reddog Posted August 16, 2017 Share Posted August 16, 2017 I have just bought a t-shirt and a sweatshirt off the internet. The company sent me the t-shirt in the wrong colour. This wouldn't be the end of the world, except I live in Switzerland and it is a UK website. I was charged an important fee, so getting everything exchanged and the correct tariff paid will be an administrative nightmare. Seriously starting to wonder if buying anything other than the absolute necessities is actually worth the effort (this is the 3rd time in the last few months where I have bought something that hasn't been as expected, and sorting it out has been more effort than the cost of the product) Aaahhhh!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
council dweller Posted August 16, 2017 Share Posted August 16, 2017 Well, I started 5 years ago `skip surfing ` on sunday at the back of waitrose. Originally I came to pick up newspapers for the cat`s toilet but then started to look more closely. I guess I find something once every 3 weeks.....keeps me in clothing. We are truly a rich country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longgone Posted August 16, 2017 Share Posted August 16, 2017 i picked up a plasma tv out a skip couple months back 3 capacitors later and i have a spare 50 inch tv for £3 shame i had to buy a remote for £2.50 from china , still £5.5 for a 1080p 50 inch screen is not too bad. the waste in this country is crazy , 20 years ago everything would be repaired now its binned and stuck on the cc card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winkie Posted August 17, 2017 Share Posted August 17, 2017 There are items that will be purchased on a whim, meaning bought on impulse only by happening to pass by it in a real or on-line store.......the trick is to not to pick up and handle, visit, or click showing an interest or activating a buying prompt.....will help in saving loads, as well as saving on time, aggravation and waste when doesn't live up to expectations, didn't really want or need it.....best way is to go shopping is with a shopping list and do your research first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John51 Posted August 17, 2017 Share Posted August 17, 2017 I order most of the small stuff I want from Chinese sellers on fleabay. Takes a few weeks to arrive but dirt cheap. eg a cute little 18w mono amplifier for 99 pence post free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riedquat Posted August 17, 2017 Share Posted August 17, 2017 Going to only buying the bare essentials would be too much one extreme IMO, but getting new stuff all the time for the sake of it doesn't really make people happier as far as I can tell, so why bother doing it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandwiches33 Posted August 17, 2017 Share Posted August 17, 2017 took 4 attempts to get the hiking boots I wanted in the correct size. Surely the most important thing filling in a shoes order is the size? Took weeks to sort and as a result I only use a select few websites I trust now and only buy what I need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sledgehead Posted August 17, 2017 Share Posted August 17, 2017 12 hours ago, longgone said: i picked up a plasma tv out a skip couple months back 3 capacitors later and i have a spare 50 inch tv for £3 Impressive. As to the OP, I note he titled it "Consumerism", but leveled his critique at online retail. By way of consolation, I can report that real world shopping hsa, imho, also taken a turn for the worse. Mysupermarket can no longer be relied upon to report availability of product in store, as I found out when trying to buy from Tescos. Probably down to their drive to become more like Aldi/Lidl (ie reduced lines). My merc dealership messed up a spares order, twice, despite my physical presence during the ordering process. And a bargain Wilkinsons told me of over the phone turned out to be nothing of the soft when I presented at the store. Maybe this is some twisted, illogical, sneaky ploy to get us to buy what we want when we see it (a return to the much more profitable impulse purchasing of yore) rather than try to research, price-compare and order. Barstools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longgone Posted August 17, 2017 Share Posted August 17, 2017 4 minutes ago, Sledgehead said: Impressive. As to the OP, I note he titled it "Consumerism", but leveled his critique at online retail. By way of consolation, I can report that real world shopping hsa, imho, also taken a turn for the worse. Mysupermarket can no longer be relied upon to report availability of product in store, as I found out when trying to buy from Tescos. Probably down to their drive to become more like Aldi/Lidl (ie reduced lines). My merc dealership messed up a spares order, twice, despite my physical presence during the ordering process. And a bargain Wilkinsons told me of over the phone turned out to be nothing of the soft when I presented at the store. Maybe this is some twisted, illogical, sneaky ploy to get us to buy what we want when we see it (a return to the much more profitable impulse purchasing of yore) rather than try to research, price-compare and order. Barstools. The Op issue is down to the fact the retailer where the item was bought was rubbish. i don`t buy anything online unless it is reduced and can use discount codes quidco cashback etc. stock levels are completely made up with physical stock in stores wickes and b&q should be taken with a pinch of salt . i have won many times with amazon though had some great bargains and its always free to return stuff and the refund is processed when the shop scans the return barcode, yes they don`t pay any tax but they are the best for service. bought a suit online few weeks ago with a waistcoat and 3 different size trousers to make sure it fitted, returned the ones that were too small and the waist coat and they refunded me for the whole lot ,so a jacket and trousers for free my kind of shopping oh and £4 cashback . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longgone Posted August 17, 2017 Share Posted August 17, 2017 19 minutes ago, Sledgehead said: My merc dealership messed up a spares order, twice, despite my physical presence during the ordering process. i would buy merc spares from a third party on one of the mercedes forums 35% discount achievable , merc spares are notoriously expensive. i would not have another one the 7g box is dire like driving a cattle truck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Errol Posted August 17, 2017 Share Posted August 17, 2017 It's why traditional retail is dead in the water. They stand zero chance of survival (except at the very top end, like Fortnum & Mason etc) if they carry on like this. On Amazon, you can find exactly what you want - from a specific type of Nvidia graphics card, to organic pumpkin seeds, to Nike Trainers - order it and have it delivered in a couple of days (or in 1 day if you pay a bit more). Quick, easy, and you don't have to engage with a cretin or a shop that doesn't have stock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Eagle Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 Amazon's search engine sucks. Whenever I search for something and then sort for 'cheapest first' there a tons of unrelated items in the results. Ebay is the exact opposite, the search is very precise, which is why I more often buy from Ebay sellers than from Amazon. The problem with ebay is the reliabilty of the sellers, while buying from Amazon themselves (not marketplace) is a more reassuring experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledMatty Posted August 20, 2017 Share Posted August 20, 2017 I only have what I can carry on my back. I shunned consumerism a long time ago. Less is more. Govt probably hates types like me e.g. no debts, no bills, minimal spending (particularly in the UK economy). Never been happier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Option5 Posted August 20, 2017 Share Posted August 20, 2017 4 minutes ago, ExiledMatty said: I only have what I can carry on my back. I shunned consumerism a long time ago. Less is more. Govt probably hates types like me e.g. no debts, no bills, minimal spending (particularly in the UK economy). Never been happier. In the last 20 years I've moved home many times flitting between UK, Norway, Switzerland and back to the UK (I feel another Swiss or Norwegian move coming soon). Each time I've moved by aeroplane, two suitcases at a time, over two weekends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riedquat Posted August 20, 2017 Share Posted August 20, 2017 On 17/08/2017 at 0:03 PM, Errol said: It's why traditional retail is dead in the water. They stand zero chance of survival (except at the very top end, like Fortnum & Mason etc) if they carry on like this. On Amazon, you can find exactly what you want - from a specific type of Nvidia graphics card, to organic pumpkin seeds, to Nike Trainers - order it and have it delivered in a couple of days (or in 1 day if you pay a bit more). Quick, easy, and you don't have to engage with a cretin or a shop that doesn't have stock. That makes sense for specialist items and those in the know, but for anything else I'd rather just go to the shops to get it (and I'm probably not after something that specific that I must get one particular make / model / version and no other). Still, online shopping does contribute towards that most important modern goal, making sure that people have as little to do with each other and their surroundings as possible and are as little involved in everything as possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reddog Posted August 21, 2017 Author Share Posted August 21, 2017 Not all my problem purchases have been on line, one was a German-English dictionary, which was supposed to work with an app. The app didn't work as advertised. The other was a TV I bought which would not connect to my cable connection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkG Posted August 27, 2017 Share Posted August 27, 2017 On 2017/08/17 at 5:03 AM, Errol said: ItOn Amazon, you can find exactly what you want - from a specific type of Nvidia graphics card, to organic pumpkin seeds, to Nike Trainers - order it and have it delivered in a couple of days (or in 1 day if you pay a bit more). Except, when you get it, it turns out to be a cheap Chinese fake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Errol Posted August 27, 2017 Share Posted August 27, 2017 If you stick to the stuff supplied by Amazon itself (as opposed to their other sellers), you should be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habeas Domus Posted August 27, 2017 Share Posted August 27, 2017 30 minutes ago, Errol said: If you stick to the stuff supplied by Amazon itself (as opposed to their other sellers), you should be fine. That's only true if absolutely none of the 3rd party sellers for that item are using 'fullfillment by Amazon', if they are, then that stock is sitting on the Amazon warehouse shelf, and if you order, even direct from Amazon theres a good chance it will be the 3rd parties stock. The sellers allowed to use 'fullfillment by Amazon' are likely a step ahead of just a random seller, I think they need to build up a certain number of good feedbacks but thats no guarantee. Saying all that, the only time I have found myself with cheap Chinese tat was when buying something that seemed too good a deal to be true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkG Posted August 27, 2017 Share Posted August 27, 2017 It's never happened to me yet, but I've seen enough complaints online that I avoid buying from 'third party sellers' as much as possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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