When we go outside of our homes we have to be dressed in something. This can be a hassle particularly in warm weather. Unfortunately clothes do not fall like manna from heaven. We must actually purchase them from someone, somewhere. Most clothes are in retail stores, in malls on the other side of town. This is bad. Shopping and torture go together in my mind. There is no place I would rather not be than in a clothing store. Shopping for clothes empties the wallet and the spirit.
They did before the advent of the internet and the ability to shop for clothes and everything else online. Some people swear by trying on clothes before buying. This is nonsense except when purchasing an expensive tailored suit or coat. How often do we really buy something like that? You don’t need to try on tee shirts, pants and shoes that you wear everyday. You know your size, buy that size.
Online stores come with size charts so you know the measurements of each brand’s goods. This is great for every online shopper particularly when the sizing is for European made or Asian clothing. Their sizes may have little to do with United State’s idea of sizes.
If done correctly, online shopping can produce huge savings. Discount websites and auction websites are full of name-brand goods at low prices. But you have to be smart about what you’re buying; if it seems too good to be true, it is. If a Prada handbag is selling for $10.00, it’s a fake. Use your good judgment on these things. I only buy new clothes online, even from auction sites. New clothes should always come with tags, and listings will specify. A jacket described simply as “new” may have been worn for a whole winter. A jacket selling as “new with tags” is likely just as new as anything you’d find in the mall.
Clothes aren’t the only great item to shop for on the net. Anything you can buy in a shopping mall you can find online as well. This includes items like sporting goods, toiletries, DVD’s, books, magazine subscriptions, even furniture and electronics. An easy way to locate what you want online is to type into the window of your search engine the item you are looking for followed by the words “online shop.”
Just last month I wanted a new tennis racket. I went to Google, typed “tennis racket online shop” and was greeted with countless online tennis vendors’ websites. Within minutes I had placed my order for a racket customized to my own specifications, and less than one week later it arrived at my door.
Online shopping is not always fun and entertaining. But it does always circumvent the torture of going to the mall. If someone were to ask me how I spent my evening yesterday I would say something like I watched Monday night football forgetting all about the shopping for Jockey shorts online I did during half-time. At this point it really hits me that I don’t have to go the mall next weekend or ever again to buy underwear or just about anything else. The torture is over.
