Question of the Day, Friday, February 27

Good morning! And Happy Friday! It's been a really long week again and I'm ready for the weekend.

I had a neat question all ready to ask you.....and this morning? I forgot what it was!   So I spent some time trying to think up another question. And here we go:

Let's talk about shopping online. Are you a brick-and-mortar shopper or more of an online shopper? What's your favorite online shopping site? Anything in particular? What do you usually shop for online? 

I never shopped online that much until several years ago when I got a severe bout of sciatica. It was simply so painful I couldn't stand it. It was around the holidays, too, and that made it even worse. Rick and I tried going to the mall one day and I'd walk from one bench down the mall to the next bench. And sit down with my right leg on the seat, tight against my right hip. It was the only position I could stay in without much pain. I remember that we did buy a few items, but poor Rick had to stand in line by himself because I couldn't stand there with them. We didn't go shopping again for a good two months or so. Couldn't stand long, couldn't walk. couldn't lay in bed. I remember sitting on the kitchen counter, trying to peel potatoes, because I couldn't stand up....the pain was too strong. That was when I started to shop online....I couldn't do anything else. It took a good two months for the sciatica to calm down. Nasty stuff.

Since then, our online shopping has increased and our B/M shopping has decreased. While we do hit the mall sometimes, it's largely to walk around and get some exercise or to shop for something in particular. But most of the time, if we need something, we now automatically hit the computer first. When I needed a new printer, I went online first. And since I'm a Staples customer, when I saw the printer I wanted there, I just ordered it. We went down a day or so later and picked it up. Same with the shredder. After checking Consumer Reports, I checked Staples and we ended up getting the shredder there. (I always do look for a good deal when I can find it; in this case, my best deal was at Staples.)

Amazon is our site of choice. I'm not a Prime member, but I order more than $35 most of the time anyway, so it doesn't matter. And if I need something really quickly (which is rare), then my co-worker who is a Prime member will get it for me. (I have his password and will order what I want. And then go to work and say, "Oh, BTW, I ordered such-and-such. Here's the money." Usually he's getting ready to order something, too, so we'll just combine them when we can.)  I used to shop at JCP quite a bit. Loved their towels and washcloths and some of their St. John's Bay clothing line.  

This past Christmas, almost everything was purchased online. There were only a couple of items that were B/M purchased. 

We've never done grocery shopping online. We've never ordered food online, other than some gift baskets for relatives during the holidays. So I can't speak for anything like that. We get our cat supplies either at the grocery store or at PetSmart, depending on prices at the time.

I should add that we don't get much shipped to our house. We're not home during the day and we don't want boxes sitting outside on our porch. Not just because of the weather, but also because of people who might see the packages and decide to check them out. It's never happened to us, but there's a first time for everything. I will often have items shipped to work or to Rick's parents' house. Safer that way. 

What are your shopping habits? Online or B/M?

I used to be obsessed with shopping online. Lots of clothes from YesStyle, also Forever 21. I buy almost all of my bird toys, food, and perches online since there are so few bird-free pet stores I can get reliable, quality stuff from. I love Amazon too, I've gotten cat stuff, art stuff, gifts, and books from there. I aim for free/cheap shipping.

Now that I live on my own, I've had to rein in my online shopping because it's so easy to overspend, and it's expensive. It's more inconvenient for me to do brick and mortar shopping where I live now because there's absolutely nothing in the area, I don't have a vehicle here, and even if I did the roads here are full of aeful drivers, so I have to transit at least an hour to get anywhere worthwhile. I've had to rein in all of my shopping habits too.

Online. At my age I never thought I would be a big online shopper, I'm barely computer literate! But Amazon changed my life. I stick with them, I figure with all they do online I hope they are more secure then other sites. This is the first year (2014) that I did almost ALL my Christmas shopping online, it was so cool to know what I want, type it in, and there it was! I too wait until I get 35.00 worth for the free shipping, I stick what I want on my wish list and add it on to an order if I need to.

It depends. If I know what I want I usually order online. But if I want to browse the selections and see what's available, I have to go to the store. For instance, I just bought new jeans, but of course they don't have the last design I bought. So I had to go to JC Penney and try on all the jeans. . .but now that I know what kind I like, I'll order my next pair online. Groceries and toiletries I buy in person (usually Walmart and Costco).

Kitty litter and most cat/dog food I buy in person, some food comes from chewy.com, especially for the ferret. I do love Amazon for just about everything. I don't have Prime but my mom does, so if I needed something quickly I'd have her order it. I'd say most pet supplies other than food and litter are ordered online.

I have to go 30 miles away to buy anything anyway, so ordering online is sometimes just easier.

I hate shopping period, so I will do either as little as possible.

I'm a little of both. If I find something online that I can't get in stores then I will order it, if not I will make sure it's in the store.

I like to look at and touch an item before I purchase it. Even online purchases, I'll look at them, go through the reviews and shop other like stores before I settle on an item.

I have purchased a few items from target and walmart online and some from ebay. Other than that, I pretty much don't unless I have to.

Shopping here is incredibly bad. If you see something you need / want in store, you have to buy it right then. If you go back and it's gone, you are completely out of luck.

I learned this the hard way our first Halloween here. The holiday merchandise showed up in September, but I thought I'd wait until October, after more items had come in. To my surprise, the September stuff was it. Once that sold, there was no more, so there was less Halloween merchandise in October. Generally, stores here do not reorder seasonal items.. 

Anyway, we shop probably 80% online, mostly places with easy return policies and who use Borderfree so the duties aren't so high.

When we lived in Cambridge Mass ~17 years ago, I ordered our groceries online - it was great! I loved it. We had jobs plus a new baby at the time and it was super convenient.

I love shopping on line, Amazon, Walmart to Raymour and Flanigans. I avoid store shopping except for cat food, litter and basic grocery shopping. If it was cheaper on shipping charges I'd order the cat food and litter on on line as well. Been shopping on line since the Internet came on line.

As much shopping online as possible other than groceries and cat food/litter.  I just recently purchased a new coffee table sight unseen from Pottery Barn since it met our criteria for care, appearance and price.  I used to also use online services for groceries for a while but I'm always annoyed by the quality of produce and fresh meats I'm sent and it's SO expensive to utilize so I stopped wasting my money that way.

There are very few stores I actually feel the need to walk into plus, it just leads to spending money I shouldn't.  Online is easy and painless. Love it.

I shop online a lot.  I don't usually do it for clothing or shoes; but I did get DS his winter boots online this year.  It was impossible to find warm boots in his size!  I have had to order my own shoes when the store didn't have my size.  I'm always leery of it because my feet are so hard to fit; but sometimes it's necessary.  

I have Amazon Prime and I find some good deals there.  But I also find some things that are cheaper in the store.  I grocery shop in the store too.  I use Whisker Lickin treats to give the girls their pills. They were WAY more expensive on Amazon than in the grocery store!  I looked online for my favorite Almond butter because the store was out for a long time.  it was significantly more expensive online.  

Last Christmas I did probably 85% of the kid's shopping online.  A few things I found better deals in the stores so I got them there.  Sometimes it's nice to hold a thing in your hand before you buy it.  But then online you get to find things the stores don't carry.  Sometimes the searching is fun too.

Other than three grocery stores there are very few retailers in our town or nearby, so we both do a lot of online shopping. Amazon is the main website we use (Prime membership). I order Mogli's prescription food online, too, from the producer's website, and stuff like litter from an online pet shop called zooplus.