Online Shopping with A VPN
Brick and mortar stores have always been the trend when it comes to purchases, but all of that has changed with the great advancement in online shopping. Online shopping has a lot of advantages but just like everything that happens online, it also has some risks attached to it.
Table of Content
1 . How an Online Shopping VPN Can Help?
2. How Websites Dictate Prices?
3. Find Better Deals Online with A VPN?
4. How to Know If Your VPN Is Working?
5. How A VPN Can Help You Keep Your Data Safe?
A VPN is a sure way to keep you protected as you make your purchases and in this article, we would discuss the best online shopping VPN with you. this VPN would give you great deals and discounts without compromising your security.
How an Online Shopping VPN Can Help?
A VPN can be thought of as a tunnel that stands between your device and the internet. Websites identify you and can tell your location by your IP address, but with a VPN, your real location and identity can be concealed. This is because, with a VPN, you would be connecting to a secure server in another country. For example, if you are a shopper in the US but you connect to a UK server, the websites you visit would see you as a UK shopper and you would be able to access UK specific sites and stores such as google.co.uk, amazon.co.uk, etc.
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Not only does a VPN give you access to other stores, but it also encrypts your network automatically. This means you will remain protected even if you are browsing from a public Wi-Fi hotspot and can send sensitive files without fear of being spied on, logged, or recorded.
How Websites Dictate Prices?
You may not have noticed this but websites and online services treat different customers based on their profile of the customers. Everything that is learned about you is what would determine how you are treated and by extension, how much you would be asked to pay for the services you need.
Your location plays a big role in the price you are asked to pay for goods and services, as prices from online stores are believed to be higher if you are from a more affluent country, city, or ZIP code. This type of pricing technique used by websites is referred to as dynamic pricing and its very common among retailers. Some websites even charge users based on the type of devices they are using: Mac or a PC.
Since a VPN allows you to connect to different servers around the world, you can enter different online stores and compare the prices for specific products and services across the different stores. By this, you will find a better offer and save money.
Find Better Deals Online with A VPN?
Before you begin your search for better deals online, make sure you have cleared your cookies. This way sites can’t track your past behavior as is their technique using your IP address and cookies, and your search would begin on a clean slate.
After you have cleared your cookies, open your VPN app, and connect to any VPN server in a location of your choice.
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Open an incognito or private browsing window and go to the site you want to shop from. Take note of the prices of the products you want and then close the window, clear your cookies once more, disconnect your VPN, and then connect to a different location and repeat the process.
Even though there are no rules set in stone for finding better prices, you’ll probably notice some differences in prices as you change locations. Be careful however to go through the site’s terms and conditions before you make any commitment to their deals. Being able to purchase from a virtual location is necessary and you need to find this out.
1 . How to Save Money On Flights
Some online transactions are time-sensitive and so hiding your identity could be a way of improving your chances of a better deal. Airline sites particularly are known to use your cookies to increase your charges for flights if you check for the prices often. So if you are looking for the best deals, you need to get every information you require during your initial search.
Connect to different VPN servers and check the different airfare prices from these locations. Take note of the various prices so you can know where you will get the best deals. Take note however that there is no set rule for finding the best deals as you may get cheaper prices in random locations.
It’s known that larger cities and more affluent locations charge higher for airfare than smaller locations. So in finding better deals, you could start with the smaller places and go from there to the bigger locations. You can also make use of Google’s built-in exchange calculator to compare prices in various currencies. Note that tax is usually added, so consider all of these before making a final decision.
2 . How to Save Money On Hotels
Just as with airline ticketing, hotels can be made to give the best deals with the use of a VPN. since hotel sites make use of your VPN to determine the price you would be offered, you can trick them into giving you the best deals.
Begin your search with hotels that are close to your location as you are more likely to find cheaper deals there. Hotels give out cheaper accommodation to locals than to those from faraway places. It may sound like the reverse should be the case, but that’s how most hotels work.
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You may also find better deals if you don’t book for rooms too far in advance. A study showed that you can find the cheapest hotel rates if you book between days 21 and 28 before your arrival.
3. Extra Tips to Save the Smart Way
Even though some experts used to say the best day to book a flight was on Tuesday, a new study has named Sunday as the best day to book your flight for the best deals. Friday is the most expensive day to book tickets, so try to avoid doing so on that day. Try to be more flexible when booking your flight. For example, if booking during the weekend is too expensive, try doing so at the beginning of the week, or during the week if it’s cheaper then.
Another way to save money when shopping is to add the products you want to buy to your cart, and then leave them there for a day or two. According to a LifeHacker report, many big companies after noticing this will send coupons to the shopper to enable the purchase to be completed.
Using a VPN to get the best deals is not a guarantee at all times, so don’t lose hope if you don’t get any significant price reductions the first time.
How to Know If Your VPN Is Working?
There are many uses of a VPN, and while its use for online shopping to get the best deals is a simple trick, it only works if the VPN is truly working and connected to a different location. You can easily confirm that your VPN is working by looking at your IP address. If you are connected to a different location, the IP address should change and reflect the new location. If the IP address doesn’t change, then you know it isn’t connected.
You can also check for DNS leaks using LimeVPN’s DNS checker. All you have to do is launch the page and the DNS leak test would be conducted. Doing this tells you if your connection is protected or not.
How A VPN Can Help You Keep Your Data Safe?
Using online shopping VPNs come with so many benefits such as checking out multiple products, comparing prices from different sites and markets, and setting up a one-click checkout. This however doesn’t come with its risks. The Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) has stated that from 2016 to 2017, the number of exposed credit card numbers had increased by 88%. So by implication, the higher the number of online shoppers, the greater the chances of credit card theft.
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The good news is that there are several ways you can protect your online accounts as you shop and look for better deals. Visiting sites that have HTTPS protocol enabled, setting up two-factor authentication, and using strong and unique passwords for each online account are all ways you can protect your online accounts and ensure that your online data remains safe.
Even though all those methods can help keep you safe and protect your data from the reach of hackers, they are not supreme. The best method of ensuring you are safe from cyber-attacks is to use a VPN.
Conclusion
Online shopping has grown rapidly over the years due to the convenience it gives. Just as its benefits have increased, so also has its risks and each day, more and more people fall victim to data theft. And so it is important that everyone stays vigilant and takes precautionary measures to keep their data safe.
Apart from safety, getting the best deals is every shopper’s dream, and the good thing is that you can get the best deals for products and services, and also protect your data with the use of an online shopping VPN. A VPN allows you to change your IP address so that you appear to be accessing an online shop from a different location. This way you can compare prices and only go for the best deal. You can also use this trick to get cheaper hotel and airfare deals. Since VPNs act as tunnels, every data you share would be encrypted and protected from malicious third parties.
