Tuesday 17 July 2012

Saying goodbye to online shopping (Confessions of an online shopaholic)


 

 The confession

Quite recently I have caught myself spun into an online shopping frenzy. To fill you in on the history,  I have started online shopping for clothing a few years ago. I wasn't satisfy with the clothes that the shops were offering, they were (and still are) expensive, cheaply made, and not my style, so I started looking at online stores. I would only make one or two small and cheap online orders every year, fearing that the items won't turn out the way I expected them to. I would look at things on the website wanting many of them but after placing the order I would stop thinking about them immediately. Before, one small online purchase could sustain me for almost a whole year.

Since early this year I have started to put in orders more frequently, and lately I have found myself placing one order every month. Each time, I would tell myself that this will be the last purchase that I am going to make. Then all things broke loose, I started to put in two orders in June. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that buying things is wrong or online shopping is bad for you. By all means, if you want to or feel the need to buy, you have the right to always buy whenever you like. But the whole shopping thing just contradicts and goes against my personal beliefs. Think to yourself, how many people live in poverty. Look at the kids in Africa, India and South America. I recently watched a documentary about poverty (watch the excerpt below). It featured a little Indian boy who can't attend school because he has to work in the quarry with his family for the rest of their lives to pay off a debt. How fortunate am I, I certainly do not need to throw my money away like this. I have a full closet of clothes and shoes, and I definitely don't need more.



I now find myself buying just to satisfy a sudden urge or to 'deal with being depressed'. I have even started to loose that excitement while waiting for the package to arrive. All the adrenalin goes into placing the order, then when the button is clicked I no longer feel that I need those items. I have identified a few reasons why online shopping is so appealing and addictive to me. I just don't buy in person at the shops anymore.


  1. There is a risk involved. You may not get what you hoped fore, but you are willing to take a chance. It is all part of the thrill.
  2. The feeling, excitement that you want to get when unboxing, knowing that you have made a correct decision in choosing the right size and colour for you.
  3. You feel like you are getting a good deal, and that you won't see other people on the streets wearing the same clothes as you.
  4. Items online seems to be cheaper because they don't have to add the cost of a physical store.
  5. The clothes always look good on the models. Once you've seen the pictures, they'll linger in the back of you mind making you unable to forget how good the clothes look.
  6. Most online stores are offering free delivery worldwide now, which make things more convenient and easy (worse for the shopping addiction).
  7. Free returns, which makes it even worse because you give yourselves the excuse that you can try things on and simply return them if they don't fit or if you have changed your mind.

 The farewell

I feel that I must put a stop to this nonsense otherwise it'll lead to a big ugly addiction. I can't be a slave to clothes and shoes, and I am determined not to blow my paychecks (luckily I haven't done so like most other shopaholics). Buying clothes do give you short boost of happiness but surely there are more worth while things to do. So I am stopping (hoping to) now while it's early. My friends and I have discussed this issue and found a solution. We have decided that I will sponsor a child living in poverty and also unsubscribe from any newsletters, promotions and sales from all online stores. The main problem that I end up buying things online starts with browsing. It may begin from either reading blogs, receiving newsletters or promotion deals in my email or by searching for a trend. The hardest part now will be to unsubscribe from websites like Urban Outfitters and Asos because it makes me feel like I am missing out. I can't even begin to explain how social media plays a huge role in this as well. Unliking those pages from Facebook won't be easy.


Let me just end here with a picture of my last online purchase, a pair of pink brogues from Asos. Let's see how long I can actually hold my promise for.


Please share some love & comment below.


Love Miss K.


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