Online shopping has taken over the brick and mortar installations, almost. Online shopping offers ease in terms of affordability, selection of wide variety, less hassle, and convenience. These are things we are all aware of but do you know there are some secrets to making purchases at Alibaba and many other online stores.

What are they? Read on to find out.

1. Ask for discount and coupon codes straight from the source (even via DMs)

I know those pop-up dialog boxes are annoying but if you pay close attention, you can capitalize on an opportunity waiting to be realized. How? Ask the operator on if he can share any promo codes with you. In this way, you can have great opportunity to score a discount, amazing isn’t it?

Upon asking the operator he will fill you in on any deals which are otherwise public. You don’t just have to wait for the chat box to pop-up, instead, you can email, call or tweet them to talk about any out of stock items. Seriously, give it a go!

2. Don’t give up on your expired coupons

In the case, you happen to have coupons that may have expired, call customer service and inquire if they can still be used. Alibaba usually honors the coupon or will offer you a replacement deal but would not allow you to return empty handed.

3. Don’t let your student discount go to waste

For school and college students, discounts usually oscillate between 10 to 15 percent. What if this percentage could be leveraged? What if the items can be availed at a discounted price? So yeah, folks hold on to your student ID cards even after graduation, and although a shady exercise, if you get in you can save up to 10-15 % on shopping from Alibaba.

4. Get cash back on your online purchases using Ebates

Ebates is a free service that enables you to earn money for the items you have purchased at an online retailer. It houses thousands of partner stores, including Alibaba that pay back money based on varying percentages when a purchase(s) is made.

5. Join free rewards programs to get a discount on every purchase you make online

What you can do and no one will tell you about is that you can sign up for free “rewards” and/or “insider” programs to avail some percentage off on orders at Alibaba and many such stores online. These are usually based on a point system where you earn coupons as a result of purchases.

6. Just walk away…from your shopping cart to get coupons and discount codes

So this is an insider tip. People don’t normally walk away from online shopping just because they need coupons and discount codes but now you will too. It often happens when you have spent hours on your favorite retailer’s website, in this case, Alibaba and your cart is still empty because you cannot decide what to buy. Next time, just leave – you know why.

When you do this, Alibaba and others will send you coupon codes to entice you to make a purchase and that you come back to their online store.

7. No free shipping? Try in-store pickup to save a few coins

Again, if no free shipping is available you can save still some money. Alibaba does. But if you are ordering from someplace else, you can have the product delivered to their nearby store which is closer to your residence. This way you can go grab the item and in the process save a few coins. Usually, this technique can come in handy when you wish to have your item delivered on urgent basis.

8. Sign up for brand and store newsletters to get access to special discounts, one-time coupons, and free shipping

Major online retailers including Alibaba have some offers up their sleeves such as offering anywhere between 5 to 10 percent discount on signing up for their newsletter by providing your email address. The discount codes will be delivered to your inbox and you can use them to avail the concession in store.

People usually shy away from giving out their email addresses or subscribing because retailers then cloud their inbox with spam or junk email. The workaround to this is by creating and assigning an email ID specifically dedicated to these retailers by means of which you will have all the offers right where you want them to be and sort through the deals you find interesting.

9. Start your online shopping spree on Tuesday for the best deals

There is no study backing such a claim but this is what has been observed and Alibaba is no different. So if it is a Tuesday, you are in luck because it is jackpot day for scoring away with the airline and/or movie tickets. Moreover, it has been observed in an online shopping world that Mondays are good for electronic items.

Similarly, Wednesdays for grocery items, jewelry and shoes shopping. Thursdays for clothes and handbags, Friday for buying fuel whilst Saturdays are often found to be the day for real estate sales. Sunday for personal care items and appliances, therefore, pick your day wisely or you will miss out on best deals.

10. Use services like “Lyst” that send notifications the second your favorites go on sale

With “Lyst” you can have your favorite items saved and in addition, send you notifications whenever they are available at ‘sale’ or are back in stock. You can do the same for your favorite brands and retailers such as Alibaba. You will be notified when they come up with new deals or their products are available in stores.

11. Use shopping extensions like “Honey” to automatically add coupons to your orders

With “Honey” you can avail the best in the coupon codes domain. When you checkout they are added to your order. One way to save few dollars on your purchase. The “Honey” extension is available for download across all major browsers.

In conclusion

There are other secrets as well but on top of the few above, a word of advice is to follow Alibaba and other online retailers on their social media accounts for more discounted offers and always browse privately/in incognito mode because if you have previously searched for that item online, the website may up the price for it. Thus be mindful, and happy shopping guys!