I've also been trying to get my hands on PG Wodehouse's Carry On, Jeeves.
I physically searched bookstores and searched Australian bookstores on the Internet. You just can't get it. I have to order it from England.
And, you know I just bought buttons from America via the Internet. Initially, I did a local Internet search for the buttons I needed, but I couldn't find any locally. The other day, I mentioned the type of buttons I needed to a woman from whom I bought some fabric.
She suggested I drive to a button shop she recommended. However, this button shop was all the way across the other side of Brisbane. I wasn't prepared to take the risk of driving there, with my two youngest, whingiest children, to discover, in all likelihood, that there were not the buttons I wanted.
So, instead, I got onto etsy (on the advice of the Finnish lady who wrote the Scandinavian Stitches book), when everyone was asleep, and I ordered buttons in about 10 minutes.
I do most of my present shopping via the Internet, and most of it is from overseas ...
I only mentioned the Finnish lady because I think it demonstrates how communication, and indeed shopping, is heading ... here, I asked a woman on the other side of the world where I should buy something ... 10 years ago, that would have been virtually unthinkable.
Further, to reiterate a point which I think I've already made clear, I could buy this book ...
from Borders in the City. I could drive into town, pay $20 for parking, drag the same screaming, whingey kids with me and pay $131.50 for it.
Or, I could get on the Internet and order it from The Book Depository in England and pay $46.95 and not pay any postage.
I only raise this point because Gerry Harvey,* boss of Harvey Norman, is complaining that local Australian businesses are under threat from international merchants who are at a competitive advantage when it comes to securing Australian sales.
He says such international merchants are benefiting from a bullish Australian dollar and benefiting from the fact that Australian purchasers don't have to pay GST when they buy from overseas.
So what do you think? How do you shop? Do you buy locally? Or do you shop at home from International sellers who often have a better range, and better prices, than that available in Australia? Or do you get out and about and discover things yourself?
* I generally find Mr Harvey whines a lot when he's not making as much money as he thinks he could be.
Yes hes a whinger, i LOVE internet shopping for the same reasons - dont have to drive anywhere (Darwin is VERY limited for shopping anyway!) dont have to drag whinging kids around -Yay ,and there is so much on the internet that you could never get here!
ReplyDeleteWhen I lived in Oz I used to shop international very frequently because quiet frankly the cost of items coming from southern australia would be four times my overseas purchase. I had more chance of the os product arriving without the BS and southern assumptions that I had the word IDIOT tattooed to my forehead.
ReplyDeleteGerry Harvey is a pig of a man who spends a vast amount of time complaining about the dollars he doesn't have instead of being thankful for the millions he does have. A couple of years ago he was complaining that we should not provide welfare to the mentally ill because they were of no benefit to society and they should be left to fend for themselves. I feel nauseated when the incredibly rich and prosperous feel compelled to criticise and comment on the circumstances of societies most marginalised......rant complete
ReplyDeleteMelissa,
ReplyDeleteCan I just say I love your quilts, just one more time? The Internet has opened many doors for many people ... move with the times I say. I was looking at The Lark's website earlier ... she's domestic. I think it's about retailers 'stepping up to the mark' and getting online if they want sales.
Kotaatok,
I know what you're saying. There is a professionalism that seems to come with shopping from OS. No snobbery.
Estelle,
I think GH is a soft-touch when it comes to a media story ... And I think he complained when people exercised their free-will and saved the previous Govt's 'stimulous money'!
He doesn't follow an ideology he follows the 'Harvey Norman' bottom line!
I love when advocates of capitalism and freedom of choice, turn all dictatorial!
I was just talking with someone about this today. I buy as much online as possible. I was reading a mag recently and saw a great ironing board cover I wanted - so I went to their .com only to discover I couldn't buy it online. Of coarse they showed their stockist but it meant going to David Jones to buy it - far too much effort for an ironing board cover - I'll probably end up buying one I can find online.
ReplyDeleteI find I get very frustrated now if I am unable to purchase said product over the net. Michelle
It is exactly the same here in Norway.
ReplyDeleteJust last week I bought a Norwegian book via a Swedish webshop for half the price of what it cost local. It irritate my.
Have nice day :o)
This post is now making me laugh, esp. Malu's comment.
ReplyDeletePTDesign,
I wonder how much you sell online as a creative person? Is it harder to sell online than in markets, for instance?
I just bought an Australian book(Iconic Australian Houses 50/60/70 by Karen McCartney) from Book Depository in the UK because it was $30 cheaper than anywhere in Australia and had free delivery. Sad, isn't it? Great book though. xx
ReplyDeleteI have a limited income and limited mobility so online shopping suits me just perfectly. I do feel a little guilty sometimes. At the moment, I couldn't justify spending $25 a metre for fabric in Aus when I can buy it for $8 a yard from a US site.
ReplyDeleteBut, it also has downsides - I ordered a tag punch from the US over a month ago (at half the price that I can buy it from my local scrapbooking shop), but it still hasn't turned up! Serves my cheapskate self right I suppose.
I also order my heavy groceries online and have the delivery guy put them right on the kitchen bench for me.
Brismod, I know that book. It is worth every page. But it is sad that it costs less to purchase overseas. Are you reading this, Gerry?
ReplyDeleteCP,
Don't feel guilty. I think the market should come to the consumer ... I ordered groceries online when I was pregnant ... I would do it now if I didn't get so distracted by the results of my pregnancies!
I do a bit of both. I like to shop locally in small shops as I guess being a small business owner I know how hard they work and how much of themselves they give to what they do and I must admit I don't really think about price to much if I like the shop owner and their wares. I love the Internet and of coarse have made part of my income from eBay for 10 years and infact sell most of my items locally now as compared to 6 - 10 years ago when two thirds of my eBay sales went overseas.
ReplyDeleteOBH,
ReplyDeleteI agree. It often comes down to service and known wares ... there are shops I'll return to in Brisbane ... but often, if I'm starting a-fresh on a search for something, its easier on-line than getting in the car.
I suspect a lot of your business is good-will because you're a pleasure to deal with!
In terms of special needs items, I do purchase them online overseas too as there is very limited stock here say for instance Anya's crutches. The quality is important in this case and often the price difference is not that significant. I'm sorry but I'll always prefer to get stuff where I can get it cheaper.
ReplyDeleteJoni,
ReplyDeleteYou've got me all worked-up now. I feel like stickin' it to Gerry Harvey and giving him a few home-truths/Economics101 style ... You're right, the market comes to the consumer, not the other way 'round.
How good is the book depository!! I have already ordered the complete series of the famous five for my 8yr old, and a few crime novels, so cheap and free postage! Now if I can just get groceries the same way all will be well..
ReplyDeleteM x x
Excellent topic! Living in the country and not having access to many shops without a 3 hour each way and full tank of petrol round trip I buy a lot of stuff online. Presents especially are often ordered from etsy or fishpond (being a family of booklovers helps). The only thing I don't really ever buy online though is clothes. My body shape does not suit buying clothes without trying them on, but that is okay by me. Trying on clothes is part of the fun of clothes shopping (unless its bras or bathers of course)
ReplyDeleteI shop with my hip pocket, so would not hesitate to purchase items from OS if cheaper. That said I'm very David Suzuki-like and practice think global, act local when purchasing food, and certainly try to support local shops etc. That said, my husband and I have a favourite saying "the world's gone mad". We say it frequently.
ReplyDeleteOh my freaking lordy! That's an amazing saving. I've heard the Book Depository is good but whenever I've gone there to price a book I want, there hasn't been much of a saving. Maybe I'll check back there again though ...
ReplyDeleteGeez, I read your comments and then I've just spent 20 mins checking out the amazing Melissa and her quilts. I think i shop online because this is where i like to be. I'm overwhelmed by the crush of consumerism at the shops at the moment. Not sure if this is a stage-of-life thing, but i simply don't want to shop at the shops. I DO want to do my christmas list, and internet shopping is definitely my medium of choice - but then again, i also have the little kid thing going on. Maybe it'll be different in a few years. when getting in the car means only one seatbelt to do up because they'll be big enough to do their own. My kids already check out ebay for things they want before anywhere else... it's the way of the future. As a seller though, there's a lot of competition in the internet world, altho i see familiar things in magazines from time to time, and they're from blogs i follow, which is wonderful. ok, i'm rambling a bit now, but i often follow links to things i see in mags, but have never made a phonecall to find a 'stockist'. signing off...
ReplyDeleteI love the Book Depository and use it all the time. Amazon.ca are best friends, I think I have shares in the company. I love internet shopping! I make it my mission not to go near the mall for my Christmas shopping. We have such limited choices where I live. Since we live an hour away from the US border, tons of locals order their things to be sent to a post office in Maine and usually pay no shipping at all!
ReplyDeleteDavid Suzuki is Canadian! We're all neighbours now!
I do say I try my local shops first only because I have had a little shop for 9 years and now having said that! Sometimes it's hard to shop at your little local stores because if your like me and your looking for a specific item. If they don't have it I still feel compelled to buy something so this can add up because we live in such a small town I know them all by name!
ReplyDeleteI have to say while the house is all asleep and I have a full pot of coffee and my quiet computer it is fun to surf the internet and go global!
sorry my comment was just one big ramble, Did I mention I still love your tree!
Have a super day Carmel!
I want the danish christmas tree too!!
ReplyDeleteI buy local for italian things but there are other items I buy on the internet. I love to buy books and dvds that I can't find in Italian bookstores, and they are cheaper. There are authors I have known through blogs that are unpublished in italy, so I hit Amazon and get wat I want. God bless Amazon.
Well, like it or not, this government is listening to Hardly Normal and is discussing introducing a GST on on-line o/s purchases.
ReplyDeleteSo make hay while the sun shines.
The good times are always pooped by political clout.
I've bought two craft books much cheaper than from a bookstore recently from fishpond, with free delivery and I am VERY happy!
ReplyDelete