Fashion & Style

Children, particularly young children, go through clothing very quickly. Knees wear out in pants, a shirt that fit perfectly last week suddenly shows your child’s belly, or a favorite sweater has a permanent stain. It may seem like you are always out shopping for clothes for you kids, but there is alternative to loading everyone up in the minivan and heading to the mall. It’s online shopping. By following some tips, you can save yourself time, frustration and possibly even some money by doing your shopping on your computer.

There are two basic places to shop for children’s clothing online. You can shop through a store’s website or you can shop through an online auction site.

Shopping at a store’s website has many advantages. A website will often have a larger selection of styles and sizes than the store itself. The turtleneck that you need in a size 8 in red will likely be in stock at the online store, but go to the store at the mall and you run the chance of them having the red turtleneck in every size but 8. You can also shop any time day or night which is a big advantage for those with busy family schedule. There is also the environmental advantage. More online shopping means less car fuel consumption and less air pollution. It may seem that the few trips you save may not make a big difference but if you multiply that by the hundreds of thousands of people who are shopping online and not making extra car trips, it can really be beneficial to the environment.

Here are some tips for buying at online stores:

1. Measure your child or an item of clothing that fits your child perfectly. Then check the website’s size chart before ordering. This will help save on returns.

2. Read the website’s return policy carefully. At many sites you are responsible for the shipping on returns. If it is a site that also has brick and mortar stores, check to see if you can return the items to the store instead of mailing it back. Some online stores include pre-paid shipping labels. This saves you a trip to the post office, but the price of the shipping may be taken out of your refund.

3. If you need to return an item because of the online store’s error they sent the wrong size, color, etc. phone their customer service first. Many online stores will send you a special shipping label that won’t cost you anything. You may need to wait a few days for it to arrive, but it will save you money.

4. Phone their customer service with questions about the item before you place your order if you have questions the website does not answer. They may be able to answer questions about washing instructions, exact measurements, etc.

5. If you see basic items at a really great price like jeans, t-shirts, turtlenecks, etc. it may be worth it to order what you need now and also a size up and put it aside. Many web sites will put their clothing on clearance at the end of the season and you can get some great deals.

6. Register online at your favorite children’s clothing sites to receive special offers through e-mail or regular mail. They will often send you percent off coupons or free shipping offers.

7. If you don’t have any coupons, here is a great tip. Do an online search with the website’s name followed by the words coupon code. Often you can find discounts for free shipping or percent off on websites that collect this information. If the first website you come up with doesn’t have a coupon for your particular store, check a few more. They don’t all have the same information. Also, their information isn’t always up to date. But, spending a little time researching this can end up saving you quite a bit of money if you shop online frequently so it is well worth the effort. You can do this with all your online shopping, not just children’s clothing.

8. Make your online shopping for your children even more beneficial to them. Check into the website UPromise.com to see how you can earn money for your children’s education by shopping for their clothing and other items online. By shopping through UPromise’s site, you can earn a percentage of your purchase at select retailers that can be invested for college and other types of education.

9. Make sure the site you are shopping from is secure before you give them any credit card information.

Another online shopping option is checking out auctions. You can get one item or whole lots of children’s clothing very reasonably this way. Here are a few tips if you choose to buy your children’s clothing from an online auction:

1. Always read the descriptions very carefully and e-mail the seller with any questions before you bid.

2. Since you can’t always tell if an item will fit your child just by the size ask the seller for the measurements of the clothing, then compare it to the measurements of an item of clothing that fits your child very well.

3. Find out the seller’s return policy. They are often not as liberal as an online store’s policy. Although some online auctions sellers accept returns, many do not unless the item is damaged or not as described. If the item doesn’t fit your child or you simply do not like it, you are not likely to be able to return it.

4. Consider getting shipping insurance incase something happens to the package during delivery.

5. When the clothing arrives give it a good inspection and perhaps a good washing.

By following these guidelines you ca successfully shop for your children’s clothing online, saving you and your family time. It is well worth it.

By: Robin Shreeves