[Student Name Deleted]
PAC442B
Internet and American Life
Paper One
How the Internet Changed My Shopping Style
The Internet with its vast network of resources has the ability to affect and even
change the lives of its users. Internet has affected my life in many different ways. I am
able to keep in touch with my family and friends across four states and two different
countries through email. I have also been able to earn credit towards my Masters while in
my pajamas through online classes. But the most significant way that the Internet has
affected my life is that it has changed the way I shop. This may seems trivial when
compared to the vast array of changes and benefits that the Internet can bring to its users
but this area is where the most dramatic changes have occurred. The Internet with its vast
shopping resources changed me from someone who rarely ever shopped to an EBay
addict to an obsessive Internet bargain hunter.
The Internet hasn’t really changed what I shop for but it has changed how and
how much I ended up shopping. Before the Internet, I would hardly ever shop especially
for clothes but when I did shop, I tried to find the best bargain possible. Most of the time,
I was just too frustrated with the whole overall process to even enjoy shopping for
clothes. I was frustrated at the fact that I had to drive over forty minutes roundtrip and
then have the sales people either ignore me or stalk me because I looked like I might try
to shoplift. And of course, I was never able to find my size in shoes or jeans so most of
the time I would end up wasting more than an hour of my time. I did however enjoy
shopping for books and DVDs. I could spend hours looking through old books and not
even notice. But Springfield does not have a very competitive market for rare and used
books so I was often either unable to find exactly what I was looking for or was unable to
even think about paying $100 on a single book.
It was my obsessive need for rare and used books combined with my hatred of
high prices that eventually led to me EBay. A friend suggested that I try looking on EBay
for my books so in the fall of 1999 I discovered EBay and I have been buying and selling
there ever since. My very first purchase on EBay was an antique copy of Dante’s Inferno.
For the most part, I end up using EBay to shop for rare and out of print books and DVDs.
Through EBay, I have been able to almost complete my collection of Happy Hollister
books.
Most of my experiences with buying and selling on EBay have been good. One of
the best experiences that I have ever had on EBay is when I purchased an entire box of
vintage books in order to get three Happy Hollisters books. Among the other books was a
copy of a semi-rare edition of a Cherry Ames novel which I was able to sell for more than
twice the price that I paid for the entire box. Although I have had mostly good
experiences with buying and selling on EBay, I have had a couple of bad experiences.
Every single one of my bad experiences with EBay has been as a buyer. A typical
example of the bad experiences that I have had is when a seller takes my money but
refuses to send me the goods or when a seller doesn’t answer emails and then leaves
negative feedback for non-payment. While my negative experiences with EBay have
been mild, there are members who have had their EBay accounts hacked into.(2) The
hackers then use the accounts to set up bogus auctions in the hopes of scamming
unsuspecting bidders.(2) This situation often leaves all EBay members involved feeling
frustrated and foolish.(2)
Even though I have personally had a few minor negative experiences and had
heard of other EBay members having major negative experiences, I still became addicted.
My addiction to EBay developed over a period of six months. It started out innocently
enough with buying a book here and a DVD there but it quickly spiraled out of control
and before I knew it I was addicted. I loved the convenience, the variety, and the
competition. I was always finding things on EBay that I had never heard of and now
couldn’t live without. I was obsessively checking the site for new listings of books and
DVDs. At the peak of my addiction I was averaging 2 to 3 hours browsing every couple
of days. There was a point where I was setting my alarm for 3 in morning so that I could
“snipe” an auction. Sniping is when you wait until there are only a few seconds left to bid
on an auction so that other bidders are not able to outbid you.(4) Sniping is not perfect. I
have lost many an auction using both manual sniping and sniping services like eSnipe.(4)
Even at the peak of my addiction, I wasn’t actually spending that much money because I
have always looked at EBay auctions as I am willing to spend X on that book and no
more. This doesn’t mean that when I lose that I don’t feel a little put out. I slowly started
to cut back on the amount of time that I spend surfing on EBay early this spring and as a
direct effect I have reduced the amount of money that I am spending on EBay. I haven’t
made a purchase on EBay since June and I feel like I am making progress toward getting
a handle on my addiction.
My time on EBay led me to branch out to regular online shopping. I liked the
convenience of being able to shop at 3 in the morning in my pajamas but I occasionally
wanted to be able to buy a product without having to fight for it. And I also liked the idea
of having a set price, so I gradually started to look at some of the non-auction shopping
sites. At first, I didn’t really shop around that much but eventually I started using the
comparison site MySimon.com. Overall, my experiences with MySimon.com have been
good. For the most part, I have used MySimon.com to compare prices on DVDs. The one
bad experience that I have had with MySimon.com was when I purchased a DVD based
on the site’s comparisons. A few days later, I found the same DVD for $10 less than what
I had originally paid at a popular site that MySimon.com did not include in its original
comparison. That experience caused me to branch out and start using more comparison
sites when I shop. I have recently started using froogle.com on the recommendations of
two of my Internet and American Life classmates, John Cronan and Jennifer Koontz. (3,
6)
While shopping solely online works for well for DVDs, books, and Cds, it is
sometimes difficult to shop for shoes and clothes using only the Internet. On more than
one occasion, I have purchased a shirt or a pair of pants online and had to send them back
because their idea of a medium or a size 9 is a size smaller or larger than normal. These
kinds of experiences have led me to change the way that I shop for clothes using the
Internet. I still use the Internet when I shop for clothes or shoes but now I will usually
end up making the actual purchase in the brick and mortar store. I tend to window shop
online so that I will have a general idea of what I want before I actually go to the brick
and mortar store. So, like one of my Internet and American Life classmates, Kendra
Biggs, I end up spending “a great deal of time comparing” prices and products “before I
even enter the stores just by using the Internet”.(1) You could say that I am one of the
many people who often feels “more comfortable researching online and then speaking to
a salesperson in the store to confirm their purchase or answer any additional
questions".(5) And in the end, I end up saving a lot of time because I have an actual idea
of what I want to buy. In general, I usually will only end up buying my clothes online if
the brick and mortar store doesn’t have my size or if the company doesn’t have a brick
and mortar location in my area.
I have found, through my experiences bargain shopping on the Internet, that one
of the biggest challenges is the need to get the best overall price including sales tax and
shipping and handling. Some of the so-called bargain sites will have low prices but will
charge more than $5 per item for shipping and handling which more often than not
defeats the purpose of buying from that site. I am among the “20% of consumers” who
think “that shipping charges are the most frustrating aspect of shopping online”, so I tend
to look for sites that will either charge one flat rate to ship the entire purchase or offer
free shipping with a minimum purchase.(9) While I will spend time looking for sites that
offer flat shipping rates or free shipping, I generally do not actively seek out sites that do
not charge sales tax. When I first started shopping online finding sites that didn’t charge
sales tax was important to me but I have realized that most of my purchases are small
enough that paying sales tax is not that big of a deal. I would probably be more active
about looking for sites that don’t charge sales tax if I were trying to purchase a computer
or a TV. While I may be happy that I occasionally don’t have to pay sales tax on my
online purchases, the state of Illinois is not. Illinois is currently “seeking to reclaim lost
tax revenues” by joining “62 lawsuits against at least 62 companies alleging that the
companies failed to collect and remit to the state sales tax on items sold through their
Web sites” since these companies had “a physical presence in the state”.(7)
My need for the best overall bargain led me to eventually start to visit bargain
forums. The bargain forum that I found to be the most accurate and the most user-friendly
is the bargain forum at DVDTALK.com. On DVDTALK.com’s bargain forum, I was
able to find coupons, the following week’s ads, and all sorts of great deals on DVDs. I
was also able to find people’s “experiences on how they saved money” on a particular
site or product.(8) Initially, I was only checking the bargain forum maybe once every
couple of days but I have reached the point where I will keep a browser open to it while I
am at work. I usually end up checking the forum once every 45 minutes or so to see there
are any new deals. I have recently started to look at new bargain forums including the
bargain forum at FatWallet.com.
Some of my best bargains have come from bargain forums. Most of the time, the
bargains listed on these forums are website price mistakes. With website price mistakes,
there is always the chance that the orders will be cancelled or adjusted so that the prices
are correct. One of the best price mistakes I have been able to take advantage of was a
DVD order at Circuit City in September. Circuit City’s website made about thirteen
boxset preorder price mistakes. I picked up Angel season 4, Alias season 3, and Columbo
season 1 for under $35 total. Each of those three boxsets usually retails for $40 or more,
so I ended up saving over $80. I don’t feel that guilty about taking advantage of that price
mistake because Circuit City had the option of canceling my order. Another reason that I
don’t feel that guilty is that I only purchased the boxsets that I really wanted. There were
members of the bargain forum that ordered multiple copies of all thirteen boxsets purely
for resale. One of the many price mistakes that I haven’t been able to take advantage of
was a $50 DVD boxset of anime which was mistakenly priced at $20. I was able to get
my order in but it was cancelled two days before it was supposed to ship.
There are always bargains listed on these forums that are actual bargains and not
just price mistakes. One of the best “real” bargains that I have been to take advantage of
was a DVD order at Amazon.com in the third week of October. Amazon had priced 10
DVD season 1 boxsets at $15 a set. I was able to get the first seasons of both Roswell and
MASH for around $30 with free shipping.
The Internet has, at the very least, affected the lives of each and every one of its
users in some small way. There are many users who can honestly say that the Internet has
changed their lives and that they would be lost without it. I am one of those users. The
Internet has changed the way that I am able to keep in touch with my family and friends
through the use of email. It has also changed the way that I am able to earn credit towards
my Masters through online classes. But I have to say that most significant aspect of my
life that the Internet has changed is the way I shop. Before the Internet, I was the person
who hardly ever shopped but with the help of the Internet I was able to become an EBay
addict and an obsessive Internet bargain hunter.
Cited Works
1. Biggs, Kendra. “Re: Me + Internet = Obsessive Bargain Hunter” Online Posting. 20
September 2004. Paper One - Phase One Assignment Discussion Forum. 29
September 2004.
<http://bb.uis.edu/bin/common/msg_view.pl?pk1=294503&sos_id_pk2=1&context=
default&nav=discussion_board_entry>
2. “Hackers hit and run on Internet auction sites”. Chicago Tribune Online Edition. 2
February 2003. 29 September 2004.
<http://www.chicagotribune.com/technology/chi-030204techcrime,0,1523427.story>
3. Cronan, John. “Froogle.com”. Online Posting. 5 October 2004. Paper One - Phase
One Assignment Discussion Forum. 29 September 2004.
<http://bb.uis.edu/bin/common/msg_view.pl?pk1=311141&sos_id_pk2=1&context=
default&nav=discussion_board_entry >
4. Glasner, Joanna. “EBay Bidders Sold on Sniping“ Wired News 23 September 2002.
29 September 2004. <http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,55204,00.html>
5. Jackson , Kama Lee. Ready, set, research! Window shop online. 10 August 2004.
Microsoft. 29 September 2004.
<http://www.microsoft.com/athome/moredone/windowshop.mspx>
6. Koontz, Jennifer. “Sites for bargain shoppers” Online Posting. 8 September 2004.
Paper One - Phase One Assignment Discussion Forum. 29 September 2004.
<http://bb.uis.edu/bin/common/msg_view.pl?pk1=280172&sos_id_pk2=1&context=
default&nav=discussion_board_entry >
7. Madigan seeks taxes owed to Illinois from online retailers. 18 September 2003.
Office of the Illinois Attorney General. 29 September 2004
<http://www.ag.state.il.us/pressroom/2003_09/091803_b.html>
8. Rhoades, Amanda. “bargain hunting website”. Online Posting. 20 September
2004. Paper One - Phase One Assignment Discussion Forum. 29 September 2004.
<http://bb.uis.edu/bin/common/msg_view.pl?pk1=294539&sos_id_pk2=1&context=
default&nav=discussion_board_entry>
9. Consumer Internet Barometer Tracks Who’s Doing What on the Internet. 17
December 2003. TNS NFO. 29 September 2004
<http://www.nfow.com/default.asp?Page=Press&ID=121703>