ONLINE SHOPPING V OFFLINE SHOPPING (Online shopping - Comments & Tips)

Member Name: kd60

Product:	Online shopping - Comments & Tips
Date:	08/12/08 (82 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: See review

Disadvantages: See review

I love online shopping, but at this time of year I love it even more. The thrill of shopping is still the same for me whether it is online or offline. Just imagine it, sitting at home on these cold winter days with a glass of warm milk, or something stronger, if that's your tipple, with the laptop on your knee, nice and cosy doing all our Christmas shopping without having to leave the comfort of your arm chair. What more could anyone ask for?

I have outlines some pro's and con's for both situations, and I will weigh it up after I have done this. You never know maybe I will discover that offline shopping is better.

=====Pro's to online shopping=====

1 - Can be done anytime day or night.
This is really important to me when I shop, I have a very hectic schedule and I don't like to feel rushed into trying to run around the shops just before they close. Also I don't think that the staff are very pleased when I run in at about 15 minutes until closing, I get a lot of looks as if to say 'don't you know that we are closing'.

2 - Can actually find out it the items are in stock just by looking.
It makes life so much easier if you look at a site and they are out of stock, you Can then just look at another site, or search a comparison website to find if anyone has what you are looking for. It really saves time and means that you don't have all that walking and driving around to find what you need.

3 - Don't have to go anywhere to do it.
I love the fact that I don't have to go anywhere to do all of this. I like shopping but I hate when the shops are really busy and the queues are out the door, and all I wanted was a chocolate bar and a drink of water.

4 - Items delivered straight to your door.
What's easier than when you get to the online checkout than clicking on a button that adds postage and packing, and then the product magically appears at your door a few days after. This is also really handy for older or less-able people as it means that they don't have to rely on someone to take them to get what they need. The shops like Tesco and Asda offer a service where you can order all your food online and then have it all delivered for a fee. This is great as you don't have to leave the house to do anything.

5 - Can bag a bargain.
A lot of stores now a days have a discount for buying online rather than in store. Plus you can have a look around a lot of different sites and compare the prices to get the best deal.
=====Con's to online shopping=====

1 - You can't see what you are buying before hand.
How do you know that what you are ordering is to the high quality that you are after. But this being said it's the same as ordering out of a catalogue, you can't really see that either until it arrives.

2 - You don't know if the website is secure.
Most websites now a days have a secure payment section that allows you to make sure that the company that you are giving the bank details are trusted. Some offer a secure payment method that is linked to certain credit cards. When I use my MasterCard a lot of sites ask me for security details that I have set up with MasterCard to make sure that I am the legal owner of the card. This makes sure that identity theft is kept to a minimum.

3 - Can get carried away putting everything on your credit card.
I haven't done it myself but I have known a few people that have got them self in really large debt, as they can't keep an eye on how much they have added to their card until the bill gets through, and by then it's too late. One way of getting around this is to set up internet banking. I have done this and it means that I can check anytime I wish to see how much I have on my card and when my bill is due. If I notice that I am nearing my limit on what I know that I can pay off, I am aware of this and they I don't put anything else on the card.

4 - Delivery charges can be quite expensive.
This can make the price that you pay even higher than you can pay in the shops. If you are ordering multiple things from the one site though you normally only pay the delivery charge once. This can be an advantage, but always check if the delivery is per item or of the whole order, as you can be caught out by this and end up paying a fortune for delivery.

=====Pro's to offline shopping=====

1 - You get to view the items that you are buying before hand.
If you are not sure that the items that you are interested in are right for you then you can view it before hand to make that decision. In places like Argos they allow you to have a look at the item before you actually decide if you want it. If you do then they just take the payment there and then. I find that this is a big advantage, as not everything looks like how it is meant to.

2 - It gets you out and about, don't want to be a couch potato now do we.
Gets you fresh air and allows you to have you exercise for the day. Who said that your hour of walking a day, that we are all meant to do by the way, can't be around the shops with lots of bags in your hands.

3 - Can use it as an excuse to socialise with friends.
How many times have you told the other half that you are going to meet friends and then came home with about 10 bags! Then the other half says 'I thought you were just going to meet friends'. Well you can reply 'I did but we needed somewhere to go'. See the perfect excuse.

4 - No delivery charges.
This one is the best for me with offline shopping. It means that I don't have to pay for someone to bring the item to me, and it means that I have it there and then and don't have to wait 3-5 days for it to get here.

=====Con's to offline shopping=====

1 - Can be really busy, especially at this time of year.
I hate queuing at the best of times, but when it is Christmas it's always 100 times worse. I really hate the fact that when its Christmas everybody goes out to but their food that they are going to need for Christmas day etc, but why do people buy food like there is going to be a famine. When people do this by the end of the day the shops have nothing left and it looks there is a famine. It's like being back in the time of the war. Everyone has to be rationed to one or two of certain items, so that it is fair for everyone that is trying to do there normal shopping.

2 - You could go all the way to the shops and they don't have anything that you want in stock.
I don't know how many times I have went all the way to the local shopping centre, for one specific thing and came home empty handed. It's the most annoying thing in the world

3 - Can be really stressful.
Some people just don't do shopping. Like my other half he gets stressed out if I'm even looking at a pair of shoes for longer than a minute then he's even worse when I have to try them on. What can we say shopping just isn't for some people.

4 - End up with too much stuff to carry.
No im sure everyone has done this at some point in their life. You think to your self I'm only going down the street for a small amount of stuff, then you come home with arms like orang-utans, all the way down to your knees, and how many times have you actually had the savvy to take someone else with you just in case that happens? Never!



=====Summary=====

As I said at the start, I love online shopping. After listing all of the pros and cons for bother there really isn't much difference in the two, but I will still stick to online shopping its less hassle.

Summary: .