Thought for Thursday: Shopping Online

Isn't the internet a wonderful place? Of course all of you think so or you wouldn't be surfing right now, would you!?
My topic of the week is about online shopping, the epitome of convenience.

These days you can buy pretty much anything online- services, clothes, electronics, groceries, children (kidding, just wanted to see if you're reading!), vehicles, vacations, odds & ends, you name it.  It is so easy to do! I even know a few people who have become addicted to shopping online, especially eBay or Amazon.com.  Are you one of those people?

I have to admit I do not do much shopping in any capacity (online or in person).  The things that I have bought online include photos, scrap supplies, books, my Macbook Pro, computer software, and a few other miscellaneous things here and there.  These types of things I would buy online any day, but would you believe I have never once browsed Etsy and my eBay score is maybe 5 items!?

My questions of the day:  How much  online shopping do you do (percentage wise)? What types of things you do purchase online? Does shopping online ever make you feel like you aren't spending real money?? Do you ever worry about the security of your purchases? How do you generally feel about online shopping?

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Other TFT posts this week:

Helmet on the political aftermath

Jenny P on reasons why you love your spouse

Anne on bedtime rituals

Dana Leigh on vacations

Comments

[Samara]

Okay. I'll bite. I do very little of my shopping online. I buy 2-8 gifts a year online (birthdays, Christmas). I've bought like 2 things on eBay -- a picture that I saw and liked and a steamer for my tile that was discontinued and I couldn't find anywhere else. I browse online though to get ideas for decorating, a clothing look, etc. The retail sites I visit most are Pottery Barn and Red Envelope. PB has good stuff on clearance sometimes. And Red Envelope has wonderful gift ideas. Then I usually go out and get it in person. I like in an area where just about every store is available to me. So, I'd rather swing in while I'm out to avoid paying for shipping and wasting packaging. It also gives me a chance to make sure the item I'm interested in feels good and is actually what I want before I purchase it. With gifts, I like to go in person because I want to be able to take the price tag off, wrap it myself and include a hand written note. I think that makes the gift so much more personal. So, that's my two sense. I am not sure I could live without the internet, but I could most certainly live without internet shopping.

[Ang]

I do very little shopping online. I'm a huge eBayer though... odd how that works. I usually use eBay if I'm looking for a hard to find item, an antique item, or something that I want to try and get for cheap.
I also dabble in selling on eBay.
I will sometimes use Amazon if I'm looking for a deal.
Generally I don't want to pay extra for shipping... so I'll just go wherever I need to and buy it.

[Dana Leigh]

I LOVE shopping online. Besides ordering many tickets for concerts and sporting events online, I do make other purchases too. I have purchased a digital camera, GPS and parts for my computer on this awesome website called Tiger Direct. They have the cheapest prices for all kinds of electronics, even with the shipping costs, plus it is very fast. First of all, I am a bargain shopper so I find that shopping online allows me to get the best deals available and comparison shop with ease. I have purchased many unique items that I would not be able to find in the store, including a curling iron in a weird size or a color of any eye shadow that is discontinued but can find it on ebay or cologne that is cheaper online than in store or some toy for my nephew. My ebay rating is 583! I do use ebay to find deals in general and I will use half.com to find books that are almost new that I don’t want to pay full price for. I rarely pay for a book at full price. There are so many unique items online that you would never be able to find in an actual store. I also have purchased things from normal retailers too, like Victoria’s Secret and Sephora. I have purchased some new clothes on ebay but would rather buy my clothes in person. I still do feel like I am spending money online because I use my debit or credit card in person too and hardly ever pay in cash. I am not worried about security. I have actually had my debit card used after an online transaction by someone else in London but it was so easy to dispute the charges with my bank that it’s doesn’t deter me from continuing to use it. Good topic!

[Leslie Collins]

I don't do much shopping online. I have never bought from Etsy and have purchased one item on Ebay.

I have purchased a couple things here and there off of Amazon and once in a while, I'll order from Old Navy.

With Jade having a local job, we like to keep our money local, too. We have stores around town we like shopping at. I don't shop at WalMart and instead shop at a local grocery store, we have a toy/baby store that we love! I would go there before Toy's R Us.

I dislike returning things and find it even worse when it is something online.

[Charisse]

I do a decent amount of online shopping. Not as much as in the past with scrapbooking supplies, but I still like doing it. I just started back doing it with Old Navy since they have the good Women's Plus sizes online.

[LeeAnn Howard]

I usually am one to window shop online and then go to the store to see it in person. I always worry about colors not matching right or sizes not fitting when u get it in the mail. I do order all my scrubs online though. If I can find a deal on shipping that helps too. I hate to pay money for shipping when I can buy the item straight from the store. But most businesses do offer shipping discounts and it helps to get a few friends in on it as well to split the shipping. I feel pretty safe with buying things online as long as it is a secured site. We are also bigtime eBayers too! We've been doing ebay since 1999 and believe our feedback is around 290!! LOL!

[Michelle]

I don't generally buy online. I am very tactile and visual, so I need to see and touch things in order to buy. I definitely don't buy clothes online, maybe electronics, but I don't usually buy electronics. Brian on the other hand, buys everything online. Amazon is his best friend. He hates shopping, unless it's online. I don't know, I guess I just really like the act of shopping. It makes me happy! I feel safe doing it online, I just feel it is something to be done at the store!

[Dana]

Now, I don't do much internet shopping. Kev does buy things on Ebay. Maybe 3 Christmas's ago, I bought ALL of the gifts for the kid's online.

My internet shopping is VERY minimal. In the last 2 years, I've bought a couple things off of ebay, scrapbook supplies, my school books... not anything that I HAVE to see in person. I used to buy a lot of stuff, and that is what got me into my debt issues! :) No, seriously, I do enjoy it but I also enjoy going to the store, although I end up buying more stuff than I had anticipated.

[zoe]

i LOVE to shop online. the stores in my area are a bit limited. i have to drive at least 40 minutes to get to a decent mall and even further to really find good stuff. i would say at least 60% or more of my shopping is online. it is easy to spend more than i mean to though!

[leslie]

I'm not much of an online shopper. I hate buying clothes for myself because I like being in the store to try them on. Being over in Italy now I'm forced to shop online more but I stick with places i would normally go to if I was stateside (old navy, lane bryant, Walmart). I've used Amazon a few times and they are great for shipping overseas! I have always ordered children's books through the mail or online. So while it's not something i prefer it's something I'm kind of forced to do for certain things right now.