Online Shopping: Tips and Tricks for shopping clothes and apparel online
The first question that some of you would ask is why shop online at all, when you can just visit the neighborhood store and buy the clothes that you need?
Well if you visit the neighborhood store you would first have to dress yourself up and go to the store and look for a parking spot, which could be a real pain at times. Once you are inside the store you will pick up the things you want to try on. But wait a minute there is a huge line at the trial room. Guess what? You will have to wait for your turn. Finally, after doing all the hard work you have selected the things you want to buy and you go to the billing counter. Hell, there is huge line there too.
You may or may not realize but you would end up wasting a lot of time and effort if you shop the traditional way. Besides, most of the online shopping stores offer discounts round the year which translates into savings when you shop online. In fact, you will also be saving on fuel and parking charges that you would have wasted, if you shop at a physical store.
Therefore, it is indeed a wise thing to shop online. Here are some tips for a good online shopping experience.
Miscellaneous Tips
- Look for products with lots of information and pictures.
- Contact customer service phone nos. if you still have doubts.
- Register with online shopping stores to get prior information about sale, discounts or any other promotional offer for patrons.
- Look for secure websites before making a purchase.
- Do not use card payment option if the website looks suspicious, instead look for cash on delivery option.
Prepare a List of Things to Buy
It is always a good idea to go through your wardrobe and prepare a list of things you do not have or want to replace and a separate list for things that you would want to buy. If you visit an online shopping store without knowing what you are looking for, it would only lead to confusion and chaos and will prove to be a wild goose chase. In fact you may end up buying things that you do not need at all and not the ones you actually need.
Browse Through Various Online Stores
Browse through different online shopping stores for the things you are looking to buy. Shortlist the websites that are offering the things you are looking to buy and have a good amount of variety and choices for the same. Try to zero in on to one seller that offers all or most of the things you are looking for rather than buying every article from a different seller. it will save time and effort.
Check for Discounts
Most of the online shopping stores have round the year discounts on most of the products listed. Check which site is offering maximum discount and most of the things you are looking for and offers the maximum variety at the same time.
Be Thorough About the Store’s Policies
Most of the stores allow exchange or return and have a designated time frame in which you can do so. Look for the one offering maximum time for return or exchange. It is also recommended to check the payment options offered.
Some people may not want to pay online through debit or credit cards and may want to pay cash on delivery. Some websites have shipping charges and it is better to order multiple items simultaneously to avoid paying individual shipping charges. You might come across some websites that ship free of cost. All you need to do to get the best deal is to be thorough with your research.
Know Your Size
You should be sure about your size before you actually go ahead and order something online for any particular brand you want to buy, because your size may vary with various brands. A lot of online shopping stores now a day have a size chart giving measurements of the article, which might help if you know your measurements. Some of the websites even give you a trial through augmented reality.
Visit the Neighborhood Store
If you are still confused whether a particular garment would fit you or not or if the material used is comfortable and skin friendly or not, you may go to the neighborhood store that sells that particular brand and try that particular garment. Most of the big stores now a day have most of the articled marketed by any particular brand, so it may not be difficult to find a particular article from a particular brand.
Be Flexible
Although the technology has evolved and a computer monitor can produce a wide array of colors, but still the colors it reproduces may vary slightly with the real thing. You need to be a little flexible & considerate in these situations. However, you can still call the store and confirm the exact shade of color of the article in question.
Check Seller Reputation
Look for user reviews about seller’s overall reputation, timely delivery rate and customer service. Go through the customer comments to find out how happy or satisfied the customers are and if they had any issues how soon the seller sorted it out if they did it at all.
Check Product Reviews
Before placing the orders for a particular article go through the comments section and find out how people who bought this product rate it. Read as many comments as possible and see if people are generally happy about their purchase or are complaining about quality or some other aspect of the product.
Place the Order
Finally after all the research go ahead and place the order. Make sure you take a note of the expected date and time of delivery. If you are not comfortable with the date or time or both, most of the sites even offer deliver as per you convenience. Pick and choose a day and time as per your convenience for delivery.
Check the Product Thoroughly After Delivery
Check the product thoroughly once you get it for and possible manufacturing defects or any damage during transit. Try the product for size and fit. Once you are satisfied you are good to go. Congratulations on your first online purchase, go tell your friends about it, make them jealous, boast about it on Facebook and Twitter.
Written By Atul Dahiya