Shop Online With Cash
For various personal reasons, I keep no credit cards or bank accounts. For the first time this year, I faced the prospect of holiday shopping totally on my own - and a lot of the gifts on my list were things that simply couldn't be found at brick-and-mortar stores.
Through some trial and error, I managed to purchase most of the things I wanted from online retailers using only the cash in my pocket (and a little walking). Just thought I'd share some advice if anyone else is doing their gift-buying under similar constraints.
Contents
Steps
Using Gift Cards
- Pros:
- The simplest choice. Find a gift card either at the retailer it's tied to or from a location (grocery store, pharmacy, etc) that has a rack with various cards, pay with physical cash, then use the provided code when checking out your online order.
- Cons:
- Not all online stores offer gift cards
- Denominations not always under your control: for example, you might want to spend $20, but gift cards are only available for $15 or $25.
Using PayPal and MoneyPak
- Pros:
- PayPal is accepted almost universally online, and now that they've introduced the MoneyPak program, you can use it without a credit card. Find a MoneyPak card at a participating retailer (I used Rite-Aid), pay physical cash to have it loaded, transfer that money to your PayPal account, and shop away.
- Cons:
- There is an average $5 fee to load the card. They are currently offering a promotion that will give you $10 for your first purchase, which will more than negate the fee, but it's not applied instantly and in my case I needed to hassle customer service a bit to get it.
- Cards are NOT re-loadable, meaning that if you find yourself needing more funds later, you will need to spend another $5 to load more money. So make sure you know how much you want to spend in advance.
- Not all online retailers will accept payment if you do not have a credit card tied to your PayPal account, even if you have sufficient funds. I found this out the hard way with Zazzle, and ended up having to order from Cafepress instead. Check out the retailer's policy first.
Using PayNearMe
- Pros:
- Works like a charm. I stumbled on this service while attempting to pay for my Amazon order. (Amazon does not accept PayPal.) Enter the exact amount you would like to spend on their website, print out a slip, and take it to your local 7-11. They will scan the barcode, take your cash, and activate the payment. You can then use the funds to shop.
- Cons:
- As it is a fairly new program, you may need to explain it to the 7-11 clerk. But in my case, after I had done so and he scanned the barcode, I had no trouble.
- Few online retailers accept it yet - but given the amount of shopping done on Amazon.com alone, it's worth looking into.
Tips
- This list only covers methods that I've used personally - there may be more. Happy holidays!
- You can also search and use for free online coupon codes to save money while online shopping.
Related Articles
- Shop Online Without a Credit Card
- Get a Money Order
- Avoid Using Credit Cards Online
- Apply a Gift Card Code to Amazon
