Why Online Shopping Sucks

Dec 26 2007

Posted by buzz in bitching, christmas, geek, shopping, tech

Okay, I’m an online kinda guy. Y’all know that. I’ve written articles on how to get the best bang for your online buck and I’ve been shopping over the internets for years and years and years and years.

But I have to admit sometimes shopping online kinda sucks, as is witnessed by the Future Shop Boxing Day Sale mess.

But that’s just one of the many reasons:

1. YOU DO IT ALONE
This Christmas I missed most of the hustle and craziness in the stores, that’s supposed to be a good thing, but I still missed it. So I went out into the melee a couple more times than I should have, considering I had already bought gifts online, and I ended up going way over budget on presents just so I could visit shops and carry stuff around.

2. WE DONT SHIP TO WHERE YOU ARE
There were soooo many things I wanted to buy for Christmas this year, but living in Canada meant it wasnt going to happen. Saks, Nordtrom, Target. They all had GREAT gift ideas, but not living in the USA meant “No Shipping For You!”

3. WE SHIP TO WHERE YOU ARE, BUT YOU’RE GONNA PAY
Okay, so they will send something from Edmonds, WA to Vancouver, BC. But guess what? It’s gonna cost $20. Seriously? It’s salt and pepper shakers. You’ll send it to Chicago for free, why do I pay $20? Cause I live internationally, that’s why. Oh, and get ready for the duty. I bought a Livestrong cycling jersey this fall. $90 for the jersey, $55 in duties and brokerage fees. Sick.

4. ITS GONNA TAKE A WHILE
Our Christmas tree had more than a few empty spots under it this year. The coolest gifts were ordered at the beginning of the month, but still havent arrived. Books from Amazon. Tshirts from Threadless and others. You’d think 3 weeks was enough to get from Texas to Vancouver, but no. I mean, if we lived in the US, they would overnight it for free, but on top of paying extra for shipping, you have to wait an extra long time. Want to make sure your gift arrives on time? Order it now. For next year.

This all sucks, but there are a couple of easy things to do to solve the problems:

1. Rip down the stupid 49th (for online shopping purposes only). Cmon, make us all one big online economic union.

2. More Canadian retailers need to get on board and have better online shopping sites. (*ahem* Holt Renfrew, Lululemon, Harry Rosen …) The Bay is trying, but the site doesnt have everything the store does. Heck, even Amazon which sells everything on its US site, still only sells books and dvds on its Canadian one.

So things could be better. But they’re not better yet, and that’s why online shopping sucks.

The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?

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