As a college student, I am fully aware of the convenience of shopping online. No crowded malls, no long lines, and no risk of not being able to find something in the store that you actually like. I personally prefer online shopping over going to a store/mall to shop. I can simply type in exactly what I’m searching for from the comfort of my room. What’s better than that?! Despite the amount of pros online shopping has, shopping via the Internet also comes with its list of cons.
PROS
1.The stores are never closed. You could shop from as early as 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. and never have to be worried about the store closing before you could make your purchase! :)
2.No waiting in line to checkout. This is one of the main reasons I prefer online shopping. Long lines in stores completely turn me off. For example, I was in line to checkout at H&M one time for about 30 minutes. I was so frustrated that I just put everything that I picked up back, which was a complete waste of my time. Shopping online completely avoids all that frustration.
3.Some items found on a website would not be available in stores. This point could be also be applicable to why online shopping may not be such a good thing. However, I know that Urban Outfitters clothing sites, they tag the clothes that are only available for purchase online.
4.Online shopping sites have clothing from past seasons. Online shopping is a great resource for finding clothes that are from past seasons or that are being disbanded. If you just so happen to want a tank top in the middle of December for whatever reason, you would have better luck finding it online than in a store. (And possibly at a cheaper price!)
CONS
1.Risk of clothes not fitting. This is probably the biggest con to online shopping. Unfortunately, because you’re not able to try the clothes on before purchasing, you’re faced with the risk of your clothes not being able to fit, which sucks.
2.Return policies. Returning something you purchased offline is always a hassle and sometimes they may not even let you return your item, which is super annoying.
3.Not always knowing if a site is legitimate. For as many legitimate shopping sites there is, there are also lots of illegitimate sites that just want to scam you out of your money. I have experienced this many times. It is important to be careful especially when you are making purchases online that are overseas (I once got scammed out of $210 for sneakers that were coming from China).
4.Shipping & handling fees. I saved the most annoying point for last! Shipping and handling fees are the biggest disadvantage to online shopping there is. This is especially evident on sites such as eBay and Amazon. You could order something for one dollar on one of these sites and shipping & handling would be $5.95! Annoying!
Although shopping in store and online have there list of pros and cons, what they have in common is… both give a 20% discount to college students with valid IDs! Online there is a site where you have to verify that you are a college student, and most stores give you the discount as long as you ask. HAPPY SHOPPING!!!