First off, we all love shopping online, why else would you be reading a site about never paying etail. I am also the first person to admit to being an addicted online shopper. There are no lines to wait in. I can buy anything at any time, day or night. To top it all of, the internet has nearly everything for sale at closeout prices. Though, this all leads to a fair share of, ‘What was I thinking when I ordered THAT’ moments as well.

With that said, there is a lot of negative points toward shopping online. In this article I will be laying out some of the situations that you may prefer shopping at the local B&M (Brick and Mortar) stores. Also, be sure to subscribe to our feed , because In the next article, I will lay out a few tips to make sure you get the best price locally, so that you’re not stuck paying retail.

The most apparent consequence of online shopping is that everything must be shipped. This problem is actually bigger than you might think. Obviously, there is the initial cost but that is often less than tax you would pay locally. Though, depending on your state, you may still owe this tax to the state directly, making for a sad day come tax time. Also, because of the shipping, there will be a delay lasting anywhere from 3 days, to 3 weeks, depending on where you purchase. The following are a few things you might want to consider:

Returns and Defects

First, should you have any problems with the item you buy, there’s an additional shipping cost and delay. An online RMA could take three times as long as your initial order, and you are responsible to ship the product back to the seller/manufacturer. It should also be noted that the experience when returning something to a ‘household name’ like amazon, with a reputation to uphold, will give you a much lighter headache than a fly-by-night company that had THE BEST price. Many people I know have bought some mighty expensive paper weights in the quest of getting something ‘cheap.’

You should also keep in mind, the price you payed to have the item delivered to your door may be significantly lower than what you will pay to return it to them. This is because you do not ship in the massive bulks that online retailers do. In some cases, it may even be cheaper to toss the old one out and ORDER A NEW ONE!! I have, on more than one occasion ate the cost of something I ordered online when it subsequently failed.

Local wholesale clubs such as Sam’s Club or Costco have extremely consumer-centric return policies. You can usually return a item to a Sam’s Club YEARS after the original purchase. That is, assuming it has a defect (some may say this is optional), you have the receipt (their computers only track your purchases over the past year), and it is still under manufacturer warranty.

With few exceptions, making a return at a local B&M store is relatively painless, and costs you absolutely nothing, not even shipping. This can lead to huge savings when purchasing something large such as a TV. Imagine the shipping costs to return a very bulky plasma television across many states without a bulk shipping account.

Small items

Secondly, if you have a habit of buying small, inexpencive items, such as  cables, fans, adapters, etc, your online shipping costs will skyrocket fast. Many online retailers, including ones known for being the cheapest, can charge as much as twice the cost of some items for shipping. This is because the package still takes up room on the truck. No matter how light it is, the freight company has to charge for weight as well as the space the box takes up.

Bad shipping calculators

If you plan on doing bulk orders for the items mentioned above, you may be in for more than you bargained for. These items are extremely small, as well as lightweight. Because of this you can fit many of them into a single box and the cost per items approaches 0 when you order in bulk. However someone forgot to tell this little ’secret’ to most online shopping carts. This is even true with many online stores known for their low costs. This is also somewhat true with slightly larger items, but it is especially true on these small, light weight items.

Very few carts will calculate the overall size and weight of the items. In fact, most shopping carts are used as simple calculators multiplying single unit costs. A human would easily know that 30 loose cables fit into a single box, and would probably weigh less than the cardboard that packages them. Most shopping carts are not that smart.

Let’s put this into perspective… Let’s say the per-unit shipping on an item was 4 dollars. A human would likely charge you 6, maybe 7 dollars total, because of the added weight, since the additional items did not add any bulk to the box. However, most shopping carts will just multiply the shipping cost by 30 cables. You would end up paying 120 dollars for shipping !!!!

In this case, you have lost over $110 dollars. All for the convenience to avoid a line at 3 in the morning sitting in a comfy chair with your pants off. For you rich folk out there, that may sound like a deal… but I will pass.

Summary

So, basicly what I’m trying to tell you this shopping season is this: Take the time to think about all aspects of your purchase before checking out (both online and locally). If you use your head, buying ‘online’ items online, and ‘local’ items locally, you will save a significant amount of money over the next few months.

Also make SURE you keep checking in, because In my next post I will walk you through some good tips and tricks to make sure you get your money’s worth when you do need to shop locally.