7 On Your Side: How to save big bucks safely on Cyber Monday

NEW YORK (WABC) -- If you waited until Cyber Monday to start your holiday shopping you're not alone. $7.9 billion was spent on the day last year, surpassing Black Friday numbers for the second year in a row.

But you still have plenty of time to get in on the action from the comfort of your computer.

Cyber Monday is typically the best time to buy speakers, toys, and beauty products, while Black Friday is better for TVs and tech according to dealnews.com.

The best way to know if you're getting a good deal is to download a browser extension like Honey or camelcamelcamel, which check price histories on products and let you know when prices drop on products from major retailers.

It even sifts through hundreds of coupon codes to find additional discounts. Apps like slickdeals can even send an email or text when a brand or product you enter goes on sale.

Shopping expert Andrea Woroch says online retailers like eBay will price beat Amazon for customers. "EBay will offer a best price guarantee of 110 percent if you find the same item for less at another retailer," she said.

And here's a great trick from Andrea - place items you want in your cart. If you don't purchase it right away sometimes the retailer will see you're hesitating and sweeten the deal. This also works for sold out stuff.

Cyber Monday is also a great time to stack savings. Retailmenot's Sara Skirboll says combine codes with a discount gift card. And make sure the URL has https:// with an "s" on the end for secure.

Go to retailer websites directly instead of clicking ads, which could have malware. Double check retailer URL spellings. It's not uncommon for hackers to set up fake websites that are similar to the real thing, but with a misspelled URL.

Some final big takeaways - use a credit card instead of a debit card since they have stronger fraud protections should you have to dispute a charge.

And check your statements thoroughly to ensure there are no fraudulent charges.

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