7 On Your Side: Cyber Monday shopping secrets

Where the story happened (WABC) -- An estimated 121 million online shoppers will spend a record $3 billion in sales just on Cyber Monday. So if you are shopping online, what should you buy? Where are the real bargains?

Most shoppers will be filling up their online carts between 6 p.m. and midnight, and site-wide promo codes will give you 15 percent off at Target and 20 percent off at Macy's But shopping expert Andrea Woroch says despite all of the online frenzy, you might be able to avoid the rush.

"We're going to be seeing a lot of those same sales popping up throughout the rest of the holiday season," she said.

Deals will get cheaper closer to Christmas, but inventory will also sell out.

"So if it's a popular toy like Star Wars, those things could sell out," she said. "So pick it up if it's at a good deal."

There are also several cool new sites and apps to help you find the best deal. At GreenToe.com, you can name your price and let the site negotiate with retailers for you. Woroch got her bid for Beats headphones at $72.

"The average price online is almost $100," she said.

And if you already bought something and it pops up cheaper, Parabus.com will go get the price difference for you.

"Paribus not only tracks the price drops, but they'll actually go back to the retailer to request your money back," Woroch said.

The site takes a 25 percent cut of the refund, but does all the work of comparison shopping.

You can also save time by making a list on Trackif.com, a personal web tracker, downloading browser extension tools like Invisible Hand or Shop Genius that will alert you when prices fluctuate.

"Invisible Hand just popped up on my browser and let me know that there was a savings available at Best Buy for that same product I was looking at on Amazon," Woroch said. "And it saved me $50 instantly."

Just don't squander any savings getting hacked during the holidays. Woroch cautions consumers not to shop on unsecured Wi-Fi -- ever.

"That's how hackers can get in," she said. "They hack this Blue Tooth device, and they can get into my computer and onto my mobile device."

To avoid getting scammed, she suggests changing passwords frequently, using a PC instead of your mobile to cyber shop, and avoid clicking on unsolicited phishing emails which can lead to phony websites.

And lastly, she has two computer tricks can save you money.

First, browse undercover, as deleting browser histories also avoids being targeted with higher prices.

"Delete your browsing history, delete your cookies," she said. "You might find you get an even cheaper price, or you may get that new user coupon you got the first time you logged onto the site."

Also, shop with credit instead of debit, as there are a lot more protections available if there is a problem. And to that end, monitor your banking statements, because if there is any fraud, it is up to you to catch it.