Online Christmas shopping?

Gary_in_Indiana · Dec 8, 2003

Over the past few years I've done a lot of my Christmas shopping online and wondered how many of you have or are doing the same thing this year.

It's become so common with us now that Christmas gift suggestions we all send to one another always include the website URL. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif It's even become kind of an unspoken rule that it's up to the person who is offering the Christmas gift ideas to have "pre-shopped" and found the best pricing, etc., online and to have sent that URL and maybe the second best as a back-up, too.

Since my kids are each out of town now, they're able to have gifts for me sent to their Mom's and gifts for her sent to my office so all they need to do is swing by, pick them up and wrap them and they're all set. We've found it to be a wonderful way to shop and also to offer simple suggestions for things we'd like, too.

Has anyone else gotten to this point with the online shopping? I just love it this way. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

r0GuE · Dec 8, 2003

We did quite a bit last year. It's a great way to save some money, and many places offer free shipping this time of year.

As I get older, I find myself trying to find ways to make Christmas more real. I don't really mean relidgeously, though I know that is the biggest aspect of the season. I just want my Chistmas to be more of an old style Chistmas. Think 1950's. Last year I bought a post was (1954) Lionel train with the smoke pellets and such. We always get a real tree. I use c7 lights on the tree, c9's outside. Bubble lights too, the works!

So when it comes to shopping, I think this year I will take some pre-Chistmas vacation and do a little shopping for some local style gifts.

But for comoditee type gifts such as electonics, and games, on-line is a great way to go. Sometimes avoiding the stores helps maintain the holiday cheer.

Gatorboy · Dec 8, 2003

I do about 90% of my shopping online. If you know what you are trying to buy as a gift, it is the only way to go. No fighting the crowds.

Now, some stores, (e.g. Sears, JCPenney) when they offer something like 20% off from 7a-10a on a certain day -- that SAME offer is given to their online shoppers as well. My wife bought some items on Saturday morning (between 7a-10a) and got the same 20% discount as if she drove out to the store herself.

Docsknotinn · Dec 8, 2003

The last few years I have don 90+% on line. This year everything I have tried to order is back ordered /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif

kevincook · Dec 8, 2003

I tell my wife that men invented the internet just so we wouldn't actually have to go to the mall! /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

I try to do as much shopping as possible online, the crowds in the stores just drives me nuts.

Kevin

Gary_in_Indiana · Dec 8, 2003

"I tell my wife that men invented the internet just so we wouldn't actually have to go to the mall!" /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

That is FUNNY! And, like most things, it wouldn't be funny if there weren't an element of truth in it. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

DocHeb · Dec 8, 2003

I will buy some things on-line, but usually items that I can't find locally. My personal rule is if I need to talk to a salesperson, or go somewhere to see the item and examine it, then I will buy it locally. How can any Bricks & Walls business stay afloat if they only serve as a showroom to display items for on-line shoppers? The Bricks & Walls have to hire the staff and pay for the inventory, only to have people use them to see the displays, talk with the staff, make their choice, and then go on-line to order the goods. This happened to our local paint & wallpaper store - my wife loved to go there since they had all the books and she could talk with somebody about the goods. We would always order from them; now the store dropped wallpaper since more and more people were using them just for display purposes, getting the paper codes, and ordering on-line.

At the risk of starting another mega-thread, I think on-line shopping will be able to wipe-out the quality/specialty stores that WalMart couldn't get. Hey, what about an on-line WalMart that could sell us everything? ... wait ... that's Amazon!

AndyM · Dec 8, 2003

Ordering online costs the store less money, but actually costs more money for the company that makes the product.

Our company is shipping orders directly to the consumer's home for orders from walmart.com and others, rather than shipping it to Walmart first. When we ship product to the Walmart distribution center, it's always in full truckload quantities, but shipping directly to the consumer is one piece at a time and much more time consuming. This is especially true for us because we didn't expect anywhere near this many internet orders (compared to last year)! /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

Gatorboy · Dec 8, 2003

( Hey, what about an on-line WalMart that could sell us everything? )

Wal*Mart already has a website that you can order stuff from.

As technology grows, so must the old Mom & Pop stores. As well as having a REAL store, they should also have a website to sell items as well. There is no rule saying you can't do both.

Docsknotinn · Dec 8, 2003

I agree with that. It really seems that all buisinesses that want to remain viable will need to offer both store fronts and virtual stores. Some of this drives prices down but it works the other way too. When shopping specialty wines for Xmas partys the last few years the prices have been much higher. Many stores are pice fixing on select vintages useing the final sales price off eBay or similar on line auctions.

RonL · Dec 8, 2003

Chris

I'm finding it harder and harder to find high quality items without going online to the specialty shops. The box stores seem to cater to customers who only shop the cheapest price. Particually with tools, I prefer the premium items. I believe its cheaper in the long run.

RonL

P.S. I am particually irked when I pay a premium price for an item that turns out to be poorly designed and built. I have an almost everwhelming urge to go to corporate headquarters and b***h slap the CEO. It's awful, but a sign of the times, when a conglomerate buys out an old time tool company that had a reputation for quality, and then starts selling crap.

DocHeb · Dec 8, 2003

( I'm finding it harder and harder to find high quality items without going online to the specialty shops. ) On-line stores do give people living in more remote areas wider access to products that are unobtainable locally. I am a bit spoiled since I live in one of the major metropolitan areas in the US, so I do have specialty stores around. However, I worry about their viability since most people shop for price only, and rarely for service. There isn't much service on-line, so don't use the local stores to provide the service without buying from them. I purchased my Delta jointer and planer on-line seven years ago, but I didn't waste the time of the saleman at Glenn Wing Power Tools before doing so.

( ... poorly designed and built. I have an almost everwhelming urge to go to corporate headquarters and b***h slap the CEO... ) Yeah, I've often dreamed of handing the CEO of General Mills or Post a box of cereal and tell him "let's see you open the bag inside this box without shredding the bag into pieces" /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Just to clarify - I've been buying stuff on-line since 1998 - I just don't believe in using local stores for display only.

rdam · Dec 8, 2003

I now do about 80% of my Christmas shopping online. With DSL, it's especially nice. However, I still make at least one trip to the mall to get the "feel" of Christmas. The sad thing is, I have to go to the MALL to get the feel of Christmas.

Oh well,

Merry Christams and Happy Holidays to the fine people on TBN and your families.

AndyM · Dec 9, 2003

( The sad thing is, I have to go to the MALL to get the feel of Christmas. )

Don't you mean the MAUL? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Most of my shopping is at Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes, Sears Hardware, Tractor Supply, and a whole bunch of smaller stores. I hadn't been inside an actual indoor shopping mall for about 3 or 4 years until my wife dragged me to the mall about a month ago. Spent most of the time sitting on a bench while she was inside a store trying on clothes. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

I can't think of a single store INSIDE the mall that I would ever need to go to (not counting the food court, of course). /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif It just seems like all of the stores in the mall cater to people younger than me-- loud music in the stores and overpriced clothes I would never wear.

DocHeb · Dec 10, 2003

Something else for you on-line shoppers - check out Froogle.com (a subsection of Google.com). They use similiar search engines to find items to buy on the web ... pretty neat.

Froogle = Frugal

/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Gary_in_Indiana · Dec 10, 2003

I just experienced another advantage of online shopping today. The UPS comes and usually I'm surprised by what he's bringing so it's like getting presents myself. It's also know as getting older. I figure in a few more years I'll be able to wrap my own Christmas presents. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I actually got some luggage delivered today that I'd ordered over the weekend to give to my son for Christmas. I was pretty impressed with three day delivery. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif Idid have one negative experience, though. A panini maker (don't ask) that I'd ordered for my daughter came and about a quarter of the box was just soaked. The UPS driver asked me if I knew what it was and when I told him it was electrical/electronic he wouldn't even give it to me. He punched it in as damaged in shipping and said UPS would cover it as it was probably a leaky trailer of theirs. Apparently I don't even have to do anything to reorder at all. He told me UPS would handle everything. I sure hope so. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I'm still waiting on more boxes to arrive. Since I can't tell you what all I've ordered it'll be some nice surprises for me, too /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

BIGUN · Dec 10, 2003

( A panini maker (don't ask) that I'd ordered for my daughter )
Curiosity wouldn’t allow me to not check this out. I thought George Foreman was the only one selling these. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
My wife grills fresh salmon on ours and it is great.