Online Shopping: Making it Easier
and Why it Saves You Time

When I moved to a town of less than 7000 people, the greatest shock to my system was not being able to buy what I wanted when I wanted it. I remember watching Barry Manilow on some talk show and thinking I'd like to get his CD and feeling frustrated because it would have to be ordered in for me. Now, looking back... I don't know what I was thinking wanting to buy a Barry Manilow CD!! If I want to hear the song "Mandy", I'll just sing it to myself and satiate that craving for another 15 years!

I became very adept at online shopping, particularly on eBay and discovered it was like Christmas waiting for the presents to arrive in the mail. I could have fun shopping and then enjoy the excitement of waiting for that item to arrive in the mail! I have to confess: it's a wee bit addictive.

I've had very good experiences shopping online. I make sure to ship via USPS if I'm buying from the US (more on that later). Online photos have come a long way in quality and accuracy in the past 10 years, giving more buying power to the consumer.

The only downside that I've found for myself is that filling out all those online forms is very annoying. Name, address, phone number, email address... Over and over... Some stores want you to make a password and will force certain characters into that password. You can try to keep the same password at each store but it's not always possible and will you remember the next time you make a purchase?

Then I discovered that for shopping online it's really handy to have Roboform. It fills in for me all my contact and credit card information, storing it on my computer (not online), with a mere click of a button, and after entering my super-secret code. You can download it for free if you click on the above link.)

I have since moved from that small town and am much nearer to big stores. Prior to moving, I imagined I'd go back to doing most of my shopping the good old fashioned way, but I've come to realize that shopping online is actually more than just a regretful necessity. Not only are the deals I find so good that the cost of shipping is balanced by the discounted prices, but even when I am spending a little more than I would in a store there are other benefits to me as a busy mom to make the extra cost worth my while.

Here's why busy moms should do most of their shopping online:

Don't have to bring the children. No whining to buy "Just this, mommy! Pleeeeease!" No embarrassing temper tantrums. No buckling and unbuckling in and out of carseats. No fussing with winter clothes. (Though, if baby boots are something that you're going to have to fuss with, my absolute favourite, easy-to-put-on-and-stay-on are at Stonz! We have the butterfly ones. And no, I did not get paid to say that despite my sounding like an advertisement. They really save me time)
Don't run into people you know who want to chat your ear off for 20 minutes while your husband waits at home with the kids and is annoyed because you promised that you would just "get this one thing and come right home!" I'm one of those people who will chat your ear off. I'm sorry.
You can leave your shopping cart there, make supper, and come back later having thought over your purchases a little more, helping you to see that you don't really need to buy that singing fish on a plaque. (No one does.) With online shopping, there's fewer impulse purchases (unless we're talking about that last-second eBay frenzy).
Don't have to worry about leaving your wallet or purse on some shelf in the store. Not that I've ever done that... Noooo....
Save money on gas to the store. It's at least a 20 minute drive, one-way for me. How about you?
Save time driving and waiting in lines. I'm not such a fan of driving around. It's not that I'm a nervous driver. I just find driving to be a big waste of life. Do you know what I can do in 40 minutes?! Well, I can wash out forty four pairs of socks and have 'em on the line. I can starch and iron two dozen shirts 'fore you can count from one to nine... 'cause I'm a woman.... Ahem. Right, that's Peggy Lee, not me.
No dealing with snarky clerks who didn't pick retail as their dream professions. 'Nuff said.
Don't have to put on your make-up and change your clothes. You wear those breastmilk stains as badges of honour, girlfriend! (Did I really just say "girlfriend"? Ya, I can't pull that off.)
Harder to lose your receipt. One (or two) will be emailed to you. Just put it in a subfolder that you can make from right-clicking on your email's Inbox.
Easier to compare pricing with other stores. Have you ever driven from store to store to compare prices?? I would never do that. At the very least, most major stores have websites where you can view their items and compare prices.
You can pick your nose without the disgusted stares. Just kidding. Or not (depending on your level of self-confidence).
You can sing very loudly and off-key and shop without worrying about bumping into Simon Cowell.
You can support Work-At-Home-Moms (WAHMs). With sky-rocketing house prices these day, it's not wonder that moms, especially new moms, feel like they have no choice but to work outside the home, even though they may want to stay home with their children. Working from home can be a good comprimise. These mompreneurs often have better quality products and better customer service than, say, Walmart.

As I mentioned earlier, shopping online can be more expensive, sometimes, if you take into account the shipping charges. Especially if you are in Canada and buying from the US. The key to avoiding great expense is to make sure that the seller/company ships via USPS. You will usually avoid duty charges if shipped this way and no brokerage fees will surprise you. That is because that even if something isn't labelled as being made in the US or say, France, USPS's policy is to assume that every item was made in the US. And under NAFTA, there's no duty if it's made in North America. UPS and other shipping companies require a NAFTA certificate for you to bypass the duty.

With my 600+ purchases on the Internet, including eBay, I've had less than 10 disappointing experiences. Only 3 times have I ever been outrightly ripped off. Thankfully, they were for small amounts and either Visa charge backs and PayPal's resolution disputes have saved the day. It's imperative that you ensure the seller has no less than 98% feedback and has more than 100 sales if you are buying something pricey. I never buy from someone with a score less than 98% and usually stick with the 99% sellers. I also use a free tool called Feedback Analyzer that allows me to view all of a seller's negative feedback at one glance as well as the feedback that they've left for other people. A very handy tool, it helps me to sniff out people whose honesty is questionable.

Another fabulous free tool to help you snipe those eBay auctions at the last second, is Bidding Scheduler. It works great and you don't have to worry about being there yourself to bid at the last minute to monitor your bidding auctions.

I encourage you to start out small. Don't try to buy a pair of jeans as one of your first online purchasing experiences! It will lead to tears. (Trust me.)

Would you like to reprint this article on your website? Feel free! Just include this link underneath the title, no smaller than size 10 font, please: From Natasha Clark, owner of PinkPowerSuit.com, Mom's Free Business Mentor and PowerSuit Hosting, Mom's Easy Website Builder.