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Saturday, November 10, 2012

The Cons Of Online Shopping


Wedding Shower Gifts. Wedding Gifts. All items you want to have arrive on time. Unfortunately sometimes when you order them online the order does not get there on the promised date, leaving you embarassed and hunting for a last minute gift. Sometimes it is a result of a split shipment. Sometimes it is just plain late. And sometimes, even when you pay extra shipping costs to have a gift arrive it doesn't get there when you need it.

Have you ordered online and experienced a split shipment? If you spend much time shopping online you probably have. What I had not experienced before was having the split shipment cause a problem with a daughter's shower gift.

Online shopping offers you many conveniences. Unfortunately it also offers some pitfalls. Pitfalls you do not want to encounter when shopping for a shower or wedding gift.

I ran into this when I shopped for my daughter's shower gift. I ordered three gifts from One Stop Plus. I paid extra to have things shipped to arrive well in time for her shower. The customer service associate assured me that the items would ALL arrive in time for her shower.

I could have shopped from a reputable company who would honor their promises and not had a problem, or who would have told me upfront that one item would not be shipped on time. I could have purchased the item that was missing from somewhere else, but I didn't. I specifically asked the company rep if all items would arrive by the date needed and was assured they would even if they split shipped. I had no reason to think they would not get here when needed. They didn't arrive on time. Or at least one of them didn't.

So if you are shopping for a wedding or shower gift, and want to be sure it arrives in time for the event, and you don't have time to run around buying the same product at a brick and mortar store, don't trust them when they assure you that your items will arrive on time. Just shop brick and mortar from the start, then no worries.

Obviously the company felt as long as they shipped something to my house on the date promised it fulfilled their promises. I didn't receive a notice that one item would not arrive on time. It just wasn't there. Days later I got an email they were shipping it. Too late.

If you don't want to get stuck holding the bag and with a red face, buy from your local brick and mortar if it's a gift item. With the holidays coming it's something to consider before making your purchase.

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