Online vs Real Shopping

August 1st, 2007 • Related • Filed Under

Many of us girls don’t know when to stop when it comes to shopping. Even after hours and hours of wandering through malls, boutiques, shops, bazaars, pasar malam , flea markets…all that window shopping and credit card exercising is still not enough! But we girls are a smart kind. When the shopping gets not enough, the not enough gets us shopping even more! Having already exhausted all of our retail resources, we turn to the wonders of the digital age for more purchasing fun–online shopping.

Online shopping has increased in popularity tremendously over the years. But, despite the numerous tempting reasons to shop online, some people still prefer the good old fashioned way of scouting shops and hand picking their buys. So which way is better? Battle of the century: Real life shopping (RLS) versus Online shopping(OLS)

VS
Picture courtesy of sftravel.com and happynews.com

Old fashioned, maybe, but thrills and frills, definitely. Real life shopping gives you what we girls call “retail therapy” (which boys will never understand), where we spend an entire day in retail outlets, browsing through shelves and racks, girl-talking with friends, admiring our reflection in full-length mirrors which make us look oh-so-slim, yada yada yada. The list of fun things to do is endless. But with online shopping, it’s just you and the computer. Fun? Hmmm…

RLS: 1 OLS:0

Though what I’ve just described may sound fun, to some it’s just one word: “hassle”. Yes, sometimes it can get too cumbersome to brave the traffic in Malaysia (and indeed you need to be brave), find a proper parking space, wait for everyone to turn up (and more often than not someone’s bound to be late), face the sale-hungry crowd, wait in the never-ending queue, fight for space in the fitting room and THEN decide on which one of the five cute tube tops to buy. Online shopping triumphs with glee, because, well, like I said, it’s just you and the computer. Safe and sound.

Pictures courtesy of l ennygurvich.net

RLS: 1 OLS:1

Safe from the crowd, yes, but completely safe? Think again. Online shopping exposes you to a lot of risk that is not present in real life shopping. The biggest danger of the virtual world is anonymity– you never know who you are dealing with. So the sweet, patient girl from Penang who convinces you that the LBD will look gorgeous on you? Could be a balding man whose profession is a conman, and guess what? You spend your cash, but your LBD never turns up. There are so many cases of fraud on the Internet nowadays, you might be more willing to brave the crowded malls just so you can ensure your money does go to Topshop for that LBD, and not to the balding man’s bank account.

RLS: 2 OLS: 1

Speaking of conmen…I wouldn’t label people, but have you ever found yourself frustrated because you spent so much time and effort haggling with the person on the other end of the computer, trying to reduce the price of the shirt you have fallen in love with, and finally after you have paid and received the goods, to your horror the shirt is a gruesome shade of longkang water green and not sparkling moss green? That is another danger of virtual shopping. Pictures can be deceiving, and more often than not sellers make every effort to ensure that the pictures they display online make their goods seem appealing to everyone. Sometimes, the items in some display photos are not even the same as the actual items being sold. But when you personally go to shops and see the items for yourself, then there is no such risk. You can even look out for defects, which is impossible if you buy online (yes, sometimes the seller assures you the shirt is in great condition, but it’s her word and your shirt.), and also try on the garment before buying.

Picture courtesy of caffeinbar.com

RLS: 3 OLS: 1

But hey, not every sweet, patient girl out there turns out to be a balding conman in disguise. They could really be that sweet and patient girl. Sometimes, when you become a frequent customer, you may become personally acquainted with the seller, or even become friends. When you have established a closer relationship, not only is it more likely that the person will not cheat you, he or she may even share tips on online shopping, such as which type of material to go for, which sellers offer the best bargains (besides her, of course), which kind of cutting would suit you best, how to tell if a picture is a genuine portrayal and so on. In retail outlets, often the sales assistants are paid commission by selling you something, so you can count on them to assure you that you look like Tyra Banks in that slinky, sequinned gown, when all you look like is a Tyre Man. Of course, it is not impossible for you to get friendly with the sales people from the shops you regularly visit, but there are so many of them and the team changes so often that it is harder to be on good terms with them than with the sole online vendor you converse with three times a day.

RLS: 3 OLS: 2

Real life shopping offers you more choice and variety, because by hitting shops after shops, you are bound to find the same item in a slightly different variation in another shop, so you can compare before you fork out. Or, in many of us girls’ cases, of course, you can always buy all of them because that plain white top has a boat neck while the other comes with capped sleeves. Online shopping is limited in choice, because dealers try to obtain a wide range of clothes to market them to different groups of people, so the chances of them having three different kinds of gold belts are very slim. However, online shopping gives you a different sort of variety. Many of these sellers, such as those on ebay, purchase goods from unique places in smaller quantities than retail outlets, and sell them on the Net. As such, you would be able to buy items that your local malls and shops do not offer. Also, websites which sell second hand items, like SellTradeKL ( ), would sometimes have once-in-a-lifetime items on sale, and that is the cue for us to grab all we want because not all of us can fly to Australia to raid Diva outlets.


Picture courtesy of boqueteguide.com

RLS: 4 OLS: 3

Not all of us have credit cards, so those who do not would carry around lots of cash on a shopping spree. It may be dangerous thing, especially if you withdraw from an ATM, because everyone can see you getting hold of that much money, and by all means, if anyone wants that money, there is a chance that he or she would get hold of it. Even if it is not a lot of cash to you, it is still a risk you are taking, and you have to constantly guard your bag and wallet, which makes the shopping experience that much less enjoyable. But if you shop online, there wouldn’t be such a thing. True, your money may disappear just as easily, but if you shop wisely and are not quick to trust people on the virtual community, things would go smoothly.

RLS: 4 OLS: 4

The verdict?

It’s a tie!

This goes to show that there is no better or best way of shopping, it’s just a matter of preference. Shopping is shopping no matter what, so however it is done, it is the end result (i.e. your purchases!) which makes you the most happy. Just be cautious during the entire process to be sure that all these dangers do not get in the way of your shopping spree. For tips on how to shop online, try organization websites such as Safe Shopping and Get Safe Online .
Now get shopping!

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