Amazon. Before you purchase an article of costly new clothing or gadget to your Amazon basket, look for a link below the main listing that says something like, “Used and new from $16.” If there is, it indicates that other merchants are providing the same goods at a lower price. In addition, used versions of small items, such as books and games, may almost always be found for less than the retail price.
Freecycle. Believe it or not, you can frequently discover valuable holiday gifts for free on Freecycle. If this appears trashy, keep in mind that a present isn’t valued because you spend money on it; what matters is how much the receiver appreciates it.
Always inspect your items for quality while purchasing secondhand.
Look for missing components in puzzles and games.
Ensure that secondhand books are free of notes and scribbles and have all of their pages.
Always check internet listings of used goods for quality, such as “like new,” “good,” or “acceptable” (for a present, you should generally settle for “like new” or “very good”).
If you have any doubts about what you’re about to buy, always ask the seller for further information.
Create Your Own
Another option for finding low-cost gifts is to make your own. DIY gifts, like used gifts, are sometimes acceptable and sometimes not. But, again, the idea is to select facilities that appear thoughtful rather than inexpensive.
Types of Homemade Gifts
If you have a particular skill (such as knitting, woodworking, or photography), you can use that to make high-quality gifts. But even if you don’t, you can find lots of ideas online for gifts that anyone can make.
- Toys. There are all kinds of children’s toys you can make with simple tools. For example, it’s relatively easy to cut a wooden two-by-four into blocks of different shapes, sand them, and paint them in bright colors. If you have a jigsaw, you can use it to do your wooden puzzles. Paste a colorful picture to a board — or paint one if you have the skill — and then carve it up into pieces. These gifts are cheap and require only a few hours of your time.
- Jewelry. You can make one-of-a-kind jewelry by selecting and stringing beads of different shapes and colors. Purchasing beads at craft stores can be pricey, but you can buy a whole pound of assorted beads for $20 or less if you order online. You can even make your beads from colored paper, as shown on Instructables.
- Food. Edible gifts are perfect for the person who has everything. Even if they don’t need clothing, books, or household products, everyone needs to eat. Cookies and candy are classic holiday food gifts that cost only a few dollars to make. Healthier choices include homemade salsa or apple butter if you can make these recipes with your homegrown produce, which gives your gift an extra personal touch.
- Bath and Beauty Products. For someone who loves to be pampered, luxurious body butter or scented facial scrub makes a welcome gift. Products like these can sell for $20 or more at high-end retailers — but with a quick search, you can find recipes online for versions that cost little to make. Besides being cheaper, these homemade versions are often healthier because they contain no harmful chemicals.
- Services. Many articles on homemade gifts suggest giving gift coupons for a service, such as a free night of babysitting or a home-cooked meal. However, there’s one problem with this kind of gift. All too often, the recipient never uses the coupons. In some cases, they just forget about them. In others, the recipient tries to ask for free babysitting on a night when the giver already has plans. To avoid this problem, try giving this kind of gift along with a copy of your calendar for the next few months. That way, you and the recipient can set up an appointment to make sure they redeem the coupon.
- Shop Sales
A final way to save money on holiday gifts is to buy them on sale. However, sale shopping has its pitfalls. For one thing, not all holiday “deals” are real bargains. Worse still, all those glittering displays and tempting price tags can easily lure you into impulse buys that derail your budget.
Store Shopping vs. Online Shopping
To shop sales wisely, pick which deals to visit first. Thanksgiving weekend, according to DealNews, is the best time to discover bargains. In 2019, the number of available discounts was roughly evenly divided between Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Thanksgiving Day.
However, several stores have decided to close on Thanksgiving in 2020. On Turkey Day, there will still be plenty of offers, but they will only be accessible online. According to a separate DealNews article, most sale products will be available online even when stores reopen on Black Friday. True, there are generally some “doorbuster” discounts that are only available in-store — but they sometimes sell out so rapidly that they may be gone by the time you walk in the door, resulting in a wasted trip.
Online shopping can be a lot more peaceful than going into a mall mosh pit. You won’t have to deal with parking lot traffic or crowds inside. Instead, you may finish your turkey dinner, wash the dishes, and then fire up your laptop to grab the exact offers that other consumers are vying for in physical stores. And you don’t have to worry about when the business shuts because the Internet is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
However, there are certain disadvantages to shopping online. For example, DealNews warns that some internet discounts are only available at certain times of the day, and you must keep a close eye on the clock to grab them. Furthermore, high holiday traffic can overload a website and cause it to crash. And, just like in stores, online sale items occasionally sell out before you click the buy button.