Merry Sounds of Christmas© Caroline Baker
Dec 19, 2000
Ah... the merry sounds of the holiday season. The serenade of horns that lead the way to the local malls. The constant rumble of conversations blurred just enough to sound like the torrent of a class 5 water rapid. The beeps, whistles and chimes of the overworked, underpaid cash register hungrily feeding on dollar bills.
... but wait! Salvation could be just a click away. As many others that have proceeded before me, I've joined the growing list of Internet holiday shoppers. In the quiet of my own home, wearing my favorite winter PJs, I click away at little icons, trying to decide if a picture is really worth a thousand words. Last year, e-Commerce saw its largest boost since its inception around holiday and Christmas shopping at the end of the year. For the first time, e-Shopping became a viable alternative to the crowded malls and lines of traffic. Nearly 10 million US households last year use online shopping in some fashion. For this year, they are predicting that sales on the Internet will be nearly double those of last year's and see over 60% increase in users worldwide. Buyer beware
While shopping online presents many advantages, there are also things to look out for. As always, the term, "buyer beware", applies.
- Pictures aren't worth a thousand words
As should come as no surprise, it's not always easy to identify the relative worth and value of products by just looking at a nice glossy picture of the product. It pays to do your own research before purchasing a product. Luckily, you have all the resources at your finger tips... or shall we say at the end of your Internet connection.
- Shop around... shop.
Prices can vary on the Internet. If you want the best deal, you'll have to spend some time shopping around. Many times, you can find out what the manufacture's price is by going directly to their site. You can also perform searches for the product on various search engines like Yahoo! and Lycos. Be warned though, you may have to shift through a lot of information to get what you want, the price of just one particular item. If you're short on time, it may not be worth saving that extra couple of dollars.
Go To Page:
1
2
The copyright of the article Merry Sounds of Christmas in Internet & Society is owned by . Permission to republish Merry Sounds of Christmas in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
I will still order online next year, just earlier so I don't run into the same last minute problem again. We had a few things to buy in the stores and it was crazy with the traffic and all the people ...
-- posted by FeatureWriter
|
In response to message posted by Car:
Hey Car, I just saw this message because someone visited my site through it and it sh ...
-- posted by FeatureWriter
|
In response to message posted by FeatureWriter:
Hey Dawn, If you're lurking out there... we're all curious. Did it come on ...
|
In response to message posted by Car:
Uh, oh. :( That doesn't sound encouraging.
*Keeping my fingers crossed!* ...
-- posted by FeatureWriter
|
In response to message posted by FeatureWriter:
Ack! I hope it gets there on time!!! I know the postal offices have been say ...
|
For a complete listing of article comments, questions, and other discussions related to
Caroline Baker's
Internet & Society topic, please visit the Discussions page.
|
