All right, so writing about the “known by everyone, remembered by none” facts of online shopping! Ask me why am I writing this, & I’ll tell you I have been a victim of this “knowing everything yet not remembering anything” syndrome. As a consequence, my wardrobe cries out to me not to overload it anymore (its half full of clothes I have never put on, and not sure if I ever will), my shoe rack has given up and it can’t accommodate anymore shoes ( some of those shoes are odd sized, some look different than they did on the websites and thus I don’t like them, some are made of real bad material and cause irritation), I can literally open up a nail polish shop going by the number of nail polishes I own ( I can’t finish them even if I paint my nails rainbow every single day) and what not! Let’s not lengthen the list anymore.
- Discount? Let’s RUSH!
Just hold on. Remember having earned the money you were just going to spend. I am sure your boss didn’t allow you a “discount” on your task so you can work lesser and earn the same!
Buying things just because they are cheap, doesn’t make a sense at all. Think twice if those discounted items are necessary at all. At times you do get regular household stuff, clothing for regular usage, stationaries and cosmetics of everyday use for discounts. It is going to be pocket friendly if you first make a list of what you NEED to buy and then check if any of those items are available in lesser price than what your local market asks for. But don’t just jump over and buy a hand painted wooden wall clock for 10% off which you’ve no idea where will you hang, or a pair of undersized bed sheets which do not fit your bed!
- Buy 2 get 1 FREE
Ever received those irritating phone calls from those Tele-callers who told you “you can win assured gift vouchers if you buy a car within next 3 days”? Or, ever noticed the ads in jewelry shops during Dhanteras celebration which stated “assured gift worth 3000 rupees on purchase over 50,000 rupees”? So, they want you to spend some few lakhs on a car to receive a holiday package worth 10,000 bucks! Or, they would make you buy jewelry worth 50,000 rupees by provoking you towards a gift worth 30,000/-! Use your brain and decide who’s at the benefitting end of it. When you see you are being offered one trouser worth 1200 bucks free when you buy two of them, you actually end up spending 2400 rupees because the word “free” seems irresistible to you! Brand owners do not love you so much; they are not ready to give away their products to you without profiting anything from it. Most of the times, the price of the “free” item is adjusted with the price of those “buy 2” or “buy 3” items. And once again, you simply end up buying things you just don’t need.
- Great brands, great price
Well I am sorry to disappoint you, this is not possible. It would be rather be “great brand, greater price”. Leading brands who are actually serious about maintaining quality of their products, would not indulge in “flat 80% off in everything” kind of thing. It is very much possible, that your favorite online shopping destination is not providing you authentic stuff actually manufactured by the brand they are claiming. Besides, when you see “60% off” written beside a product, you don’t even know what its real price is and you simply can’t make out whether they’re really giving you the heavy discount. So don’t be an easy prey of the “clearance offer”. It could just clear your pocket too!
- ‘Larger than life’ representation
For example, a gorgeous looking lady with a sea blue chiffon gown holding hands with a dazzling clean shaved tall handsome man in a black suit. Goes you go gaga? I bet, yes. And thus you click on the “buy” button. When the product finally arrives, you realize, you’ll hardly have an occasion which suits this dress. Or worse, dad won’t allow you a sleeveless gown! Or even worse, you wear it but don’t look half good of how the woman on the website was!
Ok, peace. You have just seen a model’s photo with adequate make up, add on accessories, and of course, some real good Photoshop (Models please don’t take it personally)! Before you buy something just because it looks nice, think if it’s going to look equally nice on you or whether you’ll ever wear this or not. Think if you will be able to carry it. Fashion shoots, portfolios and ramp walks are larger than life, they show you what things could be, not what things are.
- “Easy Returns”
I swear, these returns are not that easy! First you call, then you describe why do you want to return, if the product was damaged, they will ask you what according to you might have caused the damage, then you might be asked to write an e-mail requesting a return, then if they find it acceptable they might accept a return. Think about a new dress you have brought and kept new for a month. After a month, you open the wrapper and find out that it’s not fitting you. God bless you, because the return period of 30 days is over. Either donate what you brought, or lose weight (or add to it)! In case you have brought stuff like make up items or shampoos, soaps etc, which you have already started using and then found out it was not suiting your skin or hair, there might be no return at all!
- What to buy, what not to
Last, but not the least. Buying books, clothes online is cool. Buying electronic stuff is cool too, provided you have thoroughly compared the price among various online stores, and have carefully checked that they’re giving you the warranty cards and other necessary papers. Buying cosmetics is ok till you’re buying something known. Trying something new online? We don’t suggest! You got no option to see if the lip color is looking good on you, or how does the perfume smell. Trust us, the container looking great won’t help. Before buying household stuff, crosscheck with your local market price. Don’t let an online store fool you for a pair of plastic buckets or a set of pillow covers.
So? Welcome to the store which is never closed. Where you can hang out wearing your track suits. Which is too generous to allow you to compare prices for as long as you want to? Just one thing. Don’t lose your mind. Happy shopping. 😉
