The Best Kept Online Shopping Secret

This one key search term is the best kept online shopping secret to scoring big discounts at 40, 50, even 80% off already marked down prices.

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Can I tell you a little secret? One that I probably haven’t mentioned before? Something that, if you met me face-to-face, you would never ever guess I have a weakness for?

I’m a bonafide rollercoaster junkie. There, I said it.

On any normal day, I’m a play-it-safe and follow-the-rules kind of girl, but until the other day, riding high speed rollercoasters 10 times in a row was the only time I ever really craved living on the edge.

Until I discovered… “as is” online shopping. (And maybe I’m being melodramatic calling shopping “living on the edge”, but just work with me here, kay?)

If you’ve never heard of shopping “as is” but are pulled to store clearance aisles like a magnet, this one will blow. your. mind! And unlike a lot of other high discount online shopping, this one isn’t gimmicky.

I’ve only recently discovered this trick, and I’ve only found it so far on Overstock, but I’m sure there are similar searches out there on other retail sites.

All you have to do is type “as is” (without quotes) in the search bar, and hundreds of items show up that are marked down at a discount- 40, 50, even 80% off the already discounted stuff.

I found all of this that I would buy in a heartbeat. Ya know…if I didn’t have bills to pay or anything:

An industrial metal and wood barstool for $67.50.

A Nautica comforter set for $51.09.

These metal counter stools for $12 each!

And even though this pendant light would still be a splurge for me, it’s gorgeous and marked at over 50% off.

All of the “as is” items are things that people bought from the site and returned for whatever reason- it could have just been opened and turned out to be the wrong color; the item could be fraying; it could be scratched…whatever the case might be. Just ask yourself if you’re feeling lucky. (Wink wink.)

But Overstock does explain the “as is” reason in the product details, so you’re not totally flying blind. The downside is the sales are final, so it can’t be returned- a bit of a gamble. But chances are the flaws are fixable.

I’d already mentioned back in the final stages of Olivia’s bedroom makeover that Overstock is my top source to buying area rugs at a discount.

For so long, I wanted an area rug for our living room because it just didn’t seem quite finished without it. Then, ta da! I found this 8×10 jute rug that I’d had my eye on for a year in the “as is” search marked down to $128 from $239.

The “as is” reason listed on the site said the rug had a smell. Honestly, I was nervous hitting that buy button. And the whole 4 days it took to arrive, I kept wondering if I’d made a huge mistake to end up with a janky smelling rug.

When it showed up at my doorstep, I ripped that plastic open, and took a huge whiff. And I probably looked like the craziest woman alive, sniffing her new rug on her front porch.

But y’all! It didn’t smell AT ALL! Maybe I just got really really lucky, but I was dancing, literally dancing.

I’ll definitely be checking in on the “as is” search a lot… ya know along with my regular Craigslist and thrift store browsing.

And I figure, if I ever buy a rug that is fraying at the corner, I can always sew it back up or tuck it under a piece of furniture.

If a piece has a scratch, I can most likely polish it out and touch it up.

Regardless, our living room is feeling a wee bit cozier!

And now I want one of these rugs everywhere. It feels like a foot massage every time I step on it.

Are you a rollercoaster loving, live-on-the-edge kinda gal too? Have you ever shopped “as is” before? Or know of any other retail sites where you can shop returned items? Maybe you shouldn’t tell me because that might be bad for our bank account.

You can check out more budget shopping tips from these posts too:

Where to Buy Affordable Industrial Farmhouse Decor 

18 Tips for Better Craigslisting: How to Score on Furniture

12 Goodwill Shopping Secrets Revealed

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