Is shopping online really cheaper? One of the reasons is that retailers do not have overheads and hence can transfer the savings to the consumers.
Online shopping is also very addictive, you can spend hours surfing through the net, reading reviews. Consider me old-fashioned, I might be the minority who dislike online shopping except for hotel bookings, air tickets, insurance, gadget accessories- items which can't go wrong. I am the typical "auntie" mode who likes to be at a brick and mortar shop to touch, feel, try and check condition of product. I always ensure I request for a new piece. Here are the reasons why I dislike online shopping:
1) I hate camping by the computer for blogshop launches, fastest fingers first, waiting patiently for my shopping loots to be delivered to me.
2) I hardly wore my online buys from local blogshops and Taobao cos the clothes is a far cry from what we seen online even though it looks real nice on the models.
3) The clothes do not fit me perfectly. I usually need to send to the tailor for alteration, which makes my buys more expensive.
4) I have some unfortunate experience where the seller sends a defective product. The effort of writing to and sending the product to seller is frustrating and waste of time. Some sellers customer service sucks, you have to follow up with a few round of emails and you might only get your replacement products months later (or never).
5) The clothes don't fit at all. For sizes which are too small, I have to give to my friends' teenage daughters. For sizes which are too big, I might send to tailor if I like it very much. Else, I might give away too.
6) Sometimes the flash sale is within a short time window. You deliberately have to make yourself available during that time to buy online.
7) The shipping charges might even cost more than the product. You won't know the estimated shipping charge your freight forwarder will charge until your products have arrived at the warehouse. You might be in for a rude shock!
8) Blogshops items are not necessary cheaper than brick and mortar stores.
9) Some stores exchange/ refund policy sucks, you get what I mean!
10) I hate backorders cos this means you are expected to wait 3-4 weeks for your products. Although the blogshops might say order at your discretion, however, sometimes shipment gets delayed eg due to high volume during festive periods, stuck at custom. By the time you receive the products, you might have lost interest or it is no longer the lastest.
11) I don't know about you but I have a tendency to overbuy online especially handphone cases that I won't be able to use all of them. They are either stowed in my cupboard or I end up having to give away.
What do you like/ dislike about online shopping? Please feel free to leave a comment.
Love,
Sherlyn
Very well explained. I would like to say that it is very interesting to read your blog.
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