Order Multiple Versions of Something and Return What You Don’t Need
I know there isn’t an infinite number of versions of every potential product, but sometimes it seems like it is – so when you buy a new sweater, a new electric kettle, or a new lamp, how do you know you are choosing the best one?
Yes, you can spend your time looking at customer reviews, cross-checking product review sites like The Inventory , and searching Instagram for images of the product in action. I lost hours of this sort of thing trying to figure out which device really was the most durable, which pair of athletic shoes would provide the most cushioning, and which Amazon reviews could really be trusted.
And then I realized that I could just order two or three versions of the same basic subject, study them myself and return the ones I didn’t need.
You will of course want to check your return / refund policy before applying this strategy. You will also want to make sure that your finances can cover the value of all the purchases you plan to make, and that you have enough time in your schedule to ship back the groceries you don’t plan to store. The last thing you want to do is get stuck with three light therapy lamps in your home (and on your credit card) when you only need one.
But the moment I realized I didn’t have to spend a second of my evening reading shoe reviews – that I could just buy all three pairs I reviewed, try them on at home, and send two of them back – changed the rules of the game.
It’s worth noting that once your shoes, appliances, or glitter lamps are actually delivered, you may want to keep a few of them for yourself. This is actually a proven sales method; The idea is that as soon as you have a product at home, even if you only need it for testing, it becomes yours – and you begin to convince yourself that you would rather have the product than money.
So don’t buy anything that you cannot afford, even if you tell yourself you will ship it later. (You should also be aware that Amazon has reportedly blocked the accounts of people who have made too many refunds , so … be careful, okay?)
But if you can afford to buy several different items at once and have enough time to send back anything that doesn’t suit you, this is a really great way to make your shopping easier.