The Ultimate Guide to Online Shopping in College

I feel like this post is extremley fitting as it’s my last week of college. RIP to student discounts, I will miss you the most. I wish I knew about these discounts and online shopping hacks earlier in my college career, as this is when my online shopping addiction reached it's max peak. I am going to share with you the best discounts and tips to maneuver the online shopping space as a college student. Happy shopping!

STUDENT DISCOUNTS

Almost all of my favorite online stores offer a student discount. Make sure to always check if there is a student discount available before checking out because 9 times out of 10 there probably is one. Student Beans and UNiDAYS are two helpful platforms for researching discounts available to students. Here are some of my favorite stores and the discounts they offer for college students:

Lulu's: 10%

Princess Polly: 10%

Hello Molly: 10%

Levi's: 15%

American Eagle & Aerie: 20%

Gymshark: 20%

BooHoo: 60%

Showpo: 10%

Nasty Gal: 60%

Oh Polly: 20%

Pretty Little Thing: 50%

Madewell: 15%

BROWSER EXTENSIONS

In addition to student discounts, I use two browser extensions every time that I shop online, Honey and Rakuten. These are absolutely FREE and they will save you money every time you shop online.

Honey automatically finds and applies the best coupon codes at checkout, to maximize your savings. Rakuten allows you to earn cash back every time you shop online. With Rakuten, your cash back accumulates for 3 months and then you receive a payday each quarter of the year via PayPal (a wonderful little surprise to support your online shopping addiction).

Rakuten - Get a $10 bonus when you sign up using my link (can be used in a browser extension & from your mobile device)

Honey - Use my link to add Honey to your browser for free

SELLING/BUYING SECOND-HAND

A great way to save money is to buy clothes second-hand on selling apps such as Poshmark and Mercari. Most of the time, the clothes are brand new or gently worn for a fraction of the price. These apps are also great for selling clothes that you are ready to retire from your closet. I personally have had the most success with selling things on Mercari, but I make sure to list all my items on both apps to maximize selling potential. I would highly recommend doing this in college to keep your wardrobe fresh & switch things up :)

Poshmark - Use code 'EMILYMATTYS' for $10 off your first purchase

Mercari - Get a $10 bonus when you sign up using my link