Just A Few Clicks, But Much More Savings

Shopping on-line is becoming an increasingly fun game to play for me, but without knowing what is going on behind the scenes, one may not be getting the best deal.  Here's why. From my post yesterday, I discussed a few options one still has for saving money on flowers.  Deals abound: bonus frequent flyer miles, cash back, free shipping, etc.  How about waived service charges for flower delivery?

FTD.com

Here's an example of the difference between shopping at just FTD.com vs. linking to it via the 2 day free shipping site, Shoprunner, first.

FTD.com via Shoprunner

Notice the differences in offers?  If one were to simply shop at FTD and not use a shopping portal such as Shoprunner, one would miss out on free shipping, and possibly waived service charges, than if one had not.  (In future posts, I will explain more about how shopping portals can help boost your savings and earn you valuable points, cash, or frequent flyer miles.)

The other difference you will notice between these two examples is the URL (web address.)  Notice how much longer the address is with the link from Shoprunner?  That's because it is planting cookies and other messages back to FTD.com telling it to offer a user a better deal than simply visiting the shopping site instead.  As an exercise, try visiting shopping sites after you have cleared your "cookies" and browsing history.  You may be surprised at the differences in offers.

--The Edge