I think that I was the first person in my circle of friends who started shopping online about 15 years ago. "Is it safe?" they would ask. The first thing that I ever ordered on the internet was a bouquet of flowers for a friend's birthday. I received an e-mail confirming my order, then another e-mail when the flowers had shipped, and then a call from my friend, thanking me for the "BEAUTIFUL" bouquet. No one hacked my credit card, no one stole my identity, and I instantly became a fan of internet shopping. It's convenient and a price shopper's paradise.
This subject may seem a little bit too rudimentary for many of you, yet I still find so many people who are either afraid to shop online, or they are impulse buyers. They see it, touch it, and must have it RIGHT NOW! I used to sell on eBay and I still do sell a few things here and there, but I became frustrated as a seller. Do you know why? Because it is hard to compete with the other sellers. eBay has grown up and many of the sellers sell in volume. They are willing to make $5 or 10 dollars on a $100.00 item and that doesn't take into account any of the time they spend buying the item, listing it on eBay, dealing with customers, and finally shipping it. Bad for the me, but great for the people buying. So think about it. If you can shop someplace where you know that the seller is only making a small profit, how much will you save versus running out to a store where they have to pay employees, insurance, overhead, etc.? The answer is A LOT! Now this isn't true for everything that you buy, but it is true for many things that you will buy over the course of a year.
I still have people ask me exactly what I buy on the internet after I tell them that I shop there. Hmmm....cartridges for my printer, coupons for things that I buy in retail stores, small appliances, sheets and towels, my last bathing suit, DVD's, books....you get the idea. What I don't buy are items that I may need to return or that I might need customer service for. Many sellers provide a return policy, but it can be a real hassle to ship something back and wait for your money. My worst experience buying something on the internet was the time that I put a bid in for a plasma TV. This is going back a few years. I was new to buying on eBay and I placed a bid on the TV, thinking that I would never win. The guy who was selling it said that he had just bought out the inventory of a company that was going out of business. I woke up the next day and I couldn't believe it. I had just won the item for half of what it was selling for in retail stores and I had saved thousands of dollars! I danced around for days anticipating the arrival of my new TV, picturing in my mind just where I was going to place it on my living room wall, thinking about how smart I was to have bought my TV on eBay! My friends kept asking me what I was so happy about. I'd start my story with, "Well, you're not going to believe the deal that I just got...." Yes....I know that you have already guessed what happened because you are probably one of those real smart guys who "never would have bought anything on the internet." After waiting two weeks, my TV never arrived. It WAS too good to be true. Thankfully it all worked out because Paypal was able to get my money back. I learned a hard lesson, and one that I will never forget. If it is too good to be true, most likely, it is too good to be true. Since then, I have learned to buy from sellers on eBay or Amazon that have LOTS of feedback and GOOD feedback. Both of these companies had growing pains themselves. They allowed just about everyone and anyone to sell on their sites in good faith. After having so many sellers try to scam customers, they cracked down. You cannot remain a seller for either company for very long if you are not reputable. Negative feedback from a customer has become a seller's most dreaded nightmare.
By now you can probably tell that two of my favorite places to shop online are eBay and Amazon. So let's try an example. I need a new coffee pot and I am looking at the Cuisinart DCC-1200. It makes 12 cups and I've heard that it's good. So let's start shopping.... After comparing prices, this is what I came up with as of today, June 9, 2010. And when you are comparing prices, always make sure that you are looking at a NEW product and not one that says REFURBISHED in small print. We are going to assume that you would only buy the coffee pot on the internet if you were going to buy it from eBay or Amazon and that you would buy it at the other stores if you were shopping at the mall. The mall stores sell on the internet too, but by the time you add in their shipping charges, it is not worth comparing price wise.
Sears $79.99 + tax
JC Penny $99.99 + tax
Macy's $79.99 + tax
BestBuy $79.99 + tax
eBay $67.90 + $12.99 shipping
Amazon $64.39 + free shipping +no tax other than to KS, KY, NY, ND and WA
I guess I'm buying the coffee pot from Amazon for $64.39. Not from one of their sellers that they let advertise there, but from Amazon directly. (They have a great return policy.) Since I live in New Jersey, I would have to pay $79.99 plus $6.17 tax for a total of $86.16 if I buy my coffee pot at the mall. That saves me $21.77 by buying it online. Keep in mind that most stores that sell online will have specials and not every company allows Amazon to sell their products. If you are going to buy something from Lands End or Victoria's Secret, always do a search in your browser for the name of the company followed by the words: coupon code. Many companies put out codes for free shipping or 10% off a purchase of $50 or more. If you can find a valid code that hasn't expired, you have a good chance of getting a discount on your order or having your item shipped for free.
After my plasma TV embarrassment, I did get a little smarter about who I bought from. I went on to buy a Jacuzzi tub, a toilet, a shower head, sinks and hardware from eFaucets.com when I was renovating a bathroom. Those around me thought that I was nuts after my TV scenario. I began to believe them when it came time to shop for the toilet. Do you have any idea of how many toilets there are to choose from? High sitting, low sitting, handicapped, oval seats, round seats, super flush, water saver, plastic, porcelain and too many more buying choices to name them all. I don't think that I will ever buy a toilet on the internet again. There were just too many options and there is something to be said for going to Sears and picking out just one wonderful throne from ten different ones to choose from. Okay, now are you ready for the drum roll.....? A week later this huge tractor trailer drives down my street. I run to the window and can't help but wonder how this guy is going to turn around. I lived on a cul-de-sac and I had never seen a tractor trailer come down my street. Then I see the guy getting out of the truck and coming towards MY house. He knocks on the door and I am already thinking that he's lost. As I open the door, I can hear him saying, "Delivery from eFaucets.com Yes, yes, yes!! My new Jacuzzi whirlpool tub with the 10 pulsating jets has arrived! I helped the guy unload everything into my garage, said goodbye and immediately went upstairs to call my plumber who was going to install everything. As I'm on the phone, I can hear someone screaming outside. It turns out it was the truck driver who was swearing up a storm because he couldn't turn his 18-wheeler around. He did finally manage to get out, but he had to back his truck up all the way down the street. I guess it was a bad day for him, but it turned out to be one of my better days. I had made a large purchase on the internet and everything was sitting in my garage. If you are wondering why I went against my former advice of not buying anything that I couldn't return? I figured that it would be just as much of a hassle to return a Jacuzzi tub and toilet to eFaucets.com as it would be to return it to any store. It would still involve them sending a truck out, lots of phone calls, and waiting for a replacement. I am happy to say that I spent many hours enjoying that whirlpool tub and thinking about how "brilliant" I was at having saved so much money by buying it on the internet!
So let's go over some of the things that you need to keep in mind before you shop online. Can you return it and under what circumstances? Is it new or refurbished? Does the seller have a good reputation? What are the shipping charges? Will I be charged tax? You'll notice that some people on eBay start their auctions at .99 cents and then charge high prices for shipping. This is because eBay takes a percentage of the final sale price as their commission. The seller is building their profit into the shipping charges and paying low fees on the final sale price. eBay frowns upon this, but sellers do it all of the time. When you are buying expensive items, take into consideration how much you are going to pay in sales tax. You may not have to pay any if you buy online. If you are going to buy a computer online and you are not computer savvy, then buy your computer at a place like Best Buy where you can go back and get help if you run into problems. It will save you a lot of gray hairs in the long run.
Now going back to the notion that this discussion might be a little bit too basic for some people. To that I say.... Somebody is buying it at the mall or else they wouldn't be selling it....and....who doesn't need to save a little money?
