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When I'm shopping online, my goal is simple: I never pay full price.

Ever.

This isn't a difficult task. The Web is teeming with discounts, coupons and special offers - and sites to help you find the low prices you're looking for. You just have to know where to find the deals.

I'm not an expert. Hey, I'm not even an Internet-shopping addict. If you don't count travel reservations, I make no more than five or six online purchases a year. But they're always good deals. And my successes - a $120 pair of Asics for $65 with free shipping, an Ann Taylor cardigan at 40 percent off - have made me even more determined to get the best deal every time I shop online.

Tip 1: Be specific when you search.

You can get lost for hours if you just type ''black leather bag'' into a search engine. To get the best deal online, it helps to know exactly what you want.

So change out of your pajamas and do some shopping in the real world.

Find an item you can't live without. And then don't buy it at the store - at least, not until you've searched for a better deal online.

This is pretty simple, actually. Go to a search engine and, instead of just searching for a ''black leather bag,'' search for ''Coach leather hobo.'' Or, even better, search for ''Coach'' and ''Chelsea leather large hobo.''

Your search engine might pull up a little-known retailer offering the bag at half-price.

Tip 2: Give shopbots a try.

Shopbots are sites that search the Web for products, rounding up prices from a multitude of online retailers. You'll type in an item's name and it'll return a long list of links to retailers and prices.

These sites don't always find the rock-bottom deals, and they don't include coupon discounts. Don't underestimate sites such as Mysimon.com, Pricegrabber.com, Bizrate.com and Dealtime.com.

Tip 3: Sign up for discount newsletters.

If you want the discounts and coupons to come to you, sign up for a regular e-mail update that shares the best deals of the day or week.

Cheapstingybargains.com rounds up discounts, coupons and freebies and channels the highlights into your inbox once a week. Couponcraze.com and Dealnews.com offer similar updates. Then, if you're not in a hurry to buy, you can wait to make your purchase until that Sports Authority coupon is offered again.

Tip 4: Find a secret code and save.

It doesn't matter what you're buying, or where. If it's for sale online, there's probably a coupon code that'll knock the price down.

Online shopping sites are constantly releasing secret codes that offer good discounts. How do you get one of those secret codes? You just have to know how to look for them:

1. Go to Google (or your favorite search engine).

2. Type in the name of the store or the URL for the store's Web site.

Then add the word ''coupon.'' Or ''discount code.'' Or ''promotional code.''

This search will pull up a long list of links to coupon sites, which have names such as couponcabin.com, couponcraze.com and fatwallet.com.

A discount code is usually something nonsensical like ''XUT821L.'' When you're making a purchase online, the site will usually offer a space for discount codes. Type the coupon code into that space and, you'll get 10 percent off. Or free shipping. Or whatever special offer you managed to find.

Tip 5: Keep searching for deals, even after you buy.

Even after you've made your purchase, you might still save some money.

Most major online retailers have a customer protection policy; if the price drops shortly after you purchase an item, you can request a refund of the price difference.

Whichever Web site you use to place an order, look for a price guarantee. If there is a guarantee, it's bound to be somewhere in the fine print.

Where to find the bargains

Bargain sites

Books: Addall.com is a search engine for music, books, movies and magazines. Bookfinder.com gives you similar results and searches for textbooks. Fetchbook.info searches 127 book retailers.

Tech stuff: Check out Apple's selection of refurbished items at store.apple.com. If you're ordering a Dell computer online, go to cheapstingybargains.com and click on ''Dell Deals.''

Travel: Plenty of travel sites promise discounts - hotels.com, hotwire.com, etc. But if you go through the hotel or airline's official Web site, sometimes you can save even more. For flights, first go to Farecast.com.