I love shopping online, but for me the big drawback is sending back faulty merchandise. I moved into my house last year and I wanted one of those floor lamps that has 5 lights on bendable arms. It would be so perfect in my office/cafe room. But I gave up after 3 tries with 3 different online merchants. Each time they sent me a crappy lamp made in China and each had at least 1 light that didn’t work. It was a nightmare having to package it all up again and ship back. I still don’t have a lamp in there at all–I’m just making do without. That experience almost cured me of shopping online–almost. *sigh*

P.S. A note to Elizabeth: You’re exactly right about Amy. She is a good friend, a wise and caring mama and an amazing writer–something I’ve been encouraging her in for several years now. It’s good to see that confirmed, so she doesn’t think it’s just me.

PP. S. What’s an Etsy shop?

I checked out your baby name paintings at JustBunch and they are absolutely darling. I can see how fun this would be and I’m glad you are finding outlets for your creativity!

Elizabeth — I love hearing about your process. How you save money shopping online — clearance, paring down, post-season sales — and how you feel about shopping.

I agree that small shops are charming, but often very expensive, especially in New York City. I’ll address that issue in the next part of this series.

Thanks for writing in!

What I find helpful, and what I do more and more as my finaces get tighter, is that even as I shop mostly from the “clearance” page of any website, and so usually from the season just past so that I’m buying summer clothes in the fall, what I find I do is fill my cart with things that I like and are good values — I sparingly choose them, and make sure I need them — then I go through the “shopping cart” a couple of times, paring items down. Removing the “extra” bathing suit I put in just because it was a good deal, etc. I find that I get just what I need and don’t end up spending too much.

I do, however, find that I buy too much (even if I don’t spend too much on the purchases). My husband has commented often on the “amount” of clothes that our two kids have.

I’m afraid that I’ve used the shopping as a source of entertainment, as you suggest, Amy, and as an antidepressant. I even often say: “even if it’s not for myself, shopping is shopping” — meaning fun!

I’ve been better of late and I think I have a better handle on what my soon-to-be 6-year old will wear, so I can cut down on buying clothes that will just hang there, un-used in her closet. I hope to keep those shopping carts pretty light for a while.

I can’t wait to be able to shop at a “local” merchant. NYC is not the place to do that, unless you can shop in SOHO, which I can’t!

Keep ‘em coming, Amy. I’m impressed with your combination of easy writting style and depth of content; You sound like a good friend, and/or a wise and caring mama.

: )
e.

Always remember when shopping on line to do a quick search for “coupons” or “coupon codes” for the given retailer. VERY frequently, I am able to secure free shipping, or an additional percentage off my puchase by searching for a coupon code. Two useful sites for this are: http://www.naughtycodes.com and http://www.retailmenot.com. The sites will give you a code that you enter at checkout.

As I mentioned, I LOVE to shop. I actually see it as a form of creative expression, but it can definitely get out of hand and become a distraction for me. I have had some success with curbing my shopping desires by focusing energy on my Etsy shop (my creative outlet…though any creative outlet would probably do). I have found that the creative energy I exprience when working on a new painting gives me a similar “high” to the one I get when shopping. I don’t tend to turn to shopping when I am depressed…but I can certainly relate to the shopping high.

Awesome post, Amy. Thanks for the food for thought!

I agree with you about resisting the constant sales pitch to take out a store credit card. My main reason for refusing to carry more than one general card is security. Credit card theft is no joke. What a nightmare.

I agree that you can find lower prices often at places like TJMaxx, but … I think of how often I cancel those savings by buying more than I had planned to and how I end up with too much stuff in general (because it was so darn cheap).

I do find it hard to get clothes online — and can’t believe it’s in the top 5 of online purchases — but at least my kids get hand-me-downs, and I might just need to organize a clothing swap for the ladies!

Re grocery shopping online: I get all our produce from our farm share (CSA), the corner fruit and veggie stand, or the farmer’s market. At least one of the advantages of NY means things are close by!

Nancy — I’m interested in hearing your thoughts about online shopping and impulse buying.

You bring up a good point about buying locally. Because I’ve had to save money for so long, and I prefer the anonymous shopping experience, I’ve never been one to shop in small shops. But I do feel conflicted as my values are more in line with mom and pop shops than the multi-nationals.

Kali & Mike — So glad you stopped by and left me a nice comment! I love how Twitter has that ability to create connections. I’ll look out for you too.

However, I’m not sure it is always the least expensive option… The clearance racks in-store seem to have better sales. Nonetheless, it is worth not making the trip in the first place, though I think there is a learning curve on understanding sizes and quality when you order online.

I totally agree with the desire to eliminate taking the kids and not creating the ‘wants’, just like we censor commericals on tv by only letting them watch videos.

Interesting that you do groceries online… I know the local stores in DC deliver too, but I like looking and touching produce before I buy it. How to you get over that?

I am probably typical in that I associate online shopping with MORE rather than fewer impulse buys, so it’s very useful to see how you have represented the other side of that argument.

I also find myself thinking that you live in NYC and I live in a Boston suburb — here there is a LOT of pressure to shop local and keep independent stores in business. I’m wondering if maybe that’s not as big a campaign in NYC.

In any case, there are pros and cons either way, and you’ve opened my eyes to a lot of the benefits that I hadn’t previously thought about.