Online shopping can be a blessing and a curse. I recently got some great deals on a book and a cell phone silicon case from Amazon.com third party sellers. I've never had problems with the Amazon Marketplace before, but for some reason the local post office decided to return both of my recent packages to sender...
When the individual delivery dates for each item came and went, I was still left at home wondering where my packages disappeared to.
Thankfully, with Amazon's A-to-Z Guarantee I was able to recuperate all of my losses, but the reality was that I was left to make the trek to the bookstore and the cell-phone accessory kiosk at the mall on my own and buy stuff I already ordered at a discount—but at full price.
I, like any girl left without a rubbery-soft cell phone skin, debated whether the $5 or $6 I was poised to save would have even been worth the wait had I had the foresight to realize that my stuff would never arrive.
Is online shopping really as convenient and money-saving as all the early hype would have led you to believe? Or have you, like me, had a bad experience with online shopping that will scar you from clicking "Add To Cart" ever again? Let us know in the comments...
Image from: Flickr member breibeest with a Creative Commons license.
RELATED POSTS:
Small Cool Lessons: Discovering Small Space Design Ideas That Really Work
Marisa and Peter's Playfully Eclectic Home
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Sheex Bedding
Eileen's Beachside Oasis Kitchen
How to Make Fresh Pasta Dough in the Food Processor
This might have been relevant when online shopping was around for a few years at first. Like 10-15 years ago......
"I, like any girl left without a rubbery-soft cell phone skin, debated whether the $5 or $6 I was poised to save would have even been worth the wait had I had the foresight to realize that my stuff would never arrive."
I'm confused. You were debating if would have ordered it online if you'd known it wouldn't show up? Of course you wouldn't have.
I do the bulk of my buying online, the bad experiences I've had with brick & mortar purchasing far outnumber the online bad experiences.
i shop online all the time, and i have gotten burned in the past, but it doesn't stop me from doing it still.
The savings are usually enough to justify it. If i was in your situation, i would have had them resend it, i wouldn't have went to the store to get that stuff. How is it your fault that it got sent back... Plus if i did have to go to the bookstore i would have had a coupon with me to get it cheaper. Join borders member club and you get 20/30/40 % off coupons al the time.
Online shopping is great if you don't need to try things out first or see if it fits. A good example is i just bought a new digital SLR online, saved a bit because of a rebate. Then I see the Bet buy ad with a similar price, just a bit more. So i could have just went out and bought it, instead of waiting 2 days. But when you factor in i would pay another $60 in tax at BB, it is no longer worth it once again.
So i think the real setup is, either online shop (with coupons and promo codes as well) or shop in a store that also offers online coupons. Full price is for chumps. I save thousands of dollars a year by looking online for a retailers coupons first.
For those of us in areas with a high sales tax, it's not just the lower product price that's attractive. Chicago is 10.5%, that's real money saved for every online order.
I've never had any problems shopping online. Whether the seller was in Europe (as I am), USA or Australia. Goods have arrived on time, everytime. Anything from clothes to records to hardware.
I am a huge online shopper. It's so convenient and can save you tons of money. Of course, with everything, there are mistakes made but for the most part, it's a great experience. People have had bad experiences at brick & mortar store but that hasn't stopped them from going to the mall.
Here's a tip that's been around for a while that I've come to realize a lot of people are still unaware of:
Type in "Coupon Code" & the name of the site your shopping at in Google to see if there are any codes you can apply to get even more savings. You may think that if there was a coupon, it would be advertised on the site but that's not always the case. I've received things like 10% off and free shipping simply by doing this. And a lot of times, it's been on completely random sites, not big retailers.
I'm an online shopper as well. You save time and money. I love using coupon/promo codes - the deals are even sweeter! I do exactly what modernguy just said. But even when I don't have a code the savings in taxes by buying online still beats the regular price at local stores. Sometimes I carry in coupons to those local stores but they end up saving me the tax, bringing the price down, but only pennies short from the price online. If instant gratification is your thing buying online may not impress you. But if you don't mind exercising some patience online purchases tend to give you more for your buck. Even with shipping! Shipping is often cheaper than the tax added when I buy locally!
Returns used to keep me from shopping online more but recently I've noticed that the return policies are the same if not better than local shopping so it's pretty much a win-win right now. The other bonus of online shopping is the research done before making a purchase. I make better decisions buying online :)
But I still wish Borders had online price matching at their local stores. THAT would be a GREAT deal!