Shopping Tips

Do you want an easier, faster, less confusing shopping experience?

Would you like to be in control of your family’s budget?

Do you want to feel confident you’re making the best shopping decisions for your family?

It takes a lot of energy to run a family, spend within your budget and still be happy. It requires work. It requires building a set of good shopping habits. The best way to build good shopping habits is to become a more informed shopper. Fortunately by looking for shopping tips, you’ve already started the journey to become a better shopper.

The modern shopping world is full of treasures and hidden traps. Technology innovation has radically changed today’s shopping experience. Modshopr Shopping Tips can help you save money, save time and take advantage of this exciting new shopping world. Take a look below. Explore the tips and learn how you can be a better shopper.

Don’t forget to give us your thoughts on our feedback page. We’d love to know how Modshopr can help you become a better shopper!

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Find Something
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Shopping Goals

Family Shopping Goals: Shop to be happy

You don’t have to worry about your shopping goals every time you go shopping, but if you don’t consider them once in awhile, then you’ll likely get caught up in someone else’s ideas of what’s best for you and your family. It’s a good idea to occasionally consider what you are trying to accomplish when you shop, and what limits you need to stay within so that you don’t run into financial trouble in the long run. Remember, the pursuit of happiness is not likely to be satisfied if you’re just pursuing more, more, more.

Food

Meal Planning

Meal planning is a great way to save time feeding an active family. Avoid stress at meal time every day. Get started today. Plan ahead.

The Beginner’s Guide to Meal Planning: What to Know, How to Succeed, and What to Skip
Meal Planning at Yummly

Recipes

Find great recipes at one of the links below …

AllRecipes.com
BettyCrocker.com
Cooks.com
eG Forums
Epicurious.com
Food.com
FoodNetwork.com
Kraft Heinz Recipes


Fashion

Elle
InStyle
On The Runway
V Magazine
Vogue

Home

Color Choice
Lowe’s Creative Ideas
WikiHouse

Happiness … is shopping?

Sometimes shopping makes you feel happy, because you are treating yourself and providing for the ones you love. Other times shopping is used as a happiness substitute to fill an emptiness elsewhere in life. Do you know what motivates your shopping?

If you want to understand how to be happy, or happier at least, please take a look at the following links. Modshopr supports shopping for happiness in positive ways. It’s a good idea to understand why you’re shopping before you head out into the excitement of the shopping world.

The Happiness Hypothesis
Happier
The Science of Well-Being offered by Yale

Truth & Trust

Buyer Beware! How do you find out the truth? How do you avoid fraud and manipulation?

The Trouble with Experts – CBC Documentary
Astroturf and manipulation of media messages | Sharyl Attkisson

Personal Finance

Making Money Make Sense  (Gail Vaz Oxlade)
Where Does All My Money Go (Preet Banerjee)

Protect Your Privacy

Privacy is a currency when you are shopping. It’s important to be aware of who is using your information and how it’s being used. When you share information, make sure you have a fair trade with what you receive in return.

Black Box Society
VRM Project – Privacy
Consumer Watchdog
The Scoring of America

Stay Safe & Secure

When new technology is introduced, security is not always considered as the top priority. The links below help you stay informed on how you can stay safe and secure online.

Digital Citizens Alliance
Get Safe Online
Krebs On Security
Wired Safety

Consumer Advocacy and The Law

Shopping scams are everywhere! Make sure you have the access to the best information about consumer advocacy and the laws that protect you.

Advertising Standards & Media Complaints
The Consumerist
Chargeback
Craigslist Scams
Consumers Union

Technology and Marketing Law

Stay Informed

Newspapers, Magazines, TV, etc.

CNN Money
Family Circle
New York Times
Parents
Time


Shopping Research Resources

Consumer Reports
Consumer Magazines
Consumer Guides
Consumer Organizations


American Government Consumer Protection Services

Government sponsored Shopping and Consumer services can be found below.

Consumer Agencies (State and Local)
Consumer Product Safety Commission
USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service


Shopping Skills Development

Financial Literacy (Canada)
Media Smarts Canada’s Center for Digital and Media Literacy




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Find Something

Now that you have a good idea about why you’re shopping, now is the time to consider what you need. Of course, it’s also fun to go shopping just for the sake of shopping, but if you do that be careful the of the costs of that type of shopping trip. In today’s world of choice, exploring, browsing and searching for the special thing you need can either be an adventure or a chore.

Google Shopping Tools

Basic Google Search Help
Google: The Missing Manual
Google Hacks
Google Shopping

Shopping Websites (USA)

Why search the web when every time you want your favorite store when you can find all the top American Store Websites here?

Amazon
Best Buy
Bonobos
Costco
Craiglist
Ebay
H-E-B
Ikea
JC Penny
Lowe’s
Publix
Target
Trader Joe’s
Walmart
Wegman’s
Whole Foods Market
Zappos


Home Delivery

Tired of shopping at the store? Try these delivery services!

Farmigo
GoodEggs
Instacart
NatureBox


Shopping Websites (Canada)

Why search the web everytime you want your favourite Canadian Shopping Website?




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Compare & Decide

Shopping: Compare & Decide

After a lot of work, or entertainment, searching for right thing to buy, you’ve discovered many potential gems. But now what? How do you decide what is the right one for you? You might want to spend a bit of time comparing your options now, before you buy, to avoid buyer’s regret after you’ve bought something.


Food

Product Shelf Life
Google for “Shelf life of groceries”
Price Lookup (PLU) Codes

Loyalty Programs

Loyalty Programs, or Points Programs, or Reward Programs are a great way to get rewarded for just doing your normal shopping. Be careful though. If the loyalty program does not match your shopping style, then you may be wasting your time and money.

The Points Guy
Points with a Crew


Online Recommendations & Reputation

Trust is very important in any replationship. Trust is especially important when you decide to spent your hard earned money. I’m a strong believer that that Internet is a powerful tool for consumers, because it makes the marketplace more open and transparent. Unfortunately, the Internet also gives a voice to con artists, scams and companies that make their money manipulating real conversations about products and companies. This site cannot replace the need for a shopper to make good decisions about whom they trust, but I’ll try to list a few that I trust. Please let me know if you use other sites that should be listed.

Angie’s List
Better Business Bureau
Consumer Reports
Good Guide
LemonAid Cars
Yelp

Price Comparison

Gas Buddy
Shopbot (Canada)




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Buy

This is it! You’re at the end of your shopping experience! Now’s the time to make a commitment to buy those things that will hopefully make you and your family happy. Good luck!


Scanner Accuracy (Canada)

Have you ever had a scanner price charge you higher than the price marked on a store shelf. If yes, then your first item (up to $10) may be free! See details of the policy with the following two links.

Scanner Price Accuracy Voluntary Code (Government of Canada)
Scanner Accuracy (Retail Council of Canada)


General Tools

Universal Product Code Lookup

Delivery Options

Delivery service innovation is very active right now. New technology and new business models are driving the innovation to the benefit of shoppers.

Amazon Prime
Google Shopping Express

Customer Service

Shoppers are very demanding, and occasionally have unrealistic expectations. However, getting high quality customer service can be the difference that makes the shopping experience enjoyable and wanting to return in the future. Here are a couple links which talk  about customer service in the airline industry.

KLM Airlines
United Breaks Guitars

Mystery Shopping

Yes, it’s true. There is such a thing as a mystery shopper. Mystery shoppers are used by retail companies to test the shopping experience that they deliver to their customers. Unfortunately, it’s not as glamours as it first sounds, and the pay is not great. On the other hand, if you’re opinionated and have an eye for detail, you might want to look into becoming a Mystery Shopper yourself.

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