Internet shopping vs. brick n' mortar

[Jenise]

So there was an ad in the paper for a Cuisinart coffee pot at Macy's, $129 regular, $99 on sale, and $69 today only before 1 p.m. My old Krug has been out of service for some time because I broke the carafe and haven't gotten around to replacing it.

There has occasionally been this awkward pause at dinner parties where I should offer coffee and don't.

And even before the carafe broke, there was this personal moment of dread when, after dinner, I knew I should be getting up to make a pot of coffee but, not being a coffee-after-dinner type myself and probably in the midst of one very good time I drug my feet, too comfortable to get up and do what a good hostess should.

So there was this Cuisinart with a timer and a stainless steel carafe you could bring to the table, and that seemed like the perfect solution. For my next dinner party, I could set it up earlier in the afternoon when my sense of propriety was more intact and the coffee would just make itself. I could, in the famous words of Ron Popeil, "set it and forget it." Cool.

So I asked the hubby to stop by Macy's which he passes near to while driving from one of his offices to the other and pick one up.

And so he called from there just a bit ago, royally pissed off, because he could not immediately identify the model I had described to him, and the line to talk to a salesperson was "at least 18 people long". Which probably means there were three, but I digress--and he described the models he saw. None were quite right. The closest he could get was a lower rung on the ladder--a model that was on sale for $79 and whose regular price was only $99, it had the timer but it only had a glass carafe. "Did you want that?" Well, no.

Because while we talked I pulled up SmartBargains.com, and then Overstock. The first had nothing, but Overstock.com had the newer model of the version I'd sent Bob to Macy's to get, and this one had a built-in bean grinder to boot. The MSRP was $40 higher at $169. But, the take-home price? $69. Now add in the fact that we're saved the sales tax and they offer free express shipping, and it gets cheaper yet. So by the time Bob got around to asking "Do you want that?", I had the better, cheaper solution lined up, clicked on, paid for.

And that's the end of the story. But it was the one real trip to a real store I made this Christmas season for something other than food, and it ended in our buying online anyway. Sure, for some things you have to shop in person, and it will always be so. But if you've got a name and a model number, is there really any point any more to going to the mall?

For me, no.

But it was the one real trip to a real store I made this Christmas season

Who made?

I do almost all my holiday shopping online because everything needs to be shipped. So I save myself the hassle of stores (I thoroughly detest shopping), get exactly what I am looking for, and also save myself the hassle of packaging for shipping and then standing in lines at the post office. Much less stress for me.

Now add in the fact that we're saved the sales tax and they offer free express shipping, and it gets cheaper yet.

You mean you're not going to send in WA sales tax like you're supposed to? I'm shocked

[Jenise]

Cynthia--good catch!

Mark--shhhhh!

Jenise, we buy a great deal online, but for kitchen related supplies, we shop at Williams Sonoma. Couple of reasons: their products are carefully vetted and described and they have a wonderful return policy -- they'll accept anything back for full refund for any reason or no reason at all.

They've inspired great loyalty here, and even my admirably cheapskate wife is willing, even eager, to pay the premium they charge.

For most items, I would prefer online shopping with a reputable company vs standing in line and dealing with moronic sales reps that staff most B&M stores these days.

And remember - just because the Website doesn't collect sales tax, doesn't mean you don't owe use tax to your home State. Of course, the States typically do not have the enforcement budgets or the manpower to catch you.

This Christmas season I have not been into one store.....what I did buy, I bought online. I wait until the sites offer free shipping and go for it. I love online shopping. I've had excellent service and the prices are much less than what I find in retail stores.

Internet shopping is ideal when you know just what you're looking for, down to the make/model. I buy a lot of stuff online, but when I want to do comparison between competing brands, or I'm not quite sure just what it is that I'm after, I like the comfort and reassurance of actually examining the physical merchandise in person in a b&m store.

So IMO both have their place.

-Paul W.

Where I agree with you, Paul, is when it comes to book stores... new or used. We are blessed with many independent bookstores of both varieties in Santa Fe, and almost nothing makes me happier than browsing through them.

[Jenise]

but when I want to do comparison between competing brands, or I'm not quite sure just what it is that I'm after, I like the comfort and reassurance of actually examining the physical merchandise in person in a b&m store.

Sometimes, you really do need to examine what you buy, I agree. But this begs an ethics question: if you go into the b & m store to examine the merchandise, do you feel morally obligated to buy there? Dennis Prager, who has a radio show out of Los Angeles that I believe is nationally syndicated, once did this topic on a day I was listening while driving around. He argued that you are, that it's essentially dishonest to go into a store and use their physical inventory for decision-making knowing you're going to buy on line anyway.

To an extent I agree with Prager on this, but if I've gone into a store and the staff turn out to less than helpful, even if I've learned what I need to know from my own examination, I will not buy there.

On the other hand, I'm less than pleased with Internet stores that don't provide sufficient information - wattages, dimensions, etc. I don't buy from them either.

Sometimes, you really do need to examine what you buy, I agree. But this begs an ethics question: if you go into the b & m store to examine the merchandise, do you feel morally obligated to buy there? Dennis Prager, who has a radio show out of Los Angeles that I believe is nationally syndicated, once did this topic on a day I was listening while driving around. He argued that you are, that it's essentially dishonest to go into a store and use their physical inventory for decision-making knowing you're going to buy on line anyway.

I personally like to browse in stores, although I also buy online. The way I look at it is that when I walk into a B&M store, I am offering them the opportunity to capture my business. A friendly, knowledgeable, and courteous staff will often guarantee that I'll buy something from that store, whether I pick something up that particular day or not. I'll do so knowing that I might pay less using an online site. OTOH, shopping on the web is all about convenience and price. For instance, everything I buy for family members in other states comes from online sites. It's just too much of a pain to buy something and then have to ship it.

This is an interesting question. I've moved more and more of my purchasing online, and I'm the happier for it.
ESPECIALLY at Christmas, when the stores are mobbed. I get things shipped where I need them, and it's just so convenient.

The only I thing I really don't consider buying online - clothing. I like to try stuff on and look through the racks to get ideas.
But for books, electronics, wine......heck, I even used faucets.com to buy fixtures for a recent bathroom upgrade. The contractor mocked me - said it wouldn't arrive on time, wouldn't be the right stuff, he was predicting all sorts of problems. Wrong. I got what I wanted, shipped within days, cheaper than he could find it locally. Now he's a believer, too.

I'm with just about everyone else. I love shopping online for the convenience, avoiding the crowds and traffic and the broad selection, the ability to get almost anything I want and exactly what I want.

I haven't given up bricks-and-mortar shopping entirely, but it's mostly either for impulse purchases or things I want RIGHT NOW, or items I enjoy browsing, like books and wine. I might feel different about wine if I lived in a place that didn't have good wine shops (or a place where online shopping was easier), but at this point I probably get 80 percent of my wine locally, 20 percent on the Internet, and those numbers are pretty much reversed - or more so - for everything else. Even for clothes other than the most high-end, which I like to buy in person both for fitting and actually looking before I lay out serious bucks for a sport jacket or suit. Canali, I buy locally. LL Bean, I buy online.

Welcome to the forum, Mr. Portable!

But this begs an ethics question: if you go into the b & m store to examine the merchandise, do you feel morally obligated to buy there?

Trivia: there is actually a Talmudic prohibition against doing that.

I buy a lot on line all year round, and especially at the holidays when we have about four different families to send gifts across to across the country. This year was a little different, however. I went into Costco to pick up a can of Marcona Almonds to bring with me on a trip to visit my parents in Florida (that was all, I kid you not), when I was struck by all the cool things they had. My cart was loaded with toys, craft kits, DVDs, jackets, sweaters, pajamas, and books by the time I reached the checkout.

I decided that I'm a terrible mall shopper. I just wander around in an abyss with no idea what store to even walk into. It can be a little like that shopping on-line as well. Hmm. What website should I start with? What would they like? At Costco, stuff just sort of jumped out at me. "Oh, wow, so and so would love that jacket." etc.

Also, one of the things I despise about shopping online is the impersonal nature of it. I don't get to see what the wrapping paper looks like, the items arrive at various times, and of course the outrageous shipping charges (unless the site is offering shipping specials).

[James Roscoe]

As a teacher I don't have enough time to do online shopping, let alone go to a store until it's too late to go online. Ahhhhh.... Gotta hit the stores today!

I try to buy locally, but if there's a huge difference in price (even including the shipping), I'll buy online. Plus there really is the moronic clerk factor that others have mentioned.

I do both. I prefer shopping online because I can zero in on exactly what I want and I like the research aspect of it. I occasionally feel the need to be among the crowds, and will venture into the malls just to fill my senses. Somehow I don't notice the clerks -- I pretty much expect them to not know much. Take a look at the size of the stores and all that merchandise -- as a sales clerk, how much would you know about it? A buyer -- yes. A clerk -- hardly. Cut them some slack. Besides, as a country, most of us are not very engaging and bright people. Every trip I make to the mall pretty much confirms that.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

One thing we should not lose sight of is that the B&M in your home town employees your neighbor, family member or friend. That persons job depends of selling. If the person is not selling because we bought online something we could have purchased in the hometown B&M, then when my daughter, or your father, or sister etc loses their job, I hope we will pick up their slack until they can find another job.

That's why I won't use those do-it-yourself checkouts, which is just another way to hire fewer people.

That's why I won't use those do-it-yourself checkouts, which is just another way to hire fewer people.

Agreed, Larry!

I do, however, purchase online fairly often. If it is an item I want & know the specifics of, and the online price w/ shipping is less than the B&M store down the road, I will buy online. It saves the hassles of: 1 - trying to get the attention of a salesperson who is too busy chatting up her friend on the cellphone to notice me on her own, or 2 - having to constantly fend off an overzelous salesperson who keeps trying to steer me towards a model that I do not want.

If it is electronics, forget Best Buy, I go to Newegg.com for much better prices (across the board), selection & customer service in the unlikely event that I need assistance. Books are still fun to browse through in the store, but if I can get the same title significantly cheaper through Amazon, I will order online in a heartbeat. And I am not above searching ebay for something that I am having trouble finding locally.

I have a fiscal responsibility to my family to get the most value possible for the money I spend. That includes online vs B&M shopping if possible.

I like the self checkout system. It saves me from having to deal with the morons and chatterboxes who get hired to run the cash registers and don't add value. It's quicker, too, and my time is worth something to me- I don't get the attraction of waiting in long lines.

[Jenise]

I like the self checkout system. It saves me from having to deal with the morons and chatterboxes who get hired to run the cash registers and don't add value. It's quicker, too, and my time is worth something to me- I don't get the attraction of waiting in long lines.

I love them for the same reasons (they can be a pain when you have lots of produce, though, which I usually do), plus, it's a machine, and I love operating machines. Lot more fun than just standing there while the checker does all the work.