Category:Authors

Confessions of an Online Shopper

By: Karen Ranney
July 07, 2010

The other day, someone complimented me on my couch. It’s one of those slipcovered things that’s squishy and soft and you could cuddle up there with a good book and be comfy (I have and was).

When I told her I bought it online, she was surprised. Doubly so when I announced that everything in my house, except for my inherited dining room furniture, was purchased online. Everything in my gym, my bedroom (mattress included), office, kitchen, and laundry room was purchased online.

You see, I hate shopping. I know what I want and how much I’m willing to pay for it, so off I go to my most favorite places, pick it out, and that’s it. It’s off my mind. I’ve been buying stuff online since 1997, and except for one order that got misplaced, and another that broke, I’ve never had any problems.

I even bought my car online. I saw it on a dealer’s website, called a salesman, gave him my account info, and he drove it to my house the next day. (It was used, so it wasn’t a huge amount of money.) But just think what I saved myself in aggravation.

One of the things that I always remember about myself and other people is this: we’re more similar than we’re different. So, if I’m buying most of my stuff online, I’m willing to bet other people are, too.

So, here are my questions for you:

  1. Do you shop mainly online?
  2. How about your book purchases? Are they online, too?

OTHER DISCUSSIONS HAPPENING IN AUTHORS Romance

  • Get Paid To Drive Car says: July 19, 2010 at 4:38 pm

    May i make a recommendation? I believe you have got a little something beneficial in this article. But what if you added in a couple links to a web page that backs up just what youre stating? Or possibly you could give us a little something to take a look at, anything that would associate what you are declaring to some thing concrete? Just a suggestion.

  • marelou says: July 7, 2010 at 9:27 pm

    you bought a car online? wow! I shop online for certain things that are hard for me to find in “real” stores or where I’d have to travel farther than I’m comfortable with. I bought a couple of books online but i prefer to actually hold the book and browse. But with the ebooks becoming more common, I have a feeling I’d be doing more book purchasing online.

  • Dalila G. says: July 7, 2010 at 7:36 pm

    Ooops….forgot to put in my book buying fun, sorry.
    I mainly get about 80% of my books at the stores. The other 20% is a combination of online buying, friends giving me books they are finished with and books that I have won in contests. I am always much happier when I get to browse through the shelves and hold the books. This way has also introduced me to other authors I might not of picked up, I start talking to other shoppers and they give me some recommendations on their favorites.

  • Irene M. says: July 7, 2010 at 7:34 pm

    Wow! Karen, you are a very brave soul!

    You’re like an online-super-shopper because that’s a lot of high cost, big item stuff to buy online. But it’s great that you really didn’t have many problems with the delivery, or quality and workmanship of anything you’ve purchased. I thought I was becoming a very savvy online shopper, scooping up the bargains and saving a ton of money by using the online coupon codes available, but I can’t believe all the things you’ve bought online. Though, I’ve got to agree with Jon Vagg (Hi Jon!) I doubt I’d ever trust any online dealership enough to buy a used car.

    It’s funny you brought this subject up because I just recently made a pretty large online purchase of a Deluxe Catnapper Omni Electric-lift Recliner, after my husband’s Lazyboy broke too often. And after pricing it in local furniture stores and online… I saved a whopping $352. I bought it through Hayneedle.com (the same company Sears uses to sell this same chair at $998. Plus tax) and used an online coupon code for 14% off the already reasonable sale price, and I got free shipping too. Paid $627. complete, and though we’ve only had the chair 2 weeks, so far we love it.

    I’d recommend that anyone who buys things online look for coupon codes for that store before purchasing any items. They can get you free shipping or save you a lot of money off an already good deal. Most stores have a little box on the order page just for coupon codes.

    Great post Karen! This could be a very helpful because there’s a lot of people who aren’t as daring about shopping online for fear of having a lot of problems with delivery or using credit cards. And hearing about all your good shopping experiences, since 1997, might make someone who’s on the fence and a little afraid to make that first online purchase take the leap… and save some dollars in this tough economy.

    Btw~ I buy A LOT of my books online at either Barnes and Noble, or Amazon, or Borders, and Wal-Mart because you can get a lot of great deals. And every couple of dollars I save allows me to buy another book and maybe try a new romance author.

    I’m very much looking forward to the release of your new book HIGHLAND DUCHESSE at the end of the month. I loved SOLD TO A LAIRD—it’s a wonderfully romantic story—and anyone who hasn’t read it yet should pick up a copy, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. :)

  • Dalila G. says: July 7, 2010 at 7:21 pm

    I shop online and I also go to the stores. I enjoy seeing all the people in the stores, plus I like to touch the merchandise. Some items that I find are only sold online so I get quite a bit that way, great deals for me! I loved to get stuff in the mail, makes me feel special! LOL! I have notice that when I shop online I tend to spend more….go figure.

  • Evangeline says: July 7, 2010 at 7:01 pm

    I love shopping online–mainly because I love to receive mail! I do buy the majority of my books online (all of those readers blogs and author websites feed into my book-buying habit) since I read a lot of e-books. However, there are times where I want to get out and look at real, live, tangible items, plus share the general experience of browsing and shopping with other people!

  • Jon Vagg says: July 7, 2010 at 5:14 pm

    I’m not wild about shopping either, primarily because I keep what my friends like to describe as ‘vampire hours’ (when the 24-hour supermarket opened a couple of years ago it was real boon).

    I’d say 90% of things that aren’t supermarket shopping come from the internet – quite a lot of household stuff, tools, my computer, mobile phones etc., and especially books. As to a car? I don’t know a lot about cars but I do know enough to check obvious things like whether the inside of the oil cap has white cream inside it and you can’t tell that from the internet. The white cream, incidentally, is an oil/water emulsion that indicates water’s getting where it’s not supposed to, and thus that they may be an expensive problem like a head gasket to fix in the near future. Gaskets aren’t expensive but taking an engine apart to fit one is!

    I do feel somewhat guilty about buying books online, in particular, because I know how much damage that’s done to the retail book trade. And the independent booksellers that have closed in the last couple of years were real community resources, running local history groups and a wide range of other events that I may not have been involved in myself but could certainly see the value of for those who were (a Black history group and a Bagladeshi women’s group were both examples). I just hope that in time, we find ways to develop resources like these in other ways.


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