Tuesday 10 September 2013

Chapter 21: Confessions of an Internet Shopaholic

It's no news to any of you that know me, that I have a slight obsession with shopping. Internet shopping to be precise. Why? Because of all the freaking discounts people?! My sister is forever saying to me, "You have a serious problem..." this is of course when she notices three or so parcels in my bedroom. But little does she know that all of those items would amount to ONE thing she would buy out on the high street. Which begs the question, why isn't EVERYONE internet shopping?

My boyfriend's little brother loves to shop and he has a very keen eye for fashion. I told him about all of the bargains I bought on eBay last year and he said, "I dunno... I like to try stuff on in the shop." I said, "Fair enough. But most places are free return?" He said, "I just love the feel of handling money." Like I say, everyone is different! But it goes to show everyone has their own preferences when it comes to shopping. Some people like to buy their groceries online whilst it's easier for others to just pop down the road and get a carton of milk.

Around this time two years ago, I was unemployed and it is around this time of the year I would stress quite a lot about birthday's and of course Christmas presents.  My Dad and both of my Sisters have birthdays right before Christmas and with so much time on my hands, the only thing for me to do was browse the internet for jobs and of course, presents for my family. Now weirdly enough, I had no problems buying presents for their birthdays (or for Christmas for that matter). With so little money to live on, I think I had bought the best presents for them in my life to date, so I was quite proud of myself! However, the first outing I was invited to was my Sister's 26th birthday.She planned on going to the German Christmas Markets, followed by drinks at a pub nearby. Needless to say I was in a pickle about what to wear with so little money. Having a job in the town centre before and for a company that provided great discount (Ii stress the ONLY perk of the job), I had no trouble buying clothes before, so this was a REAL challenge. Now, I'd had an eBay account for years but never really discovered how fucking A-MAZING it was until I was jobless. I looked on the clothing outlet which has a variety of different brands, form Topshop to Karen Millen. I thought, cold evening, need to wear something nice but obviously something to keep me warm, so I opted for a playsuit with tights and heeled boots and you know how much the playsuit cost me? £2. TWO FRICKIN' POUNDS! Now THAT is what I call a bargain. Not only that, but the playsuit was still available to buy on Very for the full price of £49. What's that I hear you say? I am the shit at grabbing a bargain? Yeah I know, it's a gift, what can I say? I also purchased a faux fur coat, ex Topshop. Original price of £100, eBay price of £25. Only worn once, no faults. God I'm good...

However, if you asked me to grab a bargain on the High Street, I'd have to kindly (refuse like a child in your face) decline. I couldn't think of anything worse then traipsing around the town and going into the shops on Boxing day. For those who do do this, you must be an amazing bargain hunter, or just plain frickin' mad. Maybe this is because I worked in retail for so long in the likes of Next and New Look and the sheer thought of Sale prep still haunts me to this day. Maybe it's because I'm fully aware of how stock is handled and I'm OCD. Or maybe it's because I REALLY don't want to find something I like, try desperately to find my size and see some douche bag in front of me walking around with the dress I wanted because she was there 5 seconds before me. All I know is, internet shopping is REALLY the way forward. Free delivery and returns on most sites, discount vouchers and codes on a weekly basis and avoiding shit customer service? I think that's a good deal if you ask me...

And yeah yeah... I know what all you women are thinking, "But I want to try the clothes on" or "The sizes are never right." Read above ladies, free returns on most sites! Save your legs and avoid the bitchiness, messiness and tiredness that comes with hunting a bargain.

Pop some tags (online) peeps!
Big love.
T.




No comments:

Post a Comment