99Forum - Discussion Forums - Message Board Forum

1. YOU DO NOT PHYSICALLY SEEN THE ITEMS:
Normally when we shop from a regular store, we can see the item and atleast visually inspect that it looks fine. You can select a co lour, size and can even speak to a sales person to clarify doubts regarding an item. I feel the biggest disadvantage of online shopping is we do not physically see the item till it arrives. May be you have seen it in the nearby mall but there is a possibility that the particular piece you have ordered may be defective. Misinterpretation or misunderstanding of items bought online is a common problem. Usually the photo of items you see online are much better than once you have the item in front of you.

2. WAIT FOR THE ITEMS TO ARRIVE:
Once you place you order the waiting game starts. You have to wait for a few days for the item to arrive which can be quite frustrating. Most experts believe that we are most excited about your "buy" in the first few days, so by the time your item arrives you will most likely be less excited then getting the item on same day you made the payment.

3. CHANCES OF MISHANDLING WHILE SHIPPING / DELIVERY RISKS:
What if the item you are expecting never arrives, you will be lost in a series of phone calls to the seller and the courier company. What if you are not at home during the time of delivery and the courier company leaves the package on your door and a passerby decides to steal it? What if the shipping company broke your stuff and you realize it after opening it when the courier man has already gone away. The seller might claim that you broke it.

4. SHIPPING CHARGES:
Only a few sites offer free shipping, some others will ship for free only if your total purchase price exceeds a certain amount. Shipping fee is often a big discouragement for online shoppers.

5. RETURNING MERCHANDISE:
Even if the seller agrees to take back the defective merchandise, you often have to pay the cost of shipping it back. Additionally you have to call and convince the people regarding the reason of your return. Some good sites do have excellent return policy, but not everyone.

6. ONLINE SECURITY:
Making payments online is usually safe but not always. There may be sites which are not secure or do not encrypt your personal credit card data, so if a hacker breaks in their system, your personal data can be compromised.

7. RISK OF ONLINE FRAUD:
Some people pretend selling items at a very cheap price and often send you a low quality, opened or refurbished item, in other cases the site may shut down unexpectedly, leaving lot of customers who might have already paid for the item but did not receive anything. Shopping online can also take you to phishing sites which want to defraud you.

8. TIMEZONE DIFFERENCE:
In countries like USA there are various time zones and the customer service hours of the online shopping site may be different from your time zone, making it difficult for you to get in touch with a human when you need help.

9. SALES TAX:
Although an online shopping site may not charge you a sales tax during the purchase, you are legally obliged to pay taxes when you file annual taxes (assuming you live in a taxable state). Most people are able to get by, but in case of a scrutiny not paying sales tax on online purchases may become an issue.

10. A DULL SHOPPING EXPERIENCE:
I personally enjoy going to a mall or just the nearby bazaar and enjoy the ambiance and feel more social among other people. Online shopping can be boring for many and make you feel like a loner.

The main disadvantage of shopping online is that you have to pay shipping costs and have to wait for the items you purchased to be shipped and delivered. (This could take several weeks if you have purchased a product from overseas, and the costs of shipping may outweigh any savings you made on the purchase price.) You will not be able to purchase an item you need to use immediately online.

Another disadvantage is that you have to buy the item relying purely on a photograph and description, you cannot feel or see the item you want to buy. It can sometimes be quite hard to judge the size or quality of some items purely from a photograph. The final disadvantage of shopping online is that it is much harder and takes longer to return faulty goods; you will have to repack it and pay to ship it back to the seller. It can literally take weeks to exchange a faulty product purchased online.

In summary, the main advantages of shopping online are convenience and cost savings, while the main disadvantage is that the item is not immediately available, and you cannot inspect it personally before you make your purchase.

Hi

1. You can only see what will fit on one page at a time. When you walk into a B&M store, you can see many more items at a glance. When I know EXACTLY what I want (item name, brand, style, etc.), I find that I can locate the item more quickly online. However, if I only have a general idea (or less) of what I want, then I find that it can take me much longer to shop online. For example, if I am looking for a gift for a friend's birthday but I don't know what to get her, I will probably have to load MANY pages before finding the perfect gift. However, I find that I can browse through the store more quickly for purchases like these.

2. If you have a slow connection or if there are many shoppers at this site, shopping will take F-O-R-E-V-E-R. I only have a 56K dial-up modem so I find that online shopping can take a considerable amount of time. Sure, I know that it does take time to get into the car, drive to the store, park, walk around the store, check out, find the car, drive home, and unpack the stuff. However, at least I am busy doing these things so I don't get as annoyed as I do when I have to sit and wait for page upon page to load.

3. Online sites malfunction more frequently than B&M stores unexpectedly close. As the holiday season nears, sites are more likely to go down. You may have been shopping at the site for 30 minutes, have 10 things in your cart, and then the site freezes. However, it would take a major calamity to cause a B&M store to suddenly close its doors and not allow people with full shopping carts to check out.

Thanks

The craze of online shopping has picked up quite significantly in the last decade and online sellers are expected to improve their share of purchases for years to come. There is no doubt that you can find great deals online and so many different brands which may not be even available in regular stores, even shopping malls. If you have never shopped online or even if you are a regular online shopper,
1. YOU DO NOT PHYSICALLY SEEN THE ITEMS:
2. WAIT FOR THE ITEMS TO ARRIVE:
3. CHANCES OF MISHANDLING WHILE SHIPPING / DELIVERY RISKS:
4. SHIPPING CHARGES:
5. RETURNING MERCHANDISE:
6. ONLINE SECURITY:

Hi

The main disadvantage of shopping online is that you have to pay shipping costs and have to wait for the items you purchased to be shipped and delivered. (This could take several weeks if you have purchased a product from overseas, and the costs of shipping may outweigh any savings you made on the purchase price.) You will not be able to purchase an item you need to use immediately online.

Another disadvantage is that you have to buy the item relying purely on a photograph and description, you cannot feel or see the item you want to buy. It can sometimes be quite hard to judge the size or quality of some items purely from a photograph. The final disadvantage of shopping online is that it is much harder and takes longer to return faulty goods; you will have to repack it and pay to ship it back to the seller. It can literally take weeks to exchange a faulty product purchased online.

In summary, the main advantages of shopping online are convenience and cost savings, while the main disadvantage is that the item is not immediately available, and you cannot inspect it personally before you make your purchase.

Thanks