Many people make the assumption that almost everything being sold online will be cheaper. They couldn't be further from the truth. On some site I saw a complaint written by someone who says or claims she bought at toy online [it cost her $20] but was surprised to find the toy in some brick and mortar store and in that store the toy cost $14. Before buying something online, find out how much it costs in a brick mortar store because it could save you some money.
I totally agree with you, @Denis Hard. Why anybody would make that assumption is beyond me! I always go on the high street and check out not only the prices, but the quality, feel and fit of all items that interest me. I also compare prices across the stores. I then go online and do a price comparison across different sites. I have two very good websites which do this for me very quickly and easily. So that way I always know I'm getting the very best price for items I buy. Maybe I just like to watch the pennies LOL
It can work both ways; sometimes online can be cheaper, but take into account shipping so does that make it cheaper or the same price? I know some stores can be cheaper because they can offer discounts or price match a nearby store. Most will not price match online prices. Looking online can give you a benchmark so you know a rough idea of the price, because it's hard to tell when an item really is on sale or not these days.
I had been to the mall this morning and I'd say that it is cheaper to buy in the mall shops than in online shops. Gee, I was drowned by the discounts. I actually bought Christmas decorations and some other items for a total of more than $200. From my rough estimate, I got a total discount of maybe $40 to $50 because aside from the discount, I also received a gift certificate worth $5 that I can spend until the end of the month.
Totally with you Denis Hard and like Lushlala why anyone would make that assumption somewhat baffles me too - as I too would agree - that the one and only way to ensure that your are making a cost effective purchase and are getting the best value for money - is to always do plenty of research and compare prices both on and offline prior to parting with any money - particularly considering the fact that - failing to do that - generally results in having to pay way more than is actually necessary
I've had an experience like this where I didn't have time to check because I was buying gifts for Christmas and I was actually buying a lot of the same items online because I wanted to give it to a few people and I thought the item was unique and fairly cheap but after walking around a mall after the holidays I found out the items weren't that hard to find at all and they were even cheaper in those stores. Thankfully they weren't that much cheaper so I didn't regret it that much but I still lost out on some money because of this so now I'm a bit more careful with my decisions.
I agree, it's always 50/50 when it comes to shopping online, because not all online stores are cheaper, I saw a flash drive being sold that was $2.30 cheaper than the ones being sold online, so we must always do our research before buying anything so that we are aware where it's cheaper.
Although I agree people shouldn't make assumptions about this, I've yet to find something cheaper in a brick and mortar. Maybe I'm just THAT good at researching the item lol.. but *so far* I have always found it cheaper online.
I always find it cheaper online but maybe that's because I never just find the item I want and buy it straight away. I'll spend a good amount of time looking through different sites to find the best deal. Food, on the other hand, I always find cheaper in store. This is mainly because Aldi doesn't do deliveries.
Great post! Everyone thinks its always cheaper online. You gotta do your research and make sure. Plus if you are going to get dinged with shipping, border fee's and currency exchange then sometimes online is significantly costlier.
It always pains me if I found out that what the item I bought online is more expensive than buying it in physical stores. But yup, it has happened to me many times. I'm the kind of person that easily gets swayed into deals and packages. Although I do love researching the products before I buy them, there are times that a deal is too good to be snubbed. So in such instances, I go ahead and buy without even comparing the online prices to offline prices. So it's a good idea that you try to go to physical stores first and find out what the real life prices are. Chances are, if you include shipping and other fees, your item is more expensive online despite the discounts and freebies given with it. We really need to be conscious and smart shoppers nowadays. Because if we aren't, we will get taken advantage of in more ways than one.
So true it's safer to check and buy the cheapest prices for the product you're interested in buying. I check all the time for I became a habitual window shopper. I found that brick and mortar prices on frozen french fries is the cheapest at our Walmart. I love Ore Ida qualilty though and sometimes Safeway has a 2/$5 on them so watch the sales too that pop up every week for CVS, Safeway & Walgreens too for they got great sales all the time.
Whether you buy things online or offline, whether you buy on shopping malls or small stores, you should always make a price comparison before you buy it. Don't just pick up any product just because you want it badly. Do a simple research and compare the product's price and brand. If you buy directly from the manufacturer online, you can have to product cheaper, however, if you are buying from a retailer it could cost you more.
You even have to be careful at Walmart.com. They are a marketplace, so not everything there is being sold by Walmart. There are many, many vendors. But if you read the fine print, these are easy to spot. If it is being sold by Walmart, then you can bet it is being sold at a fair price, comparable to store prices. But the marketplace vendors sometimes put outrageous prices on their items. Buyer beware!
Online, I find, is usually actually more expensive than buying it in stores on the high street. Online the delivery cost always adds a considerable chunk to the cost of an item to the extent where it makes it not worth buying online. For example, an item I wanted would've only cost me £0.30 to buy online, but the postage was £3.99! If I bought it in store it would've been £1, so I opted to buy in store and save the money on delivery when I was there, even if it actually cost an additional £0.70 for the item (minus the postage).
Yeah it isn't always cheaper when shopping online, I usually shopping online on the holiday promotion, usually I can get products at lower price, in addition, I only shopping products that I have discount coupon or group buy at a low price, in these way, I can save lots of money.
