Other than for groceries, I am strictly an online shopper. There is almost nothing you can’t get online anymore. And I’ve reached the point where I just don’t have the patience to do the whole brick and mortar retail store thing anymore.
The case for online shopping for virtually anything and everything is simply too compelling. I can be sitting on the toilet, iPhone in hand, and in a few screen taps, I can buy a new pair of sneakers scheduled for free delivery the next day. Or dog food, cat litter, tools, toothpaste, t-shirts, batteries, jeans, whatever.
Even big things, like patio furniture, throw rugs, a bicycle rack for my car, a new laptop and monitor, can be purchased online.
And it’s all delivered right to my front door, like magic. Why “go out” shopping when you can “stay in” and have it all?
So I’m sorry to all of you mall stores, big box stores, department stores, clothing stores, or nearly every other kind of physical store. And I’m really sorry to all of you who work at these brick and mortar stores who are getting pink-slipped. But when just about everything I need comes to me, why should I have to go to you?
Think about it.
Written for the Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie Tale Weaver prompt, which is all about shopping.
This, That, and the Other 
Yes and all the malls will be Amazon warehouses! I’m with you 🙂
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I do a lot of my shopping online. I live in a small town in a small state and we don’t have the range of goods that I can find online. Mostly I prefer it. I used to enjoy browsing around the shops though. Not so much now because the things I want are often vintage or just something different from the mass-produced things in boring colours the local shops have.
I am wary of buying some items online unless I have seen them in a shop though. I once brought a rug that was advertised as aubergine but when it arrived it was purple and not suitable at all. You can’t always match colours from online photos.
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“You can’t always match colors from online photos.” Yes, that is very true!
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Online shopping has its ups and downs however it’s always good to experience something new. Shop and get rewarded for shopping.
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Plus, no hassles with driving and perfumed people!
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Exactly! 😉
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There is a place for buying some things online, but not others. When you buy your clothes online, do they fit? What about the shoes you buy online? The goods that arrive, are they exactly what you expected when you placed the order?
Even if I do buy something online, I will avoid places like Amazon. Let them pay a fair amount of tax first, then I’ll think about contributing to their profits.
I hope you’re having, or have had, a nice break away from the screen! 🙂
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Amen re/ the taxes. Perhaps a change in the laws (and our lawmakers) will remedy that problem.
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I agree with the sentiment, but Amazon will just hop over the border and sell from there. Lawmakers can only make laws per-jurisdiction. I don’t know what the answer is. Tax on revenue? That’d jit businesses who *do* plough their profits back into the business. A “deemed” tax? Who do we trust enough to assess everybody’s taxes correctly and to the same standards? I feel a bit for lawmakers because I don’t think they can win.
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I know. Every modern invention to make our lives easier seems to gum up our world more.
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I think it ultimately is down to consumers to coerce companies into behaving properly, but the implication of that is that we pay more to go elsewhere.
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I know. I buy on Amazon when I have to but generally try to use local outlets. I have friends who even buy their groceries online.
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So far I’ve been lucky with things I buy online (shoes, clothing) fitting okay. And I always buy from places that have liberal return policies, just in case.
It was nice having houseguests, but I’m happy to be going back to my regular routines.
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I’ll often select clothing is a shop but actually do the buying from their online store. Just to save me carrying it home! Getting things delivered at home presents its own issues – unwrapping things one-handed. I like eBay for things, but low value, maybe $10 or less. Mostly, I have everything I need!
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Tools I’ll purchase online but clothing I’ll need to try on because I hate the time wasted of having to send it back. I don’t shop a lot anyway except for groceries.
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I’m impressed tools are a category you’re buying online.
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Yep. Both hand held and electric/battery operated, like drills, sanders, and saws.
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I know someone who bought an electric lawnmower with a rechargeable battery, online, and the same brand of an electric hedge clipper. I’ve used the hedge clipper. One of my sons bought a different brand of electric lawnmower at a local hardware store.
Drills, sanders, and saws? Wow! You just be busy with handy work.
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* must
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Lathe tools. Chucks and such. Dremel stuff. I do need a table saw. Working on it.
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Nice. What do you use them for?
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Rings, pens, other miniature things. Youtube is full of inspiration.
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Yes. Dremel, circular saw, drill, etc.
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I don’t think I want to use a circular/table saw. But I do think I’m going to borrow a Dremel from one of my sons. My dad had a table saw in our basement when I was little. He did a variety of things. One thing was that he put a bedroom in our basement for my moms sister (which she used for about a year while her daughters used our third bedroom). We moved out of that house. Something we took with us was and is an octagon terrarium/aquarium stand he made.
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* ( — third bedroom on the main floor — bedrooms in the basement don’t “count” in Missouri)
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I have thought about it. For years. I grew up in the Sears catalog era where we had little choice, or more recently, when serving overseas. There is a something to say for a my hands-on choice as apposed to someone to someone elses. How far are we from the brick wall?
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And that’s why a lot of them are going out of business!
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Well penned and 100% correct – in the UK currently the High Street is falling … everyone is shocked, mortified ‘Oh it’s not fair!!” They wail – no, it’s not — but ask yourself this ,,, “Why did your bosses of today not forward think that the Internet online shopping system would be huge in your tomorrows , yesterday? Had they of done, you would not be upset now, because you would not have had a job in the brick and mortar business.
I doon’t understand and fail to comprehend how retailers did not see this shift coming??
Twonks!
Nice post.
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I guess they thought it was a fad, a passing fancy. Oops.
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Also, the malls were treating customers like crap even before there was an Amazon. That is how Amazon got into the business. They had let go almost all the people who were supposed to help you find your stuff. Half the registers were closed and the quality was WAY down. Walmart is doing fine, but no one expected Walmart to offer quality and great service.
I remember going from enjoying shopping to hating it over the years because you could never find anyone to help you find the things you came to buy, they gave you a really hard time when you needed to return it … and it was a long shlep to get to the mall AND find a space to park.
Maybe had they tried a little harder to make shopping less of a drag, they might not have been so vulnerable!
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I was never a big fan of shopping at department stores or malls. It always felt like a chore. Which is why I’ve fully embraced online shopping.
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I started shopping via catalog, before amazon, when my children were little. I did take my sons shopping some places, especially for their clothes and to health food stores and to grocery stores, but so much more could be done if I didn’t expect to find it all at a local store. Plus, I was always looking for creative type toys and pastimes for them — while toys’r’us wasn’t ruled out and Target had a surprisingly helpful kids fun department, it wasn’t enough. I did get a lot of baby items through catalogs, too.
This time of year, we’d get fresh apple cider (no preservatives and crap) at a local property that did a number of activities with the community.
Later, I went through an amazon phase, but I decided not to be so much about that. For one thing, they had started sending things that were defective. (Nevertheless, I sometimes have someone throw a supplement from amazon in their cart as Whole Foods isn’t as comprehensive subsequent to the acquisition.)
I still enjoy visits to department stores like Dillard’s, whether I purchase or not. And I like little shops for all kinds of things. I also find furniture stores to be a fun environment. Maybe that’s weird. But I have recently bought furniture from more than one local furniture purveyor (sadly, one was a high-quality American brand going out of business). I did get a couple of stools and a couple of rugs from online establishments; this is due to variety.
I intend to buy a new couch with two reclining seats in it and a new chaise or something. I like unusual things, so it’ll be interesting to see where I find what I want.
A kind of strange experience, to me, was a few months back when one of my sons and I went looking for display cabinets. There was hardly anything available most places. The place that had the most to offer still wasn’t very interested in selling display cabinets. I suppose they wanted to sell sets for bedrooms, dining rooms, and living rooms. They actually talked about people not wanting display cabinets anymore; they also said any piece they would order would be “final sale.” This local shop suggested shopping online (not with them). The option that I thought was best there, of about ten they had in a photo book, turned out to be half the price online… and, ultimately, I found online something I liked better yet.
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Tremendous post! Stated wonderfully, and I couldn’t agree with you more. Amazon is my go-to for so much, Wayfair, Michaels, etc… You’re absolutely right. It can all be delivered to your front door. However, the convoy of UPS trucks probably annoys your neighbors when they are trying to pull into their driveways. LOL! 🤣
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Oh well. Too bad for the neighbors, right?
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Ah, Yup! 😉
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There’s a lot going for online shopping. I too use it a lot.
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I still want to mainly buy clothes in shop… not only to know how they fit, but how they feel, I hate scratchy clothes. I have begun to do a lot more online though. It is really very convenient.
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Yes, you can buy almost anything online. The only thing that I would not buy online is a laptop or some electronic items. Buying clothing online is good but only if you know your exact size. And you want to specify you don’t want your clothes to come from a ‘smokers’ home. Merry Christmas peace
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I bought my laptop online and I haven’t regretted it at all. I do buy most of my clothes and even my shoes online. I don’t have the patience to trek to stores and to fight the crowds. Enjoy your Christmas and New Year!
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Reblogged this on .
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Thanks for the reblog!
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welcome
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