You promised yourself you wouldn’t, but yet again, you left your Christmas shopping to the last minute. Or maybe you just want online stores that aren’t complicated and are actually easy to use. Maybe you just really want a site that offers you free or quick shipping so you can get your Christmas shopping done fast this year. Whatever the reason is, we can help simplify your holiday shopping with this list of the most convenient online stores. We’ve sorted them into these categories to help you find the perfect one for you.
Shopping sites covered in this article
We don’t want you to have to read through a long list, so we’ve chosen the best two sites in each category! Read on and learn more about convenient online shopping, and get your Christmas shopping done ASAP!
Easy-to-use sites for everyday gifts and shopping
These sites have everyday items, customs deals and sales each day, and have a variety of items to choose from, so you can find something for everyone on your list!
1. eBay
eBay.com is a well-known online ecommerce website, and there’s a clear reason why it has become one of the world’s most successful online shopping sites: the bidding. On eBay, you can place a bid on items up for auction, and if you have the winning bid, you can get your items for (often) much less than retail. You can also use the “Buy It Now” feature to pay a flat rate for items, or make an offer to the seller by sending them a message through the website.
Why eBay is convenient: You can watch your bid, knowing the auction will end at a certain time, or you can use “Buy It Now” to make instant purchases.
If you want to learn more how eBay works, check out our course on how to buy on eBay, and you’ll learn even more about making your eBay shopping trip a quick and easy one! We can also teach you 15 eBay bidding tips to help you win auctions.
2. Bonanza
Bonanza.com is a site similar to eBay that also facilitates bidding from its users to help them get lower prices. They are also well known for treating their sellers better, by doing things such as allowing them to list their items for free, and charging less fees on their sales. It also has user-to-user instant messaging which helps sales and negotiations to occur faster in many cases. Bonanza aims to stand out from the bigger ecommerce sites like eBay by offering “everything but the ordinary” – so you can find more unique items or things that are harder to find on other online shopping websites.
Why Bonanza is convenient: Their user-to-user instant messaging helps you contact sellers immediately, and because it’s easy to use, they often get back to you with answers very quickly.
Gift websites with free shipping
Free shipping is important because the prices seem to really go up – especially around the holidays. These sites offer free shipping (in many cases), which can save you a lot of money on your overall bill.
3. Amazon
With Amazon.com, you know you are shopping on the world’s most popular online store. As they say, Amazon has “everything from A to Z!” – so you know you can find a great gift for absolutely anyone in your life. Amazon attracts sellers of all kinds, including big name brands selling off stock from their stores from last season, so you can get great deals on items from the brands you know and love. They also offer free shipping on most items when you spend a total of $35.
Why Amazon is convenient: Their free shipping, that they allow easy tracking of your orders, and that they have thousands of sellers, so if you can’t get what you want for the price you want, you can find a similar alternative.
We even have a course on buying on Amazon! Use it to learn more about buying on the world’s most popular online shopping website.
4. Zappos
Zappos.com is actually a subsidiary of Amazon, so you know you’re getting the same great service and variety with this website. They, however, specialize in clothing, shoes, and accessories, so are a great option for you if you need to do a lot of fashion shopping this season. Zappos gives you points as you shop, so if you continue to use it for your shopping, you can save money off of future orders. It also offers free shipping and free returns, in many instances.
Why Zappos is convenient: Free shipping and free returns means you don’t need to worry about your purchases; if they aren’t completely to your satisfaction, you can send them back at no risk to yourself.
Sites that can personalize your gifts
These websites offer services that let you customize your gifts before you pay for them – anything from engraving to monogramming to basically whatever you can think of.
5. Etsy
Etsy.com is a great place to find special, personal gifts, as everything sold on Etsy is handmade by artisans who are selling you their work. Because of the handmade nature, each item is unique and made with care. You never have to worry about the poor quality of mass-produced items, and the person you are giving the gift to is likely not only not going to have the same thing, but will probably never have even seen it before!
Why Etsy is convenient: It’s easy to browse around the site until you find exactly what you want, and because the sellers hand-make the items, you can easily contact them and make special request.
Learn more about buying gifts with our Etsy course, and you’ll be able to make the perfect purchases in no time at all!
6. Zazzle
Zazzle.com is a great website that allows for almost total customization of the items you are going to buy. When making your purchase, you can change specific elements of the item you’re looking at, including its colour, moving graphics, and adding texts or engraving. Because of this, most of the things available on Zazzle make for great gifts; the only trouble is you’ll want to buy something for yourself as well!
Why Zazzle is convenient: You can change elements of the gifts you’re buying down to the last detail, including adding the name of the person you are getting the gift for!
Sites that can expedite your shipments
If you left your Christmas shopping to the last minute, these websites can help get items to you within a maximum of 3 days, and sometimes, can even get them there within 24 hours!
7. Newegg
Newegg.com is your one-stop shop for the tech geek in your life! It has everything you need, from laptops and computers (and their components) to digital storage solutions to video games, and so much more! The best part is, they always offer 2-day shipping on all of their items, which means you can buy your gift at the last minute, and not sweat about it arriving in time for Christmas. Newegg also advertises sales right on their homepage, and often offers name-brand items for far less than what you would have to pay in a retail store!
Why Newegg is convenient: 2-day shipping means your shopping can be done last-minute with no worry!
8. Jet
Jet.com is another great option for online shopping, and they offer 2-day shipping on most of their items as well – you just need to make your order by 2 p.m. to get it within 2 days! Shipping is also free on almost all orders over $35, and you get free returns! Jet offers extremely low prices on everyday items you buy, the difference is, you must sign up for a membership to get access to these deals. However, the membership is only $50/year, and the savings you can get (if you shop often enough) will be far more than that amount over the course of a year – especially if you use Jet to do your Christmas shopping!
Why Jet is convenient: Free 2-day shipping means you can get your gifts quickly and conveniently!
UPDATE: As of June 4, 2020, Jet is no longer operational.
Now you’re on track to finish your Christmas shopping – hassle free. If you are looking for something a little more personal for the loved ones on your list, check out our article on where to find unique holiday gifts online. We’ve also got a huge resource of articles about online shopping, which highlight many of the Internet’s best sites for getting great deals and making your life easier!
