On shopping in-store or online? - a musing, rambling tale...

[MineralMan]

I needed a new PC a few weeks ago. Now, I didn't need anything fancy, just a low-priced basic Windows 10 PC with 8 GB of Ram and s 1 Terabyte hard drive. Brand didn't matter. Size of cabinet didn't matter. Corded or cordless keyboard and mouse didn't matter. I also needed a 21-23" monitor.

So, I pondered whether I should go to Amazon.com and use my free Prime shipping option to get something the next day or should I go to some nearby store and get it today. For around $400, the price difference, if any, didn't matter much. Amazon, Best Buy, Staples or Office Depot/Max would have a system like the one I wanted in stock and on sale. Tweedle-dum, tweedle-dee.

As it happened, I wasn't that busy that day, so I got in the car and went to Office Depot/Max, which is the store nearest to my home. I walked in, looked at the systems they had, and picked out the desktop that was on sale that week and the low-end monitor I wanted. There was a Office Depot/Max "associate" in the immediate area, but he was helping someone else look at systems, so I just stood there and waited. When the person he was helping walked off without buying anything, I thought, "Cool, I'm next." But, the "associate" just wandered off in another direction. He had seen me, but just started to walk away.

I'm used to that. I'm pretty invisible these days. I'm 71 years old, with gray hair and a full beard, dressed in faded jeans and a flannel shirt, but I really wanted to get my transaction done and go home, so I said, "Excuse me. Could I get some help?" Now, if Office Depot/Max had the boxes in stock out there with the items on display in them, I'd have just put my stuff in a cart and gone to the registers. But, in their wisdom, they want to you talk to an "associate."

So, the "associate" sighed visibly and walked over to me, as if to say, "Geez, not another lookie-lou..." Instead, I pointed at the desktop I wanted and said, "I need one of these," then pointed at the monitor I wanted and added, "and one of these." He looked mildly surprised and went over to "check whether we have those in stock." Lo and behold, they did. So, I was instructed to go to the check out station and told that my order would be brought up. The "associate" headed for the back of the store and I headed for the check-out line. By then, I was the only customer in the store at about 11 AM on a weekday.

In due time, another "associate" wheeled my stuff to the front of the store on a cart and the "associate" at the cash register scanned my two items, asked me if I wanted the extended warranty ("no thanks&quot and I swiped my credit card. That was it. Nobody asked if I wanted help carrying the items out, so I put the monitor box on top of the Dell system box, picked both up and left the store. Note: Dell boxes have nifty handle cutouts in them. Thanks, Dell! My total time in store, about 30 minutes, I guess. Total time for the whole thing, about 60 minutes, including the drive.

So, three "associates" earned part of their paycheck because I decided to get my new PC that day. All things considered, though, I would have preferred the Amazon option. I'd have been done in five minutes, wouldn't have polluted the air by driving to the store and back, and there still would have been two or three people earning money involved, including the person who packed my shipment, and a couple of UPS people who were involved in delivering it. A wash, really. Same price for what I needed, within $25 or so, but less hassle for me with the Amazon route. The only thing I gained was getting my stuff the same day, but I didn't actually set it up for a couple of days, as it turned out.

I'm pretty sure that is why stores like Office Depot/Max and Best Buy are not doing well, with many of them closing. The time required and the lackluster personal assistance at the brick and mortar location, along with no price advantage, doesn't seem so attractive these days. That's why the store was empty of customers, I imagine. The Office Depot/Max store had one system like the one I needed, a Dell. Amazon offered at least a dozen different system at the same commodity price point, with free next-day delivery. Less hassle and no drive. People making money are still involved, either way.

Retailing has changed forever, I'm afraid. People talk about jobs being lost, but workers are also employed by the system that packs and delivers stuff from Amazon, too. They just opened a new Amazon distribution center here in the Twin Cities. Pay is between $16-18 per hour for the jobs there. UPS has a hub here, too, so local people have jobs whether I buy from the brick-and-mortar store or from Amazon. I'm not really seeing much reason to go to Office Depot/Max again, really. I suppose it will be closing soon, anyhow.

Thanks for taking the time to read my ramblings...

[Eliot Rosewater]

1. I am disappointed you didnt go to Costco

And if you dont have one locally, order online, very fast shipping.

[MineralMan]

2. Actually, I looked at Costco and they didn't have the system

I wanted on sale that week. They did have the Dell Inspiron desktop I ended up buying, but priced at $100 more than I paid. I do shop at Costco, though. So, yes, I did check. I do pay some attention to price, since I'm not a wealthy guy. $100 buys some groceries, so I don't go around throwing Benjamins away very often.

[Eliot Rosewater]

7. That is surprising, not even online?

I mention online because not only is there far more to choose from, but the shipping is very fast, usually free AND best yet you can either return, if you end up returning, to the local store OR you can have Costco pick it up.

Now on a small item you wouldn't do that but I have ordered mattresses online instead of the store as I have no way of getting them home, pay the same price and then if I want to return I call them and they arrange to have it picked up!



PS add this ad on to your browser for your amazon purchasing

honey

go to joinhoney.com it supposedly adds coupons automatically to your check out

AND with Amazon you need to do SMILE , donates money to charity, in my case my local PP gets money

http://smile.amazon.com/gp/chpf/about/ref=smi_aas_redirect?ie=UTF8&

[MineralMan]

11. Nope. Not that particular week.

Now that PCs are a commodity, it's worth checking to see who has what on sale. Costco is great, but doesn't always have the lowest prices. Today, that Dell Inspiron is $449 online AT Costco. I paid $329 for mine. Similar prices on Amazon, too.

If you don't care what brand you buy, and with commodity-level PCs, it doesn't matter much any more, it's worth shopping around. That particular week Office Depot/Max had that model on sale. I looked online to make sure my local store still had that one in stock before going there. I still ended up online to do my shopping. I should have just ordered from Amazon, though, in the end.

[greymattermom]

3. So I wanted an LED desk lamp

and Amazon has A LOT of options. I got the color I wanted, with a cool phone charger in its base, and I didn't have to drive to several stores in ATLANTA TRAFFIC trying to find something. Total time spent, less than 1 minute.

[MineralMan]

5. Yeah. Choice is important for lots of things.

Shopping around in stores takes a lot of time, and you still might not find what you wanted. Good point.

[Kali]

4. Well I suppose it got you moving your body a tad more than the Amazon option...

especially if you parked out away from the door, but yeah I sure understand your feelings. I stopped at the dreaded wallyworld last night to see if they had some cheap work boots to wear in cold country this weekend. Found some that were OK but not perfect size, so I got them anyway then went home and looked on line. The right size will be here in 2 days and I can return the ones I got in the store.

Of course you could take the same time and walk your dog (or do you have 2 now? I haven't kept up) and that would be even better than more distance in the parking lot.

[MineralMan]

8. Yah, I guess, but since my office is in the basement,

I go up and down that flight of stairs about 20 times a day. That's enough exercise, along with two 1-mile dog walks every day. I don't really need all that much more. The dogs do insist on their walks, regardless of the weather, so my wife and I oblige them in the morning and afternoon.

For work boots, I go to Mills Fleet Farm and buy whatever ones are on sale that week. They're work boots, after all, so what they look like isn't much of a concern.

[Vinca]

6. I almost always buy online now because the experience you had is not unusual.

I've been the only person in a shoe store with 3 people working and they've gathered around the counter giggling and texting and totally ignoring me. I walked out without buying anything and ordered my favorite Clarks sandals online - 3 pair in different colors. The local hardware store is about a mile away and has about 6 employees inside and an unknown number in the lumber yard. You can walk around in circles in there looking for something and no one will ask if you need help. It seems about half the time the people working are just not interested and the other half of the time they're too busy texting or talking on their phones. It's very frustrating.

[MineralMan]

9. I go to my local ACE Hardware store frequently.

It's family owned and has very knowledgeable and helpful people working there. It's also a very well-stocked old fashioned type of hardware store. I prefer it enormously over the equally close Home Depot, which often doesn't have the particular thing I'm looking for anyhow.

[Eliot Rosewater]

13. Home Depot tried to come here, couldnt because the land they wanted was

zoned in such a way as to prevent them.

Home Depot owner or founder is a really bad guy, so that made me happy.

Dont get me started on Elliot Spitzer and how he was railroaded.

[MineralMan]

18. I still use Home Depot for some things.

If I want to build a chain link fence, for example, as I did a couple of years ago, it was cheaper and they had everything in stock. The local hardware store is spotty with that kind of stuff, and are usually out of at least some of the parts you need at the time.

As for Home Depot's ownership, I don't pay much attention to that. The folks working in the store don't necessarily share his viewpoint, and they're the ones I'm dealing with.

I shop for my own convenience and budget, frankly. However, I prefer my local ACE Hardware, so they get most of my hardware store business. I was surprised to learn one day that they even have garage door opener parts. I had my door working the same day. I called them, and they said, "Come on in. We have that stuff." They did, and one of the guys there helped me with some advice on fixing my problem, too.

[Vinca]

14. Oddly enough, the store I mentioned is an Ace Hardware store and not a big box store.

Good service seems to be a rarity no matter where you shop.

[MineralMan]

19. Well, management of a particular store makes all the difference.

I like the one near me. They know me, too. It's a great little store, run by people who understand hardware stuff.

[Kali]

16. I do love small Ace stores

and it seems like the smaller they are the MORE likely they have what you are looking for. LOL

[Waldorf_]

24. That is where I do most of my hardware shopping. I know I'm paying a little more than Home

Depot or Lowes, but walking in and somebody asking what I'm looking for is tremendous help. At the big stores I wander among aisles looking for help. And of course I'm pointed to a location a football field away.

[dixiegrrrrl]

10. For those of us who live miles from any decent big box store

online shopping is cheaper than 90 mile drives/gas/time
esp. in bad weather

If you have mobility/physical limitations top of that, online is even better.
I can buy a 35# bag of dog food on Amazon, have it delivered to the front porch, so I can drag it into the house,
rather than drive to a Wal-Mart, lift it in and out of the cart at check out, into cart and out into car trunk, out of car trunk and onto porch.
same price, but slightly lower tax, and free shipping, online.
Done in less than 5 minutes.

[MineralMan]

12. There you go. Same money, but more convenience.

This is why in-store shopping is going away fast. Dog food, even. Good decision.

[missingthebigdog]

15. Customer service seems to be a lost art. . . .

I am not sure why. I don't think it is laziness, but some reluctance or inability to see things from someone else's perspective, along with short attention span, seems to contribute.

It isn't just in retail. I am trying to find an office assistant right now. I placed an ad on Craigslist, and was very specific: Respond with a resume, three references, and a cover letter which describes what you think the duties would entail, and why you are qualified. These should be in pdf format.

The first eleven responses either did not include a cover letter, did not include a resume, or had the information pasted into the body of the email (no pdf). So I went back on Craigslist, edited my ad, and emphasized the importance of following the instructions. I posted that incomplete or incorrect responses would not be considered.

Two of the previous respondents actually emailed me and complained that I was being too strict. One was absolutely indignant that I would require a cover letter- she NEVER submits cover letters.

I guess I will just keep on doing all of my own admin work.

[MineralMan]

20. Yeah, it's a problem today.

Store management makes a lot of difference, but often the people who work in stores are bored, tired and uninterested in doing much. That could have to do with low pay, but it can also have to do with crappy management that treats them poorly. I don't know, but I do know that I tend to patronize businesses that are well-staffed with people who aren't bothered by having to assist you.

I'm a very efficient shopper. Nobody will have to spend much time helping me. I usually know exactly what I want going in. I just need someone to check stock and get the stuff for me. I don't think I've ever wasted a store employee's time. I'm all, "OK, I need this, that, and this other thing. Thanks!"

[MineralMan]

21. I once tried to hire a programmer for the little shareware

company I started. I finally gave up and continued to do it all myself. I tried a couple of people, but the time it took me to fix their code was longer than it would have taken me to write it myself. The biggest problem was typos in the code. They'd write some routine I needed, but it wouldn't run without crashing. I'd look at the code and there would be freaking typos and incorrect punctuation in there. When I pointed those errors out, I got shrugs.

I finally decided to just keep the business a one-person operation. It just wasn't worth the hassle.

[dembotoz]

17. have a good variety of local options here

try to keep at least some of the cash local if i can

[LeftInTX]

22. Can you believe that I've always ordered my computers?

I've never purchased one in-store. In the 90's, I would get my dad's hand me downs. One of them was pretty much DOA, so I just went online and ordered one.

I do buy my printers/toner in-store from Office Depot/Max. (I can't remember if I need help getting the printer to the car)

I bought a chair from them in 2010, I know that I needed help getting that chair to my car.

[WillowTree]

23. I a pretty high percentage of my shopping on Amazon anymore.

My boss talked me into trying Prime a few years ago and it just makes my life easier. When I found my pedestal fan was broken at 10 o'clock one night, I checked online and found the exact same model at both Home Depot and Amazon for the same price. Going with Amazon, I didn't have to go to the store, lug it home and drag it upstairs to my condo. Two days later, it was sitting by my front door when I got home from work. Last year my router died late one night and Amazon had another one waiting for me when I got home the very next day. I'm pretty active for a 67 year old with back issues and at this stage of my life, the significant extra convenience is not a small thing to me.