In the past month I have bought more things online than I have done in half a year. All that would make me think twice if I buy them the traditional way.

I bought a book about making your own online platform at $18, a strength finder book at $20, a Kindle novel at $9, a website domain at $40, an autobiography at $15, another Kindle book at $3, and yet another Kindle book at $10.

I was about to subscribe to a magazine for $10 a year on my iPad when suddenly I realised: online shopping has at last hit me.

When people started embracing this trend like, millions of years ago, I bought my first book online last year because I literally couldn’t find it anywhere. And I bought it through Borders, back to the time when it was not yet declared bankrupt.

I hate putting my credit card details on the net. But when I finally did register on iTunes store, oh boy, I started to buy the apps. I kept on thinking, “It’s just another dollar; it’s no biggie.”

And when finally I had my brand new, shining, white iPad, I began to buy Kindle books. Just because they are cheaper, easier, and more convenient.

I buy my physical books through Book Depository, because clearly, they always scratch those ‘real’ prices with red inks and provide ‘better’ deals.

So currently, my online purchasing records are five physical books, three Kindle books, and a couple of apps.

It’s not much, in fact, it’s not much at all, but if you know how skeptic I was about online shopping, you would be surprised.

You see, I am a lover of the activity of browsing an actual shop to buy an actual, physical book. If I can, I would buy all my books in their divine physical forms.

But iPad, Internet, and piracy poison my mind when they tell me that I am able to download books for free and read it half comfortably on my iPad.

Let me say it: physical books are expensive. They can cost something like $25 to $30 for a normal-length novel. I bought my Hunger Games novel on a second-hand bookshop for $8.

Thinking back, I would be able to get the Hunger Games novel for free on my iPad, but there is something old school and fascinating to read books they way they are supposed to be read. It’s magical, and of course, less distracting.

I have never bought clothes online, and I am not intending to, ever. I think I am not patient enough to browse, look at the sizes, compare prices, and wait for the deliveries to come. I fancy convenience more.

Well, I might have a lot of weird looks because of that.

But now, I fear for myself. There’s something odd about paying without giving something in physical form. I can easily hit the pay button and let $15 taken from my bank account while I am thinking twice on whether to buy an overpriced $3.80 coffee.

And then there’s discount. More discounted books on Amazon. Even more discounts. Limited chance to buy stuffs online.

It’s a very good and effective marketing, but sadly, now, I feel like a prey.

And then there’s iTunes store. I haven’t used it except from buying some apps but I guess it works on a similar basis. $1.99 songs, $0.99 audio podcast.

Are people buying more with the notion of online shopping? Or are they buying less? Are they spending more? Or less?

Sure, one of the advantages of online shopping is to get more stuffs with the same amount of money compared to your usual shopping. But if the things I bought this past month are not in the online world, I don’t think I would buy half of them.

Is online shopping a smart way or a slowly-bankrupting game? It can be one or the other. Moderation, my friend, is the key.

Are you an online shopper? Do you think your online and physical consumption differ?

 

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