About shopping: it’s not the same for everyone. And sometimes it doesn’t go as planned. Here are some theoretical scenarios.
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Shopper number one goes out to shop for groceries, and comes back with groceries.
Shopper number two goes out to shop for groceries, and comes back with groceries, eyeliner, mascara, two new lipsticks and a new face cream.
Shopper number three goes out to shop various few essentials and ends up buying the entire store. If this one sounds familiar, then you must be among us people who sometimes leave the store carrying more than legally allowed.
There aren’t really any laws to stop people from shopping, but sometimes it sure feels there ought to be. You know The Mask – Somebody stop me? It’s something like that with shopping sometimes. You just can’t stop yourself, but that’s ok because you know what? If you’re unstoppable and shopping is your cardio, there is something that usually helps with losing some of that guilt feeling. Shopping well.
What shopping well is all about
It’s about getting the best value for money and about spending at least as possible for your purchases. Shopping less is not always an option, but luckily for us, we’re not limited to that one option alone. There are plenty of ways to save when shopping.
- Bargains
- Flyer Sales
- Gifts that come with purchases
- Closeout deals
- Promo codes
- Free delivery
- Free returns
- Membership deals
- Coupons
Shopping well is also about doing a bit of a detective’s work. That starts with getting to know what’s available from local stores and evaluating whether or not that’s more convenient compared to what’s available online.
Remember that the stuff you buy, if we are talking about an actual investment and a good one, has to be something you like or need. You may or may not find something to your liking at the local shop, in which case online sellers are the best possible option.
But with online sellers you never really know if you’re going to like an item because one or more of the following may occur:
- Item not true to size
- Item bad quality
- Item damaged
- Item lost
- Item delivered late
- Item not eligible for return
When you purchase online you don’t get to inspect an item, you don’t get to try clothing, and you’re often charged for delivery and to pay for returns. Sometimes it doesn’t add up to shopping well if you’re unhappy with your purchase, you paid for delivery, you need to return the item, and you have to pay for that too.
No, by all accounts, that’s shopping the wrong way. Don’t part with your money before you are absolutely sure about a purchase. And definitely, don’t click buy now before you’ve read a seller’s terms and conditions on delivery and returns.
One thing that people who shop a lot online do is that they add items to the wishing list. Then they go through the list again to sort things. This is where it becomes tricky because we are so tempted to choose things on account of desire and not need necessarily.
Desired is said to make us want to shop more because of the feeling itself that is exciting. It is a feeling that stimulates our brain to the point of making us lose money. Why do you think retailers use emotional advertising? They are really using feeling to make us buy.