Skip to main content
Tech Radar TechRadar the technology experts
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
RSS
Asia
flag of Singapore
Singapore
Europe
flag of Danmark
Danmark
flag of Suomi
Suomi
flag of Norge
Norge
flag of Sverige
Sverige
flag of UK
UK
flag of Italia
Italia
flag of Nederland
Nederland
flag of België (Nederlands)
België (Nederlands)
flag of France
France
flag of Deutschland
Deutschland
flag of España
España
North America
flag of US (English)
US (English)
flag of Canada
Canada
flag of México
México
Australasia
flag of Australia
Australia
flag of New Zealand
New Zealand
  • Phones
  • Computing
  • TVs
  • AI
  • Streaming
  • Health
  • Audio
  • VPN
  • More
    • Cameras
    • Home
    • News
    • Reviews
    • Opinion
    • How to
    • Versus
    • Deals
    • Coupons
    • Best
Tech Radar Pro
Tech Radar Gaming
Trending
  • Back to school
  • Nintendo Switch 2
  • Best VPN
  • ChatGPT
  • NYT Wordle today
  • Best laptop
  • Best web hosting
Recommended reading
a render image of Amazon Haul on an iPhone
Seasonal Sales I just discovered Amazon’s secret shopping gold mine – and it’s full of cut-price products for vacations, home improvement and school
A person using a laptop in the dark surrounded by numbers
VPN Privacy & Security The Prime Day deal that will put you ahead of the crowd for the next Black Friday
Newegg deals
Pro Grab up to 15% off these 9 gadgets, including mini PCs from $97, with this exclusive Newegg gift card deal - but hurry up, this offer won't last long
Warning signs over TechRadar's usual deal logo
Seasonal Sales You can't trust every Prime Day laptop deal you see on Amazon, but you can trust me – and these 10 offers are genuinely good
Various office essentials on a blue background next to a TechRadar badge reading 'Don't Miss'
Computing I'm buying these 15 office essentials cheap in the Prime Day sales - and it's all the boring stuff for my desk I never remember until it's too late
Amazon Prime Day deals
Seasonal Sales The 15 best Prime Day deals under $50 that are actually worth buying - trust me, I'm a shopping expert
Streaming apps on a smartphone screen with TechRadar radar overlay
Streaming Best streaming deals: current savings for Disney+, Hulu, Sling TV and more
  1. Seasonal Sales

How to save money buying Christmas presents online

How-to
By Matt Hanson, Jamie Carter published 13 December 2016

Winter gifting season demands online know-how

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

How to save money buying Christmas presents online

How to save money buying Christmas presents online

Be honest, we might all pretend that Black Friday is about early Christmas shopping, but only the super-organised have got round to thinking about the winter gifting season by late November. 

But if Black Friday is really about bagging a bargain big screen TV or similar for ourselves, December is when most of us start to think about possibly preparing for the big day. 

So what do we do? We go back online, of course, but there are several ways to save that everyone should know about. Here’s our guide on how to save money buying Christmas presents online. 

  • The best deals for Christmas: let us help you find the greatest Christmas present offers
Page 1 of 11
Page 1 of 11
1. Let TechRadar help you bag some serious bargains

1. Let TechRadar help you bag some serious bargains

The first step to saving money this Christmas is to let us here at TechRadar do all the hard work.

Our Christmas elves (well... writers) have been diligently scanning the internet looking for the best Christmas bargains this holiday season. Your first port of call should be our best deals for Christmas page, which collects all of our Christmas buying guides and deals pages.

So, if you're looking to buy a loved one (or yourself) a PS4, we have you covered with the very best PS4 deals, as well as the best cheap laptop deals, best iPad deals, and much more.

We also have our Holiday Gift Guide 2016: TechRadar’s top tech toys to give this season which lists the hottest gifts and the cheapest places to buy them.

If you know a serious gamer, then check out our Christmas gifts for gamers 2016 guide for inspiration.

Page 2 of 11
Page 2 of 11
2. Use our Pricehawk Chrome extention

2. Use our Pricehawk Chrome extention

The clever boffins behind the scenes here at TechRadar have created the Pricehawk extension for Chrome, which automatically shows you the cheapest prices for the products you’re looking for. 

Having Pricehawk installed in Chrome means even during the commotion of Christmas shopping, you’ll be advised if the deal you’re looking at can be found elsewhere for cheaper, making shopping for Christmas presents a far more pleasurable experience.

  • Download the Pricehawk extension for Chrome
Page 3 of 11
Page 3 of 11
3. Price comparison

3. Price comparison

Knowing the market is absolutely critical if you’re to spot a bargain, but where should you start? In every review and article on our website we compare prices from a range of popular retailers, so you don't even need to leave the page to see a list of the best deals, along with our expert advice on whether or not a product is worth buying.

Clicking on the deal will take you straight to the shop where you can make your purchase. Christmas shopping has never been so easy!

Page 4 of 11
Page 4 of 11
4. Click & collect

4. Click & collect

Delivery costs are the worst. Unless you’re spending big, delivery is rarely free, but the exact cost is rarely revealed until you’ve gone through most of the checkout procedures. 

A good way of dodging these is to go for the ‘click and collect’ option; you pay for the item online, and pick it up yourself at a store near you. This is also a great way of spending much less time in shops, which is surely the whole point of the internet in the first place. In the US, FreeShipping is a great resource for this.

Another way of cutting down on delivery costs is to find ‘collect in person’ items on eBay. The UK’s MoneySavingExpert has a Local eBay Deals app, while in the US, Local Bargain Finder and Bay Crazy are also worth a look.

Page 5 of 11
Page 5 of 11
5. Discount codes

5. Discount codes

Before you buy anything from a retailer’s website, make sure you visit TechRadar's review section, where we rigorously test the latest gadgets and give you our honest opinions on whether a product is worth buying. Our expert knowledge helps us determine what gifts are worth giving this Christmas, and if a product isn't up to scratch we'll recommend a similar, but better, product instead.

Once you've got our opinion, visit Google and type in the retailer’s name and ‘discount codes’. You’ll get mixed results, and very often embark on a wild goose chase, but it's worth a few minutes of your time. Hunting down a code in the UK means visiting sites like VoucherCodes, MyVoucherCodes and HotUKDeals, or Voucher Cloud, RetailMeNot and Offers in the US. 

Just copy and paste the code into the box on the payment screen, but know that it’s rare that you can use two on the same order – and entering an invalid code can replace the valid code you just entered, so check to see how your final total changes as you enter codes.

Page 6 of 11
Page 6 of 11
6. Cash-back deals

6. Cash-back deals

Want cash for your clicks? If you now do most of your shopping online, a good way to save money continuously is by registering with a cashback sites (most of which now have apps) like QuidCo and TopCashback in the UK and Coupon Cactus and TopCashback in the US. 

They act as hubs where following links to retailers (typically the big websites you might use already) gets you a cash reward. In return for clicking their links (where, naturally, the websites receive a kickback from the retailer), you accrue in-store cashback. It can be as much as 6-7%. However, before you sign-up check that your favourite online stores are available. 

Page 7 of 11
Page 7 of 11
7. Amazon & AliExpress

7. Amazon & AliExpress

It’s only fair that we include e-commerce giant Amazon in any discussion of how to save money at Christmas, but don’t ever take its prices at face value. 

While its vast marketplace is a good place to find specific products, it’s neither exhaustive nor definitive, price-wise. However, it is possible to make big savings on postage if you buy lots of items (though that applies to most commerce websites). 

A rival to Amazon is AliExpress , which is also a clearance site for multiple retailers. This ‘Amazon of China’ is especially relevant if you’re shopping for electronics, and there are good savings and are postage available, though the ’20-40’ days delivery rules it out for Christmas.

Page 8 of 11
Page 8 of 11
8. Use eBay

8. Use eBay

Why not buy something second-hand from eBay? There are often some awesomely low price for second-hand goods online, especially given people’s propensity to buy, then quickly ditch latest gadgets. Bidding on a private auction is always the best way to get a low price, though expect serious competition on mainstream electrical items and phones. 

However, despite its reputation as a place for cut-price hand-me-downs and second-hand goods, there are loads of businesses and high street stores on eBay, too. 

Page 9 of 11
Page 9 of 11
9. Cashback credit cards

9. Cashback credit cards

A good alternative to cashback websites is cashback credit cards, which work in a similar way, but at more retailers. You can get cashback from select retailers each time you spend, but as well as online stores they often also include supermarkets, so even spending on Christmas lunch gives you a kickback.  

There is one major drawback; interest. Using a credit card is a dangerous way to fund Christmas shopping, and are best used only if you intend to pay-off the entire balance the next month. 

However, if you’re set on putting Christmas on a credit card, there are more than cash back deals on off. Some credit cards replace cashback with points that can be converted into air miles. Perfect for that post-Christmas dash for the tropics… though you might have to wait a good few years.  

Page 10 of 11
Page 10 of 11
10. Delaying gift-giving

10. Delaying gift-giving

Good deals come to those that wait. If you always buy goods at the same time as everyone else, you’re always going to pay higher prices. So wait. 

Boxing Day sales – which often start online on Christmas Day itself – are a great time to make a purchase. If you’re not going to exchange gifts with someone until late December, it makes obvious sense. If you have a few weeks to play with, early January is when prices are often at their lowest. 

  • How to make your Christmas shopping painless
Page 11 of 11
Page 11 of 11
Jamie Carter
Jamie Carter
Social Links Navigation

Jamie is a freelance tech, travel and space journalist based in the UK. He’s been writing regularly for Techradar since it was launched in 2008 and also writes regularly for Forbes, The Telegraph, the South China Morning Post, Sky & Telescope and the Sky At Night magazine as well as other Future titles T3, Digital Camera World, All About Space and Space.com. He also edits two of his own websites, TravGear.com and WhenIsTheNextEclipse.com that reflect his obsession with travel gear and solar eclipse travel. He is the author of A Stargazing Program For Beginners (Springer, 2015),

Read more
a render image of Amazon Haul on an iPhone
I just discovered Amazon’s secret shopping gold mine – and it’s full of cut-price products for vacations, home improvement and school
A person using a laptop in the dark surrounded by numbers
The Prime Day deal that will put you ahead of the crowd for the next Black Friday
Newegg deals
Grab up to 15% off these 9 gadgets, including mini PCs from $97, with this exclusive Newegg gift card deal - but hurry up, this offer won't last long
Warning signs over TechRadar's usual deal logo
You can't trust every Prime Day laptop deal you see on Amazon, but you can trust me – and these 10 offers are genuinely good
Various office essentials on a blue background next to a TechRadar badge reading 'Don't Miss'
I'm buying these 15 office essentials cheap in the Prime Day sales - and it's all the boring stuff for my desk I never remember until it's too late
Amazon Prime Day deals
The 15 best Prime Day deals under $50 that are actually worth buying - trust me, I'm a shopping expert
Latest in Seasonal Sales
Amazon tech deals 2025
There's a massive summer tech sale at Amazon - 19 deals I'd buy on TVs, AirPods, and smart home gadgets
Amazon Fire TV
Need a cheap TV for college? Amazon has a massive sale with prices from $74.99
Walmart back-to-school deals sale
Walmart's mega back-to-school tech sale has everything you need - laptops, iPads, and headphones from $19
Apple iMac, MacBook Air, iPad Air, and AirPods Pro 2 arranged on blue background with big savings text overlay
Apple launches big back-to-school sale: get up to $100/£100 off a MacBook, iPad, or iMac - plus free accessories
Mickey Mouse Music Box Record Player by Fisher Price
Disney Store’s bringing back classic toys with a modern twist in its new retro toys collection
Amazon deals
Amazon has a post-Prime Day sale - here are 35 left-over deals that are still worth buying
Latest in How Tos
Gabriel Book (Mark Gatiss) riding an old-fashioned London bus in Bookish season 1
How to watch Bookish season 1 online from anywhere
The South Park characters in a line
How to watch South Park season 27 online and from anywhere
PORTRUSH, NORTHERN IRELAND - JULY 16: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland looks on during a practice round prior to The 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush Golf Club on July 16, 2025 in Portrush, Northern Ireland. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)
British Open 2025 live stream: how to watch the golf online, schedule, Round 1 tee times
Kevin Vauquelin of France and Team Arkea - B&B Hotels attacks climbing the Cote d'Outreau
Watch Tour de France LIVE: Pogacar records dominant Stage 12 win, TV channels, free streams
People wave flags at the Royal Albert Hall in west London on September 7, 2013 during the last night of the Proms. US conductor Marin Alsop became the first woman to conduct the Last Night of the Proms in its 118-year history. AFP PHOTO/CARL COURT (Photo credit should read CARL COURT/AFP via Getty Images)
How to watch First Night of the Proms 2025: live stream for free online from anywhere
MLB All-Star Game Logo
How to watch MLB All-Star Game 2025 — watch baseball online from anywhere
LATEST ARTICLES
  1. 1
    I can forgive losing the S Pen, but the Samsung Z Fold 7 has been ruined by a more serious design faux pas
  2. 2
    OpenAI claims the new ChatGPT agent can run your errands, build your slides, and make you look like you have your life together
  3. 3
    Chinese hackers hit Taiwan semiconductor manufacturing in spear phishing campaign
  4. 4
    Pico's next XR headset could be lighter and smaller than ever, but I hope it just skips to AR glasses instead
  5. 5
    Pre-order the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 for as little as $149.99 when you trade in your old smartwatch

TechRadar is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Contact Us
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Web notifications
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...