Do you ever shop online to avoid social situations?

[Kat]

And what type of things do you buy? I haven’t yet but with Christmas coming up I am seriously thinking about it to avoid crowds this year. I haven’t got my own transport yet so I have to rely on my family to take me and because they don’t have much time this kind of stuff is usually left to the last minute. I don’t want to face a situation that never helps my social phobia anyway so I am going to try and do it online this year and maybe save some hassle but what experiences have you had with shopping online is it safe? :?

 

[Joey86]

I do a lot of my shopping online, and I've never had any serious problems before with it. I've bought books, bathroom accessories, dvds, electronics, pizza (last night lol), etc. A lot of the wierd stuff I like, I buy online so I got get questioned or looked at strangly at the checkout.

Obviously it's good to check out the reputation of the website before you buy anything. If you're aussie, www.choice.com.au is a godsend. You can check out the reputation of most retail websites in Australia, along with some useful tips if you've never shopped online before.

If you're planning to shop on ebay or simular websites, beware that each seller is independent from ebay, and that there are no guarantees that you will recieve the item, or recieve the item in the condition specified. Be sure to check that their seller reputation is high if you are going to buy here.

Good luck.

 

[Foxglove]

I don't shop much on line, with the exception of Ebay, where I get all of my books. I do, however, order my clothes from catalogues. I am one of the world's few women who despise shopping, the whole shopping experience, from having to deal with crowds to having to deal with merciless, unflattering lights in the dressing rooms :?.

 

[recluse]

Almost everything i buy is off the internet. The main reason being that i live in the middle of nowhere. It was a nightmare before because i had to phone to order things and i get nervous talking on phones.

I buy cd's, dvd's, clothes, electrical goods and gadgets all kinds of stuff.

As for safety, i've had one bad experiece when someone had got hold of my card details and attempted to buy something worth 500 quid but luckily the card protection service with my bank dtopped them and cancelled my card. On the whole it's safe as long as the place you are shopping has a secure payment and you have a firewall.

 

[IceLad]

Shopping online is one of my favourite pastimes.

You get so much more choice off the internet, prices are lower, you can buy things that would embarrass you in person, and most of the time it's safe. To date, I haven't had any bad experiences. However, there are some things that I'm adamant that I won't buy online e.g. clothes- I have to know what the item looks like on me before purchasing.

 

[Kat]

Thanks guys for the tips. I am going to be setting up a paypal account soon so it should be interesting.