The other day someone told me that they never used the internet for online shopping. I couldn’t believe it. I though everyone was on the online shopping bandwagon. Though studies show that people over 65 years old and kids less than 15 years old are unlikely to use the internet for online shopping, this person is in his thirties. When I asked him why he doesn’t use the internet for online shopping , his answer caused a bit of a debate with the dangers of online shopping versus the dangers of regular shopping. He believed online shopping was unsafe and I was ready to rebuttal. 

Like my friend, most people afraid of online shopping worry about identity theft and other scams; they fail to see the dangers associated with real world shopping. Online shopping is done sitting by eating chips and drinking beer on your couch while watching Sunday football games. Traveling to a shopping mall on a busy Sunday afternoon runs the risk of getting into a car accident. Have you ever seen the traffic around a shopping mall on any given Sunday? Minivans full of screaming kids whose parents denied them a Playstation video game clog up the roadways. These parents are distracted and can’t focus on the road.

Another argument is online shopping is vulnerable to identity and financial theft. But how many newspaper stories have you read about people getting mugged in the mall or in the mall parking lot. I bet every week you can find at least two in the local police blotter. Meanwhile millions of online shoppers make purchases everyday. The odd that you will be picked as a target are very slim if you take extra precautions. When a mugger steals your wallet or purse, he not only gets all of your money, your identification and credit cards are his too. An online thief might be able to find your personal information but he can not get your actual credentials. Also, can you fully trust the cashier with your credit card and check numbers? What is stopping them for steeling your identity and information?

So far we just went over the safety benefits of online shopping versus regular mall shopping. Here are a few more pluses for online shopping.

You might have to wait for your product to arrive in the mail when online shopping, but you don’t have to wait in line. I consider waiting in line a waste of my precious time.

Shopping online avoids annoying sales people who attempt to sell you things you are not interested in.

How about those annoying surveyors who just want a moment of your time, but there definition of a moment is 5 times 20.

Depending on where you shop, parking can be quite expensive. In cities where space in limited, so is free parking. Parking your bum on the couch if free. You may argue that shipping costs out way the parking costs, but many online shopping companies offer free shipping. Also, when you purchase a product from out of state, usually tax is eliminated.

So, to those who are still online shopping phobes, wake up and see the advantages of online shopping versus mall shopping. As a society we are accustomed to mall shopping; therefore, we tend to overlook the dangers. Online shopping is still relatively new, so the dangers advertised.

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Royalty Universe -- Your shopping information center

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Just E Stuff Blog -- Internet Resource Blog

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