Online shopping has so many advantages that make it very helpful and convenient for shoppers. Those merits make people love it over actual shopping in physical stores and malls. A lot of people wholly prefer visiting online shopping sites and stores today because they can save energy, time, effort and for some, money.

Although many are in favor of the boons, there are also many others who believe that online shopping actually costs a lot from the buyers too. Below are some of the things they consider costly:

[1] OVERPRICING

If you will visit a huge online shopping site that allows resellers and random people to sell their products, you can see that one product can also be seen sold under another store. From there, sometimes, you can see stores that offer a lower/discounted price, but for some, they’re much more expensive than the others.

Sometimes, overpricing can also occur in online shopping because of many conditions that come with its convenience. Also, there may be hidden charges (which you should ask about) and other exclusive fees that can give you a price greater than many stores.

[2] SHIPPING RATES

The online store works hand-in-hand with a logistics company for the product shipping, and you have to pay for that service.

Shipping rates depend on the distance between your location and the seller’s. If it’s far, then expect that the shipping rate is big. Even if you order just a little product with a cheap price, the shipping fee can shock you.

[3] UNSATISFACTORY

In online shopping, of course, you are not able to hold, feel, fit and see the products actually before you order. You just base your purchasing decisions in product descriptions, size charts, customer rating and reviews and in what the seller answers to your inquiries.

Because of that, sometimes, disappointments happen when there is inaccuracy in the product’s posted photo and in the delivered product. When you become unsatisfied and upset with a product you paid pricey for, you feel like you just wasted money buying something that costs you less.

[4] TIME IN COMPARISON

As mentioned earlier, you can compare prices of the same products found in multiple stores. While that’s a benefit, it could also be time costly because you have to check different sellers one by one. To save money and to get the best quality and inclusions, you make sure to check them all.

Instead of being able to immediately buy what you need, the tendency is that you spend a lot of time scanning the stores and thinking until you end up possibly uninterested.

[5] SCAMMING POSSIBILITIES

The most costly thing about online shopping is the unfortunate chance of getting scammed. If the online store has proven itself legally certified, there’ll be lower chances that they’re planning to deceive innocent customers. However, there’s a need to be very careful in shopping online because scammers do exist.

Reported cases of online shopping scamming have different strategies. Some require their customers to pay first, then they will deliver a broken or defective product. Some do the same but worse, they don’t ship any product to the customer and their contact numbers and addresses become unreachable.

Scams such as these happen when the payment method is not a Cash on Delivery basis — which is also not very common. It’s very costly financially and even emotionally.

COSTS ALSO EXIST

Online shopping, although it is beneficial in multiple ways, can cost you more than those good things. That’s why every online shopper must be very cautious and clever. Some useful things can hurt when used wrongly or when someone uses it to abuse other people.

AUTHOR BIO:

Nicole Ann Pore is a writer, an events host and a voice over artist. Travel, health, shopping, lifestyle and business are among the many subjects she writes about. Through quality and well-researched writing, she informs and even entertains readers about things that matter. She is also interested in film critiquing and filmmaking. Giving all the glory to God, Nicole graduated Cum Laude from De La Salle University Manila, Philippines with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Arts.