Online Shopping

ONLINE SHOPPING

 

I really don't like shopping in stores. I buy online whenever I can. It's hard to be too sure how the item will actually look and you might have to wait to receive your order but it can be very convenient at times and even help you save money. How? There are few ways:

• You can read reviews directly on some websites.. Few days ago, when I was buying from Forever 21, I noticed they started having reviews. I was buying high-waisted jeggings and read an online reviewer's tip of ordering a size bigger and so, I did that. I received my order yesterday I did and the jeggings fit me perfectly. I actually fell in love with them that I went back on the site to order more but realized they are out of stock. As for beauty items, it's often easy to find reviews especially on YouTube. However, you can find many reviews on Sephora's website of most of the beauty products. I always refer to those.

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• There are some promotions that are only available online. For example, Forever 21 has a promotion now until March 12th 2014, where you buy 1 jewelry and get the other one for free. It also has free shipping from March 10th to March 14th 2014 on all orders of $21 and more.​ As for beauty products, if you order from Sephora online, you can choose 3 samples (usually perfume samples) and a deluxe sample (mini mascara, for example) per order. I love their deluxe samples! It's a great way to try out some of their products.

Forever 21 recently had a promotion of Buy 1 Get 1 Free on jewelry
(selected items), so I got 2 free jewelry

• There are some companies that provide discounts on brands. Beyond the Rack is a Canadian website offering several brands at discounted prices. However, it has a selected number of brands each day instead of having all of them. I just ordered my Nume Hair Curler set from there and saved at least $185.01 on it. I even found an online coupon of $120 to use on Nume's website but still ended up saving more money on Beyond the Rack. 

While most websites do give you free shipping on minimum orders, others don't. Is it still worth it to buy from there? Well if the item is on sale online only or you get online discounts, then it might be worth it for you to get it. Let's say shipping is $5, if you save more than $5 then you might as well pay the shipping. 

Besides saving money, you can find certain items that aren't available in stores. Also, it's so much easier to find items online and you can even sort them according to price. However, it's not always best to shop online.. Here are some of the downsides:

• Different from picture: You can't always tell how the item will really be simply by looking at the picture. Once you receive it, it might be bigger or smaller than you expected.

• Incorrect size: If you're ordering clothes or shoes, then it's really hard to tell if it will fit you properly. Normally you can exchange or return the items but you will most likely have to pay shipping fees unless if company has a physical store, where you can return it.
   
• Wrong Item: This doesn't happen that often but it's still a possibility. It has happened to me once that I received the wrong item from Forever 21 but luckily I returned it for store credit. That's why it's better to order from companies that have physical stores because that way you can exchange or return it without having to mail the item and pay shipping fees.

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• Shipping fee: You may pay shipping fees on some orders or you might have the possibility to get free shipping on orders while spending a minimum amount. However, sometimes you might not want to spend that much to qualify for free shipping. This does happen. Sometimes I only like one item and I don't want to spend more than that, so I either end up spending more than I want or don't buy it at all. 

• Interenational orders: You may have to pay duty on International orders. Usually you don't have to pay duty & taxes if your item is worth less than $20. However, there are some BorderFree Shops, which charge you the taxes while you make your order, so you won't have to pay any other fees on that order.