Just this afternoon, I was sitting around thinking about shit that I have to buy (for me, the kids, pets, etc) and was dreading the multitude of stores that I was going to have to navigate my way through LA traffic to get to. Then I started to think about buying everything online.
I remember when online retail first took off and I watched as consumers apprehensively dove into the realm on Internet retail.
These days, I wonder if it is just me, or if many people hesitate to make online purchases due to the sucky-ass economy. I can’t remember the last thing I bought online…I just don’t any more. I feel much more comfortable being able to touch and feel products before paying for them.
I then looked up some stats on the subject and found that people seem to think that they will spend more online in 2009 than they did in 2008. (Freakish... in my mind.)
Here are my questions for you…
How often do you buy ‘stuff’ online?
What kinds of products do you buy?
Do you have specific online retailers that you usually use?
Who knows…maybe you will kick my ass back into 2009 and get me to re-trust online retail.
The Boy and the Pine Forest
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One day, his parents drove him several hours outside of the city and the
place that he knew as home. They passed by meadows, farms and forests on
the way t...
14 comments:
I buy as much as I can online. I LOATHE shopping in a store. I've bought everything from lingerie and clothing to drug store purchases. If I could grocery shop online and have it delivered (as I have done before), I'd do that too!
Its just too much to get out and shop with two little ones. Exhausting!
I love shopping on line. Everytime a package shows up at my door, it's like Christmas. I just bought a new computer on line.
Okay, first: You guys really need to use bylines. I hate having to scroll down to the bottom to figure out who's posting today. It is now my life's mission to make you each a little siggy badge thingy you can put in your posts to identify you, okay? Okay. Moving on ...
I still buy stuff online. But it's usually stuff I can't get as easily locally. We live in a semi-rural area, so sometimes it's a lot easier to order things online than to drive 40 miles to the nearest location of certain stores.
Amazon.com and half.com (books) and Victoria's Secret (um, not books) come to mind.
My husband the homebrewer also orders a lot of his supplies online. And we buy bulk green coffee beans online for home roasting, too.
Oh, and he buys almost all of his Wii and Xbox games on ebay. Much better than retail! We even ordered some new filters for our pool pump from some place back east last month.
I'm also big on doing my pre-shopping online (comparing prices, reading reviews, learning about features, etc) - but then I will go to the store to actually buy something.
I'd say the economy has definitely caused us to cut back on "luxury" purchases, but it hasn't driven me away from online shopping. In fact, I find that online shopping can sometimes help me stretch our dollars further.
Good topic. ;)
Lingerie, printer ink cartridges, china, face creams... I really enjoy shopping online, mostly because it's invariably cheaper. However, never big items. Local traders are much better because you get a more personal service and they set things up for you :)
I bought a kidney once, but one size does not fit all.
Definitely buy online, if I go into a shop I get sucked in by all the special offers and sweeties at the checkout and end up spending three times what I planned:)
LOL. To Trooper Thorn.
I use to order grocerys and have them delivered every week. Loved it, now they charge $15.00 so I stopped, it use to be free, if you spent over $100.00
Amazon.com and Victoria Secrets are the two sites I buy from the most. Oh and Petmeds.com or Pet smart.
And the place I buy my teen sons shoes, and t-shirts.
And TONS for Christmas - everything, Walmart, Target,Best Buys. Big stuff like tvs, to small things.
I just want to lick trooper thorn on the cheek - he is sooo funny.
I don't shop online too often because I find it to seem unreal - like I am playing Monopoly or something . I tend to over spend.
I never buy things online, mainly because I don't have a credit card. I occasionally ask my MIL to buy things that are difficult to find in my area, but they usually pertain tot he kids. I think my last purchase online was a set of training underpants for the lil guy to begin his potty training.
We use online shopping as a last resort, really.
I'ma online buyer. I generally don't like people is why. I have had good luck on Ebay actually.
We do quite a bit of online buying, but also often will look at stuff in a store first then buy it online if it's save us some money. Veronica is the Amazon master...
i purchase most everything on line. exceptions; groceries, shoes, plumbing parts...
i don't purchase clothes online from jcrew anymore. the qc is too disappointing.
in retrospect, i may spend a few extra dollars or break even. what i save in time is most important to me.
When I retired from the military and started a civilian job, I became a clothes horse. Especially shoes! I was so bored at my new job that my husband took away my credit cards when packages would show up at least twice weekly from some online shop. Mostly: Newport News, Shoes Unlimited, Ebay, Shoe Dazzle, Bidz.com, Schwanns (yeah, the food place--imagine his surprise when a guy in a truck showed up to deliver food), Metrostyle...The list goes on and on...I just started my Christmas shopping online, too...
I never used to buy from Amazon years ago because their prices were higher than a lot of the other places, but by this point, they've won the race and they are always the cheapest and fastest.
I haven't had to deal with their customer service too much over the years, so I can't say what it's like, but then that's also a good sign.
If anyone intercepted your credit card, which is less likely than an underpaid clerk running up a few extra charges on your card after you leave, it's easily handed off to the fraud department and you have no problems.
Jump in with both feet, TC, and you'll wonder how you ever lived another way. If you don't need it right now now now, just click a few times, and forget about it till it shows up on your doorstep like a Christmas present.
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