[Halcyon]

There are good things and bad things of online buying, with a majority of votes going towards good things in my opinion.

It all depends on the company. They have to remember that they are dealing with a larger audience of shoppers when putting their business online so it is important they can accomodate multiple orders and dealing with customors. This is where some companies fail and become run down with back orders thus time wasting.

There is then the fact that some companies do not realise the amount of help and advice that is needed. We are not in a shop and assistance is only possible by phone or E-mail, or in the case of Ebuyer, nearly no way of contact. They need to make sure they have allocated enough staff for dealing with customors.

Lastly, it depends on who the company ships with. If they use a private firm it may be faster and more efficient than Royal Mail.

I think that buying online is great as I've been able to get things I havent found elswhere, and also products at cheaper prices. Some times I find rare CD's I'm after, vinyl from abroad and small record labels, cheap computer parts, and booking holidays.
Just recently, I booked a hotel, car parking, and flights, through the net in next to no time.

Only on two occasions have I had problems with goods that needed sending back but the company was good and I didnt loose a penny.
Some companies ask you to pay to ship back faulty items and that is really taking advantage of you !!! That should be illegal.

I wouldnt do all my shopping online as 1) it would be unhealthy to stay in all day long, and 2) it is important to keep the little local shops in business, but it certainly is a good thing.