Gransnet forums

Discount codes/offers

Buying online?

(48 Posts)
Jackthelad Fri 03-Jul-20 10:29:48

I have a question that one or more of you might be able to answer. Yes we all love a bargain, but why do you shun the high street and buy on line. There is an old saying. Don't buy a pig in a poke. The answer is you were sold a piglet in sack, but when the money had changed hands and the sack opened the cat was let out of the bag. Cost saving might be the answer, but what about quality and value for money. I like to see exactly what I spending my hard earned cash on in reality; not a picture or description complete with sales blurb. I am told you do a tour of the first, but buy online. Where do you when all the shops have gone

Loladays Thu 17-Sept-26 18:13:12

Message deleted by Gransnet. Here's a link to our Talk guidelines.

nanna8 Wed 02-Sept-26 02:09:34

It was an absolute godsend during the Covid time. I don’t buy groceries anym online but I do get stuff like cleaning products and cheap t shirts for everyday wear. I found this stuff that removes mild scratches on cars - magic, it really worked on my red car. I quite like scrolling through all the thousands upon thousands of products available online, some I would never have thought of.

me2u Wed 02-Sept-26 00:50:56

I am disabled and housebound so online shopping is essential! I couldn't cope without it now.

pably15 Tue 01-Sept-26 21:19:21

I shop online for most things now, over 80 and can't get around as much now,Tesco has been a godsend as I don't have a car to get my weekly shopping. I only have certain shops that I buy from,and I look up customer reviews first. I'm quite happy with online shopping.

Loladays Tue 01-Sept-26 14:14:21

Message deleted by Gransnet. Here's a link to our Talk guidelines.

BrandyGran Tue 09-Jun-26 12:14:15

Yes OP I agree with what you say- some items look wonderful on the web site but apparently when delivered are poor imitations . I always look up reviews and Trust Pilot before ordering anything!
I do all my clothes shopping online with well known shops and brands because at 81 it’s tiring and not the fun it used to be to go to town for a trip around the shops. Online shopping suits me very well but you have to be careful and do research.

Boz Tue 09-Jun-26 09:35:16

So out of date!

Sago Tue 09-Jun-26 08:43:25

Old thread resurrected by spammers!!!!!!

MT62 Tue 09-Jun-26 08:40:59

Just tks for me on the outskirts of town. Waiting for knee replacements, no blue badge.
I can’t get to the shops fast enough & get back to my car that I have had to park half mile away. Guaranteed that the traffic warden will be at the side of my car.
Plus, our shops are shutting hand over fist, or short staffed because they can’t afford to take on more staff.
I very rarely order online.

MrsKen33 Fri 22-Jul-22 12:15:51

Went to Boots yesterday for 2 specific things. Neither were in stock. So ordered on their website. Free delivery. That’s why I buy online

toscalily Fri 22-Jul-22 11:31:45

This thread is over two years old.

GagaJo Fri 22-Jul-22 09:53:57

Lack of public transport. Cost of parking. Higher costs in physical shops. Put them altogether, and shopping in person is just not as convenient or cost effective.

henetha Fri 22-Jul-22 09:51:12

"Each to his own" Jackthelad. I try to do a mixture of both.
I particularly try to support my local small shops.
But there are times when online is best. When you can't find an item locally without endless plodding around, etc.
At almost 85 and with a chronic back condition, buying online is very often the best way for me.

FannyCornforth Fri 22-Jul-22 08:41:43

Reported

kathrynbrown Fri 22-Jul-22 08:40:36

Message deleted by Gransnet. Here's a link to our Talk guidelines.

Antonia Fri 19-Mar-21 08:47:27

I have only used Amazon Prime since the first lockdown. Next day delivery and they always have what I want. Why would I want to go shopping? In any case, most shops are shut.

Mollygo Fri 19-Mar-21 08:22:28

I like shopping in ‘real’ shops when I can and I still shop for groceries that way, not just because I could never get a delivery slot.
Online is the only thing available for quite a lot of things, e.g. I’d never make it to a physical Seasalt shop because of distance.
Sometimes, Amazon is the only way to get things. I tried Screwfix, B&Q, the local plumbing shop etc. to get a new insert of a particular size to fit my tap with no luck. Amazon gave me a choice of several suppliers and next day delivery.
Before online shopping we’d never have known about many shops.

nanna8 Fri 19-Mar-21 08:14:59

I buy in shops and online,too. I like getting parcels, simple as that. Saving money helps, too. I agree about Amazon, though, dreadful.

Sara1954 Fri 19-Mar-21 08:01:50

I think that over the years I’ve come to know what to expect from the retailers I use, and if I don’t like it or it doesn’t fit, it goes straight back.
I will never use Amazon, if I can’t buy it anywhere else, I go without.

Savvy Fri 19-Mar-21 04:11:38

I'm disabled so find outside shopping very difficult. I don't drive, can't use a wheelchair or a mobility scooter, so I have to rely on my walking stick to stop me falling over. Even then I can only walk a few paces before the pain kicks in. I can't carry much either as my stick is in my stronger hand and my other is too weak and wrapped in a brace.

I have a rare bone disease which means I have spurs growing into my muscles and tendons, and putting pressure on my nerves and blood vessels.

So online shopping is a must for me and it's very rare that I can't find everything I need.

BlueBelle Thu 26-Nov-20 06:01:06

I notice * jackthelad* has disappeared

FlexibleFriend Wed 25-Nov-20 13:34:59

I'm disabled so online shopping is my lifeline. Not a great fan of shops and find customer service has in the main disappeared. I recently had to source everything for a high end bathroom refit and traipsing round the shops would have been exhausting doing it online saved me a fortune and made it all so easy. I just had one brief visit to a tile shop and everything was sorted. Actually the customer service in the tile shop was above and beyond, my wheelchair brings some benefits after all. Personally I wouldn't miss shops if they all closed down.

suziewoozie Wed 25-Nov-20 12:18:56

My mum used to say that the road to hell was paved with good intentions ?

WOODMOUSE49 Wed 25-Nov-20 11:46:29

Agree with MawBe

Baring food and drink, I buy about 90% of what we need on line. I enjoy shopping around the internet for bargains and only twice in the past 5 years have I had problems and that was buying through eBay. However, their resolution centre sorted it all and I got refunds.

I'd love to go out shopping for clothes and shoes but I'm tall and frustration kicks in when I see the shops at my nearest shopping centre cater for Petite and not Tall. Oh! and my nearest shopping centre (Truro) is a 40 min drive away.

I'm curious as to what type of shops are closing. On my only visit to Truro this year there were 3 shops closed (boarded up). Two were jewellers and the other Hotters. Others were boarded up as they'd moved to larger premises. Some have been taken over as pop up shops.

So Jackthelad business is still good on the high street.

Witzend Wed 25-Nov-20 09:15:33

Most of my online buys at the moment are from retailers whose shops are shut at the moment. E.g. M&S, John Lewis, JoJo Maman Bebe, and Smyths toys. Oh, and the Natural History Museum online shop - plenty of dinosaur items!

Virtually all my knitting yarn - a lot - since the beginning of lockdown has been bought online but I’d do that anyway since the only place to buy it anywhere near is John Lewis, where it’s mostly a lot more expensive, not the cheap and cheerful I want for the sort of things I’ve been making.

I do try to avoid Amazon wherever possible. Incidentally a present I wanted for a little Gdd was cheaper from Smyths than from Amazon.