Category: Daily Living
Online shopping is, and has been a God send for me.
Sitting at my computer, I have been able to locate things that would take me a good deal of time to find at a store.
A few times, I’ve gone to a physical store, asked specifically for the product I wanted, and have been sold the wrong product, so had to return it. I went online, located the exact product I wanted, and it was shipped to me free.
Saving money is another major advantage to online shopping, and I’ve been able to buy products that are relatively expensive for half the mark up in a physical store.
We have services, such as Amazon Prime, and Shop Runner, that can save you shipping cost, if you buy lots from the retailors they sponsor.
Many retailors now have online chat. This enables me to shop and chat with a person much like we do on the Zone.
The person will describe items for me in detail, and even help me with matching.
Some have phone numbers as well for this, but I like the chat, because many times they are available 24 hours a day, and wait times are nothing.
An example of this would be Overstock.com.
The last item I purchased was an office chair. I needed to know the color, because the description wasn’t as clear as I required. I also wanted to compare the color of two different chairs.
I opened up the chat page and talked to someone right away, got the information, and saved $200, because they have a coupon they were offering.
It arrived at my door in about 3 days, so all I had to do was put it together.
If I had gone to a physical store, I’d have had to find a way to bring my new chair home, because it was in a large box weighing 80 pounds.
The UPS man did the heavy lifting and put it outside my door free of charge.
Shipping cost on items like this runs around 65 to 99 dollars, so I saved that charge.
I would have had to request a taxi that was large enough to bring my chair home, or find a family member, or friend with a vehicle large enough to bring it.
Next, the package was 80 pounds, so I’d need someone strong enough to help me carry it inside.
Taxi drivers are nice, but I’d have to pay the fair, and tip him to help me, if he wanted to. Otherwise, my chair would be on the burb. I don’t have a dolly currently, and an 80-pound box, although not all that heavy, is impossible to carry if you are one guy. You have to drag it.
The Fed Ex man put my chair outside my door free of charge because Over stock was offering free shipping.
If the chair was damaged, or not to my liking, Fed Ex would have picked it back up, and returned it to Over Stock for me free from my door again. All I would have needed to do was repack it an easy thing if you are careful when you open the shipping carton.
I’d like to get some feedback on your experiences with online shopping.
I also offer assistants with any website you find difficult to use when you shop, and tips on how to get your purchase.
I am only able to help with US, but would like to hear from anyone on this subject.
I do love to go the physical stores, and still do often, but when I really need to get the best price, something difficult to carry, or just any other benefit, for a blind person, online is impossible to beat.
Fed Ex, not UPS. I see I used them both in my summary.
We have other shipper carriers too, and from time to time, I'll receive a delivery from one of them.
I tend to like UPS better, because of the tracking options, or how it works.
Fed Ex has one, but it doesn't work as well.
So what do you all say?
Definitely for online shopping. I buy all my groceries online too.
especially now that my hearing is as bad as it is, going out shopping is a nightmare, since even if I get someone who is extremely helpful and will tell me everything I need, (which is rare,) I will most likely still have trouble hearing them. There are still some things I'd rather see before I buy. Clothes and shoes, for example, but most of the time, yes, I prefer to shop online.
I love love love online shopping. I've been an amazon shopper since 2002 and a prime member since 2008. I enjoy finding unique things that might not be carried in local stores. Wayne is right; usually I can find better deals online than in physical stores. I've shopped on ebay a couple of times but I prefer amazon because of my prime membership.
I love the ability to get descriptions of products and read reviews. I don't shop online for clothes or shoes unless I've already purchased something and just want to by more of the same thing.
I really miss the days of being able to buy groceries online. That was a true Godsend, especially when my son was a toddler. I don't know why they discontinued it here; I guess it wasn't profitable. I'm hoping it comes back though.
I definitely prefer online shopping. It doesn't work so well for clothes, or at least I don't think it does. I like to try them on before I buy them. But pretty much anything but clothes, online is the way to go.
I’ve actually learned how to buy clothes and shoes online.
It took a bit of study, but now I’ve got it down to wear I can get exactly what I need or want.
I like it also, because I can get advice, or matching done by the reps in the stores.
Many times returns, depending on the shop, are free, and some retailors will send you several items to try on.
Once you have the one you want, you send the rest back.
As to shoes, if you read carefully, you can learn if you should buy a larger size, or smaller.
Example, American shoe makers, like Wolverine are marked larger then say Red Wing.
When purchasing Wolverines, it tells you to buy the whole size down from what you normally wear.
Red Wing, suggest their boots fit to size.
I’m a 10 and a half, so I purchase 9 and a half if I buy Wolverine.
This is true for other shoe companies as well.
Some will allow you to order more then one pair and send them back free.
Descriptions are good as well.
For men, there is a service called Trunk Club. www.trunkclub.com
They will pick clothes for you and help you select them.
I don’t know of a service for women, but when I’ve purchased a gift or two, I’ve been able to get some advice as well.
Signing up for emails from the shops you like, will net you lots of savings on clothes.
I guess this would be very useful to someone that needs fashion assistants, but has low funds and wishes to get the best for the buck and look good.
Men can have dress shirts made to order for a reasonable price.
Maybe you want a white shirt with a red collar and cuffs. This is possible now, and the shirt will be 100% cotton.
I spend a bit of time learning this, and now have a hand full of shops I like, because of quality, service.
L.L Bean is one of them. When you buy a product from them and you wash it and it has any problems, they’ll replace it period.
A company calledDSTLD will let you order several pairs or jeans, and try them for 10 days.
Even one pair you can wear it for a few days to see if you like the quality.
They give washing instructions and such, and if you email or call them will help you choose items.
The products sold are top notch.
I have others as well, but they need to pay me for promotion. Smile.
People that are difficult to fit have a wealth of shops they can use too.
Example, a lady with a really small foot, or a man that has a short in seem can get the size they want and have lots of options the stores won't have in stock.
I use amazon when I want something I can't find anywhere else.
For years now I have used drugstore.com. I got tired of asking someone to take me to the drugstore every time I needed toothpaste or shampoo, and especially when I needed something more personal. So now I can get that kind of stuff and much more as drugstore.com has items you may not find in a typical drugstore. Plus, as long as your order is at least $35, everything is shipped in one box and there is
no charge for shipping and handling. Every time you order something it is added to "your list" for easy reordering. If you buy something that you will not be buying again, you can go into "your list" and delete it. They also have very friendly and helpful customer service operators if you need to call.
I remember explaining how to work part of that site for you Blue.
It is a good shop.
I've not purchased much there, but it has many benefits.
As to Amazon, I have learned they aren't always the lower price even with Prime. I don't buy enough from them, so haven't signed up for prime.
I use to think they were lower and purchased several products, but I've learned to watch that.
I do use them often however.
Walmart has gotten on the ban wagon with quick shipping for I think $45 a year as well.
You can also subscribe to items from drugstore.com and save with the auto reorder plan. It's quite nice for shampoo and the likes.
I'm with Domestic Goddess, Amazon is such a life saver! I've actually just signed up for prime, this month, not sure why I resisted, for so long. I've been using Amazon for 12 years, they owe me some free shipping! Mostly, I'm looking forward to accessing so many free Kindle books! Book heaven, yeah!
I used to make heavy use of Ebay, for clothes, mainly, but not as much. lately. The site become a pain to deal with.
Amazon has been good for household items of all sorts, and shoes. I wear a 5, so pretty tough to find in stores, usually. Clothes are a bit problematic, at least on Amazon. The descriptions are lacking, so I still shop for them locally--I love thrift stores, or recently I bought things from the JCPenney mobile site, once I determined what size and brand I needed. That was so easy that I may never set foot in their crummy store, again. Haha The local store claimed not to carry petite sizes, but they certainly had them online.
Glad to hear Overstock is still usable. I haven't bought anything from them in years, but I did get a great deal on a strand of good pearls there, about 10 years
ago--treated myself to them for my birthday. Well, really good quality, but not too absurdly expensive, which is the point of Overstock.
I got slightly addicted to groupon this past Christmas.
Sometimes I visit amazon just to check out reviews of a product I want to buy. Even if I end up not buying it from amazon, the reviews can sometimes give you information that the product description does not make clear.
In many ways, online shopping with companies like amazon, and the way people seem to worship it make me very sad.
Especially amazon, who treat their employees very poorly.
one woman who had to take time off to have treatment for breast cancer was put on the employment improvement program. things like that make me sick, and amazon has been in the news a lot lately for this kind of shit.
This sort of entitlement that we feel, we need this item right now, we need it as cheap as possible, so we don't care if people are being screwed over.
I canceled my audible account for this reason and no longer shop at amazon.
After a few weeks of having self scanning at our supermarket, my husband and I made the decision to stop using it. this sort of tricking customers into doing the work themselves while it actually adds up to no less time is resulting in people losing their jobs.
I want to help people keep work, not be part of the reason why they are losing it.
Goody for you.
I don't think anyone approves of large companies mistreating their employees. I still have to run my house efficiently and make my life simpler, and as long as Amazon and such places help me do that, I'll shop from them.
The feature that allows you to ask questions about a product is immensely helpful, too, in addition to the reviews. ...except for the time someone told me to look at the picture, when I stated why this wasn't an option in my query! Grr!
I wish I could make decisions based on the ethics of a company, and sometimes I can. If it's whether I'd rather go with starbucks, or a local coffee place I'll choose the local one.
But realistically, I don't have the means to always make those decisions. I needed to get a new hard drive for my computer. The cheapest was on amazon. Now, I could have gone to a store. However, the nearest one is out of town, which would have meant paying for a ride. I don't have someone who can just drive me places whenever I want. I'm also a student, so, the ride there and back would have probably set me back £20 in total.
I'm sorry, but implying everyone should make decisions based on ethics is really narrow minded. Most people would like to, but not everyone has the financial means to do so, or the ability to just ask someone to drive them somewhere if it isn't a place they can get to using public transport.
Yes, it's sad. It's sad that companies treat people like shit. It's also sad that there are people in the world who don't really have the choice but to shop with them if they need something. Maybe everyone who talks about justice and all that should start doing something to make sure people have more choice, instead of looking down on them for the choices they do make.
When a company like Amazon looks as if they are treating people badly, I always investagate the claims.
When you are successful, you are going to have people after your reputation.
Some company's have even been made do better because of customer pressure, and that is what I'd prefer applying.
I use as many local small places as possible, but even at the local level, I can never be sure they are treating the people serving me well, so I never assume.
Apple, Microsoft, IBM, Google, Samsung, they are get bad press from time to time, but all of these large company's do much for people as well, you just don't hear about that as forcefully as you do that things that look bad.
You can find better deals online, but you can also find better products, too. I’ve bought lots of things online that aren’t sold in local stores, anywhere. For example, I recently grabbed a couple fancy Merino Wool button-down shirts and a front-loading travel backpack online. Local stores will certainly have plenty of generic and well-known brands, but if you’re looking for something a little more off the beaten path then online shopping is the way to go.
I respect what Perestroika is getting at, but I agree that the sentiment is narrow minded. I’m sure plenty of other products Perestroika uses were produced by people who were treated very poorly – from electronics to clothes.
Yes, I'd have to agree with the sentiments expressed in the last 3 posts or so. If you put your action where your mouth is regarding ethic, then don't buy such things as clothing from Tommy, Gap BR Etc... Don't buy apple products or a number of other brans as they are produced through cheap labour. Ethic is good, but living within one's mean is a necessity!
the example I gave about not using self scanning or online shopping for food was basically for this reason.
There will always come a time when I need to buy one emergancy thing. like nappies, babyfood, formular or something else essential that just can't wait till my next order.
The more people that get tricked into using self service and scanning, the less people they need at the shop, so the less people available to help me, until there's just one or 2 staff in a massive supermarket who have too much work to do to help someone with a disability, or help an old lady carry her shopping to the taxi.
This is my community. the way I shop helps people stay in work and if I and other people don't get tricked into the 'self scanning takes less time' crap, then the more people stay in work and the more people available to do customer service.
As for amazon, it's really just a case of me thinking 'do I want that couple of drinks, that coffee and cake at the local bakery, or whatever other item I could spend this money on, or will I pay for shipping so that I can use a slightly more reputable company.' the cost of buying fair isn't all that high.
the example I gave about not using self scanning or online shopping for food was basically for this reason.
There will always come a time when I need to buy one emergancy thing. like nappies, babyfood, formular or something else essential that just can't wait till my next order.
The more people that get tricked into using self service and scanning, the less people they need at the shop, so the less people available to help me, until there's just one or 2 staff in a massive supermarket who have too much work to do to help someone with a disability, or help an old lady carry her shopping to the taxi.
This is my community. the way I shop helps people stay in work and if I and other people don't get tricked into the 'self scanning takes less time' crap, then the more people stay in work and the more people available to do customer service.
As for amazon, it's really just a case of me thinking 'do I want that couple of drinks, that coffee and cake at the local bakery, or whatever other item I could spend this money on, or will I pay for shipping so that I can use a slightly more reputable company.' the cost of buying fair isn't all that high.
I'm with Violet and others on this. While those stories about Amazon don't make me happy, it's a life-saver when it comes to not having to deal with shopper's assistants at stores, or not having to ask for help buying personal items, etc. With Amazon Prime, I can get it shipped free, and not have to pay the transportation costs of getting to and from whatever store. I don't do online shopping for instant gratification, it makes life much simpler, and in many cases, less expensive. Amazon often allows you to buy large quantities of items at a much lower price than you'd pay if you got that same quantity in a store. Given that I don't have a huge income, I take those bits of savings where I can get them.
I tend to use online shopping where I don't need to know about the physical
characteristics of what I'm buying, E.G. books and CDs are books and CDs
(before they all became electronic that is). I would use online for groceries less
if the assistance in grocery stores here wasn't so uniformly useless, but it is so I
shop online. Wayners, I haven't investigated the online chat facilities as a
means of getting detailed descriptions, but it's a good tip. Previously I wouldn't
buy electronics online that I either hadn't seen elsewhere or read a review of.
All that said, my shopping habits were transformed a few years ago with a
Canadian import I managed to acquire, so physical stores are more of an option
than they were previously.
I love online shopping... I love the freedom that it offers, as I can go browsing at any time
of the day or night and most of the time, I can get what I want without having to leave
the comfort of my home. I also like the fact that you can comparison shop between e-
tailers relatively easily... you still should be wary of product descriptions as they can vary
from place to place for the same item - I find that looking at the "product details" or
"what's in the box" sections to be most helpful so that you can get an idea of what you're
getting for the price you're paying.
I hate paying for shipping, so I try to use the click and collect or free delivery option
wherever possible. That said, if there's an item that Amazon sells/does the fulfillment for
that I just can't live without that has a shipping charge attached (i.e. I've not met the
"free shipping" minimum), I"ll usually cough up the £2 "Amazon Locker Delivery" fee
because I can have it delivered to one of their locker locations near me for less than what
delivery to my home would cost and faster than the speed of super saver delivery... if I'm
going to have to pay for delivery, I might as well have it sent to a locker so that I have
the convenience of collecting it at MY leisure and don't have to wait at home all day
waiting for the lazy idiots at Amazon Logistics to deliver my stuff.
I read about instacart last night and they seem to deliver from my local store jewel food store. Does anybody else use them? I have peapod and have used them but wonder about the instacart delivery.
I hate paying shipping too. Sometimes the shipping cost more them the product. Lol
I've learned to locate free shipping most times, or buy enough so it is free from any store.
I watch for coupons on it too, but sometimes as pointed out, I just want what I want, so pay.
The comparing is wonderful. I do like to shop in the physical stores, but even with a companion, there is no way I'm going to get around to 4 5 stores in one day, unless we drive all over.
You might have a couple in the same location, a mall, but many times there spread out.
Online I can set them all up on tabs and go from one store to the next with a key move. Lol
I can even enjoy a companion in ways I can't in the physical stores while we shop and get that extra visual input.
We too can have things delivered to the physical store free, or a shippers location, so you don't have to wait around all day.
That is the only drawback, the waiting.
It is one reason I like UPS here best, because they give you a time, or you can set up a 2 hour window.
You also can choose delivery options, such as, leave at front door, or at a neighbors.
You can even have your package sent to were you'll be on delivery day.
Hmmm... I really ought to give online shopping a try one of these days... Not for clothes or shoes as I prefer to try them on. I like them to be a perfect fit so...
But I've just took a look on overstock.com and saw some porcelain dinner sets. - Maybe these will be my very first online shopping purchases, lol.
Kim, not to be an asshole, but its almost impossible to buy electronics that aren't produced by a hellhole manufacturing subcontractor, or that aren't made with conflict minerals somewhere during their production cycle. I'm not saying we shouldn't think about ethics, but basically every mass market electronics manufacturer manufactures their products in esentially the same place. Apple just got press for doing this, because they're apple.
Same thing with eating seafood. We can't be 100 percent sure, even in the US, we're not eating shrimp or other fish products produced via slave labor, but there are a lot more viable options for that, rather than electronics.
Even things that say"Made in America." or what are suppose to be American products are not always made in America.
Clothes, shoes, electronics, you name it.
I know a lady that lives here and does fashion design for a company based here.
About every 4 months or so, she'd travel to china to set up the making of the products and shipping even though the sports wear her company designed says American.
Companies have been jumped for it, so now if you read carefully, you will see a tag saying were things are made.
I remember teasing people here about the iPhone being made in China, and I got jumped.
Soon that story came out.
The other thing is, what we think slave labor, the people doing that work are happy to have it. It comes down to having work, or being really poor so they want and desire the work.
It improves their lives by a great measure.
Look at the call center industry in India. People are doing way better and we are discussing our phone bills with a girl in Delhi. Lol
I'm not saying it is right to use people, but it is difficult to decide if the people don't feel used.
I happily use online shopping where I can, I've gotten many very nice things that way and found some absolute steals sometimes too. Good example is a flash drive I'm lookint at, 64 gigs for only 19 bucks, normally 74 so yeah.
Amazon Prime is the best! I like going to the store to get stuff especially
when it comes to buying shoes, clothes, hand bags, backpacks, wallets,
etc. I want to feel it and check out its features. Things like bluetooth
speakers and a water pick that I purchased, I just picked those out by
looking at customer reviews. I like how on amazon you have a wish list.
When you buy something, it automatically comes off your list. Now, it
doesn't do that when someone else buys something off your list, which is a
good thing because if they bought you a present, you're not supposed to
know what it is, and if they bought something and it wasn't on your list,
you would be able to use process of elimination to try and figure out what
it is. Apparently, there is a way to see what other people purchased off of
your wish list, but I don't know how to do that.
I bought an iPod touch off of amazon. I forget the company it was sold
from, but it was not sold by Amazon. I returned it because it wasn't
holding a charge, and it didn't have the back facing camera. Now, the
back facing camera doesn't really matter to a blind person, but without it,
you can't use the KNFB reader app for example. I bought a new one at the
apple store, and returned the old one, and I got my money back. You can
schedule a pick up, but I just had a friend of mine help me do the labels
and my mom took us to the UPS store to drop it off. I threw away the
insides of the box, so what I did was I took the inside of the new iPod box
and put it in the old box and attached the iPod to the plastic piece. It
came with ear pods and a cable, so I just left the new cable in the box and
kept the old cables as it was the exact same thing. One lesson I learned is
that when you buy something big like that, keep the packing in case it
doesn't work, and you have to return it.
Online shopping is a godsend, though I'm still mastering the clothes part. Shoes and all other items are fine, but with a figure like mine (no two clothing companies have the same size/style to fit me perfectly), I find it incredibly annoying to play the guessing games.
I am with kim about clothes. maybe it's just a woman thing, but I just don't like the idea of buying something without trying it on to see if it feels comfortable. sure I can send it back, but I have to pay to do that. the exceptions are companies that make to measure. I buy a lot of goth clothing from moonmaiden gothic clothing, and they make things to measure and they always get it right. I have about 11 pieces from them and I love every one.
absolutely not shoes, too, shoes need to be comfortable and are just one of those things you need to try before buy.
It is, yes! That's why I used to get clothes from Ebay, because they list measurements, rather than useless size numbers, which is the way it should be done for all clothing, in my opinion, not just men's clothes! It's more practical.
But James, that is precisely what I was saying... If one truly leads by ethic, one wouldn't be buying anything, or very little seeing as most products are produced in third world countries and in probably in conditions we couldn't dream of.
Some shops offer free returns if you need to send items back.
The do size measurements too instead of size numbers.
You can even get a personal shopper that helps you fit things.
It has gotten pretty good lately.
online shopping is the way to go. since 1997 I've been an amazon user. mainly I buy staples for food like canned goods, pc stuff, and clothes from amazon. I figure let the trained shipping proffessionals carry them in to my house. Amazon is quickereasier and more fun.
shopping with sighted friends is also enjoyable, but many tend to look at and tell me about the things they like and skip items they might not be interested in.
as for the person with the scruples about using amazon. principles are fine well and good. for example unless there is a dire need to have an item I won't shop at walmart. I wonder if this person has a husband to drive her. if you have wheels it's easy to not use the internet.
qvc is another online source I enjoy. they have good descriptions andhelpful phone help if needed.
I have more to say but must rush off to deal with a cooking emergency. grrrr. enjoy your day.
sometimes the prices are higher but adding in the cab to go to a reag
sorry about the dropped sentence n the previous email. sometimes online products may be higher but when I add in the cab/uber fair to go get them it's not that bad. also my time is worth something
I buy most foods, perishables like meat etc., locally.
recently the brick and mortar stores are whinig about us not using them. wellseveral times I've gone in to ask for soething. they say it's not available. go look it up on line I am told. so why other to go to the store?
mat least 90% of the jewelry I have is artisan made. buying clothes isn't a problem for me if I understand the descriptions. if they aren't adequate, there is usually someone else who has the product I need.
lands end has wonderful sales people who will match for you. they have a color dictionary and also can use the pictures to make good choices.
oh finally here is a story for you. our daughter lives in md. during the blizzard, the lines for getting stuff were out the door of target. the day before, she went on line purchased what they needed, including shelf stable milk, went to the store and picked it up. the shipping department had no lines at all. they were in and out in less then five minutes. the other people were still crawling along. just an idea if you have a disaster in your future.
Yes. That is a great reason for online shopping.
I understand when people know bhad weathers coming they shop online and in two days get the products, so are ready for the storm and could devote time to other preparing.