Online Shopping: Last-Minute Tips

Regina Lewis Offers Advice

(CBS)  There are just seven days left before Christmas, and malls around the country are filling up fast with frantic shoppers.

The Early Show contributor and AOL online advisor Regina Lewis offers some on-line solutions to getting last-minute shopping, cards and entertaining done.

The following are her tips:

Hurry
When it comes to shopping online for gifts you want to hustle. Not tonight, not later, but right now. Twenty-four hours makes a difference. Wait longer and you will pay more. Today and tomorrow (Dec. 18 and 19) are key dates for taking advantage of free, flat rate and standard shipping. This weekend, expect to pay more to get things where they need to go. Because Christmas falls on a Thursday this year, many online retailers are guaranteeing orders for Christmas delivery placed all the way up until Tuesday, Dec. 23, but expect to incur rush-shipping charges.

If shipping isn't a must, you might want to take advantage of "fusion shopping," offered at major retailers like Sears, where you can buy online and pick up at the store. Visit Sears.com: Store Pick-Up Help. This helps avoid the all-too familiar and time-consuming, "Let me just check in the back to see if we have it in stock." You know that before you head to the store and you by-pass the checkout line by going directly to the merchandise pick-up area (bring your online receipt).

Read The Fine Print
Deadlines are most likely Eastern Standard Time, so you could have as little as four hours left. For instance, if you want to do the monogram thing (very popular this year), Dec. 18 is the end-date on popular sites like Lands End. Also, in some cases, you may be able to place an order for an item that is out of stock and slated to ship at a later date. Be careful here. If it's a hot seller, you will be able to buy it, but the fine print may say, "to ship in February." That's not going to help you for Christmas.

Make a list
If you're gong to get your shopping done in one sitting, make a list of names and gather street addresses. Shippers won't send to PO Boxes, so not having street addresses is a deal-breaker online and you likely won't be able to complete the transaction.

Don't overpay
There are still deals to be had. Go deep. With some exceptions (e.g., "Deal of the Day"), the best deals may not be on the front screens of sites, just as they often aren't in the front of retail stores. Close your eyes, scroll down or bee-line it for the clearance tab. The very best deals online change quickly and move fast, so be decisive. Remember, when it comes to online shopping, it's usually not yours until you actually check out. It's not enough to have it in your shopping cart.

Compromise
It's probably time to go to plan B for some of the items on your holiday to-do list. So come up with alternatives:

1. Holiday Cards - If you still think you're going to get photos developed, get them in cards from places that address envelopes and mail stunning Christmas cards this year; it might be time for a reality check.
   
   Go for New Year's cards, although it's a public admission you didn't have your act together. Here are a couple of other possibilities: online cards or e-cards. There is even a site, that'll do the good old fashioned cards for you. You can pick the card, message, type in your addresses, and even pick the stamp.
   
   On the entertaining side, consider evite.com, if you don't have formal paper invitations ready to go and/or want to host an impromptu holiday celebration, free and easy. For food and flowers, online sites usually use local distribution networks, so you may find the deadlines are more forgiving, whether you're buying for entertaining or as a gift.
   
   
2. Subscriptions - Magazine subscriptions are traditional favorites. You can order them online now, all the way up until the last minute. Modern twists on same thing: there are also subscriptions for music and gaming sites. A lot of time, people aren't exactly sure which gadget to get; this way, it's fool-proof. The recipient can pick and choose from among the games, songs, etc. Lewis’ favorite is netflix.com to rent DVDs online. It offers a free trial.
   
   
3. Online gift cards/gift certificates - Lifesavers in the homestretch. You can even buy "supercertficates" so the recipient can pick a participating retailer, restaurant or spa, there are hundreds of choices. See: giftcertificates.com.
   
   If time allows, these can be mailed and they look very much like a gift certificate you'd buy in a store. If not, they can be e-mailed in a matter of minutes all the way up until Christmas morning, in which case the recipients have to print them out. By the way, this is a great move if someone gives you a gift you weren't expecting and you think, "Oh boy, we didn't get them anything."
   
   
4. Charitable Donations: Here's a really thoughtful idea and one well-suited to do online, because 100 percent of the proceeds go to charity. Visit, networkforgood.org. From there, you can link to any number of charities, including regional charities, which is a nice way to personalize a gift. You can even create a "charitable gift basket" by issue: kids safety, drug prevention, the elderly or housing and it will let you know which charities will split the donated funds.
   
   Heifer.org is very unique. They send livestock in your name or your giftee's name to places that need it most. The initial notices are usually via e-mail (i.e.:"a gift has been given in your name"). Imagine getting the e-mail, informing you, you're the proud owner of a chicken and a couple of milk-producing goats in some far-way country halfway across the world. They also have clever ideas like a the "knitting basket” alternative to a sweater gift - it consists of four wool-producing animals that will give new hope to families in need.
   
   
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