact item at a cheaper price if you buy it second hand.

Some websites sell items at a clearance price if they were returned by other customers, or the packaging was damaged during delivery.

Websites such as Depop, Vinted, Etsy, Gumtree and eBay tend to have second-hand items at great quality at a cheaper price.

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