My Online Shopping Haul and Why I’m Never Going to the Stores Again

It may be January, but it's still Christmas for me!
It may be January, but it’s still Christmas for me!

I recently concluded a massive online shopping haul. I bought two boxes of D’Addario classical guitar strings (and 3 ‘loose’ sets), an Oasis arm sleeve, a pair of Wristies (to keep my hands warm when performing) and a new pair of Ecco shoes.

The Wristies are sold in pairs and they feel comfortable and toasty.
The Wristies are sold in pairs and they feel comfortable and toasty.

I’ve been doing a ton of online shopping over the years. I’ve bought things that range from Transformer collectible toys, to iPad accessories, to skin care products to laptops.

My skin care productts from Korea. The best part of online shopping? the excite of receiving a package. It's like Christmas all year around.
My skin care products from Korea. The best part of online shopping? The excitement of receiving a new package. The delivery man is my Santa Clause.
I saved a bundle by buying these Skin & Lab products online
I saved a bundle by buying these Skin & Lab products online.
Check out all these generous Skin & Lab samples. I love freebies!
Check out the included Skin & Lab samples. I love freebies!

Since I rejoined the work force two years ago, I’ve steadily  gotten more busy and I have replaced almost all with ‘real-world’ shopping with online shopping (sans clothing, toiletries and food). My relationship with ‘real-world’ shopping came to a grind several weeks ago when I went shopping for the above mentioned Eccos.

It’s about time I bought a new pair of ‘formal’ shoes. My current Rockports are nearly six years old, and though they are still going strong (to its remarkable credit), it is starting to show its age. So I visited Ecco’s website to see if they had anything I fancied. I’ve been looking to replace the Rockports for quite a while, but I could never find anything I liked.

Lo and behold I finally found something I was willing to wear for the next five years, so I took leave to buy a pair from the Takashimaya Shopping Department. Alas, they did not have my size, so I went across the road to Men’s Department at Metro(Paragon) only to discover that their Ecco section did not even stock the model I wanted, which in turn lead me to the Ecco boutique store at Ion.

It was there that I learnt that they were completely sold-out and were not brining in that model anymore. Great. What a waste of leave, time and effort. To be fair, I probably should have called Ecco before going down, but I was hoping to make the purchase from Takashimaya and they did not have a contact number readily accessible on their website.

I went home and made the purchase from a US website. It took me 10 minutes.

My Ecco Birminghams in black. I haven't worn them long enough to form a strong opinion, but from my limited experience with them, they are very comfortable.
My Ecco Birminghams in black. I haven’t worn them long enough to form a strong opinion, but from my limited experience with them, they are very comfortable.

How convenient and quick!

The same applies to the D’Addario Strings. Typically I buy them in bulk from either Ranking Sports or Music Theme, both of which are very competitively priced, but this would still require me to make the time to go down and pick them up. So I made this purchase through StringsByMail. Because I was buying them in bulk, the additional shipping cost was quite negligible. It was a small premium I was willing to pay for the added convenience.

A mountain of D'Addario Strings. I also bought a pair of Wristies and an Oasis arm sleeve from StringsByMail.
A mountain of D’Addario Strings. I also bought a pair of Wristies and an Oasis arm sleeve from StringsByMail.

Most of the time, my online purchases are actually considerably cheaper than the retail price, so I actual save money and time by shopping from the comfort of home. Case and point: three years ago, I ordered a Motorola ROKR EQ 7 bluetooth speaker set from the US, and even with shipping included, it was 60% cheaper than buying it from the store in Singapore.

To hell with the lack of warranty. With those kinds of savings, I’ll just buy another one if it gets spoilt. Fortunately, it is still going strong.

I paid $13 for the white iPad Smart Cover (vs $54 from the Apple Store) and $10 for the grey faux suede iPad draw string pouch.
I paid $13 for the white iPad Smart Cover (vs $54 from the Apple Store) and $10 for the grey faux suede iPad draw string pouch.
My Klipsch S4AII were purchased from the Courts online store. The National Geographic mirrorless camera pouch was bought from Qoo10 and the MacBook Air faux leather manilla folder and Sony Nex clothe bag were purchased from ebay.
My Klipsch S4AII earphone were purchased from the Courts online store. The National Geographic mirrorless camera pouch was bought from Qoo10 and the MacBook Air faux leather manilla folder and Sony Nex clothe bag were purchased from ebay.

 

Even my Crumpler 'Shoplifter' laptop bag was bought online. I got that from JuzMarket.
Even my Crumpler ‘Shoplifter’ laptop bag was bought online. I got that from JuzMarket.

About 75% of the non-essential things I’ve bought over the last two years were from online transactions. Considering the Ecco fiasco, I’m wondering if I should increase that quota to 95%. It’s convenient and by shopping at the correct online stores, I can save money and stretch my dollar.

Now if I could find an online hawker centre that delivers…

Author: Dedrick Koh

Dedrick Koh is an acclaimed , fully-booked classical guitar teacher who teaches from his home studio at Sengkang. He has been teaching the classical guitar since 2006 and has successfully prepared students for ABRSM and Trinity exams and he holds a flawless 100% pass rate, and a 90% merit/distinction rate for his students. He was previously an instructor cum assistant conductor at Ngee Ann Polytechnic Strings under Alex Abisheganaden . Dedrick Koh is also a former public relations and communications specialist, having carved out a notable 10-year career in both the public and private sector. He has work for/on brands like Nanyang Polytechnic, Coca Cola, DHL, Nokia, Nestle, the Health Promotion Board, the Economic Development Board of Singapore and the President Challenge. He also also been featured in the Straits Time, the New Paper, and CNN.

4 Replies to “My Online Shopping Haul and Why I’m Never Going to the Stores Again”

  1. After reading this, I never want to go shopping again! Think I might go online and shop to my heart’s content!

  2. Hey Dedrick, may I know where did you purchase your ipad smart cover and the grey faux suede iPad draw string pouch? 🙂

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