Hartsfield: Online shopping has pros, cons

Nieka Style

link D'Nieka Hartsfield

Shopping online is an essential commodity in today’s popular culture.

With our busy schedules and the struggle to have a balanced life, the new retail therapy is at the tip of our fingers.

For a while I shied away from shopping online because it was a bewildering thought not being able to feel the fabric or try on a pair of shoes to test for comfort. But the busier life gets the more practical online shopping becomes.

There are some tricky scenarios to shopping apparel online. For instance, you risk purchasing and receiving an item that doesn’t fit the description and quality that you, the consumer, expect.

To master the art of shopping online for any item, you may want to do some research on the product and manufacturer. Why? Well, in most cases, as consumers we are more inclined to shop the cheapest price first, then where the item was made second.

Thrifty, yes, but practical not so much because if your shoe doesn’t fit that cancels out the bragging you get to do on how great a frugal shopper you are. Sometimes you really do get the quality you pay for.

Last year, I ordered a faux fur winter jacket. I had wanted to add this piece to my wardrobe for a long time but I couldn’t find anything within my price range. Then, finally, I found the right price and I was ecstatic.

It was under 20 bucks. I ordered the jacket in a large because I had read previous reviews describing the jacket as a small fit.

When I received my jacket and tried it on I couldn’t even cross my arms around my chest. The ill fitting wasn’t obvious to others so instead of sending it back I decided keep it since I was planning to drop a few pounds anyway. That was when I learned how much sizes vary when you’re dealing with other countries.

Shopping online can be a great deal of fun and convenient because you don’t have to leave your seat, but don’t forget to do your research.

D’Nieka Hartsfield writes for the Clovis News Journal and the Portales News-Tribune. Contact her at [email protected]; find her on Facebook or on Instagram @niekastyle.