TECH BYTE: “The Toy Guy” Shares Online Shopping Tips

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — Cyber Monday might be over, but there’s still a lot of holiday shopping left to do.

It’s not too late to get that toy on your child’s wish list.

News 12 caught up with “The Toy Guy” for some of his online toy shopping tips.

Chris Byrne has reviewed hundreds of toys this year.

He recommends several – like this Sesame Street Elmo slide plush.

And you can never go wrong with Legos.

“This is the Lego Star Wars Yoda’s Jedi star fighter from the LEGO Group,” Byrne said. “253 pieces. Comes with mini figures of R2-D2 and Master Yoda. Great for kids of all ages.”

Adults too.

Even if you missed Cyber Monday this year, Byrne says buying your kids’ toy presents online is the way to go.

“The neat thing about buying online is you can compare prices, you can look for bundles,” he said. “One of the things you want to start paying attention to is the ship buy dates, because as we get closer to the holidays you want to make sure you’ve got them in time.”

As for the best sources for shopping online, Byrne says to go with the places you know – whether it’s Amazon, Target, or Kohl’s.

It’s convenient, since you can get your Christmas shopping done from anywhere.

The convenience can make it easy to buy too much or overspend though.

But you can keep that from happening.

“Prices are changing on a daily basis, as retailers compete with one another,” Byrne said. “I really suggest setting up a Google alert for when you see a price drop, and then you’ll get a notice right to your desktop, and you can jump on it right away, because the price drops don’t necessarily last for a long time. There are special deals that may be a day or two days, so you definitely want to keep an eye on something you want if you’re trying to save money.”

And if you see a good deal, don’t wait if you want it in time for Christmas.

Certain toys and items sell out fast right now.

“You can usually find things on resale sites if it is sold out, but we always recommend not overspending on things,” he said. “If something is just a few bucks more, then it might be worth it, but if it’s many multiples, that’s probably not a good idea. You can wait. Things will be back in stock right after the first of the year.”

Another tip? If you’re looking for a larger toy, Byrne recommends getting it online, then picking it up in store, so you don’t have to pay for shipping.

Saving on those shipping fees is worth making the trip to the store if it’s not too far away.

For more toy gift ideas, head over to thetoyguy.com.