ZOMG. The wedding ring buying process has totally exhausted me. What follows is one of the most painful and awkward retail experiences I’ve ever had.
T decided he wanted a tungsten wedding ring. They seem to mainly be sold online, so we look at Simply Suave, MaD Bling and Man Up Jewellery (and then see Google ads for the former everywhere online afterwards. Bless you, retargeting).
We also visited the mall for a looksee, and turns out Michael Hill also sells tungsten rings. We get to see them in person and try them on. T likes them, but I don’t like the price ($500). But Jenny, our awesome salesperson at Michael Hill Jeweller Lynnmall (New Lynn) tells us that they are going to go on sale the following month. She takes our details and promises to call when that happens. Seriously. She is the shiz.
T doesn’t like the idea of buying a ring online, even though they are WAY cheaper, so we wait. At one point I go back to the store just to check (and no, they’re still not on sale) and have a quick chat to a different, male staffer, who gives me a little more information on the specifics of the tungsten ring buying process while I’m there.
Suddenly the end of February rolls around, and we decide it’s time to just buy both our rings online (I’m getting mine on Etsy).
But wait! On February 28, Jenny calls and texts to let us know the tungsten rings are half price. We hotfoot it over. There’s a big sale on and the store is totally packed. She’s busy at the bracelet/necklace counter – physically separate from the ring counter – with a stream of customers. I catch her eye and smile (though she probably doesn’t remember or recognise me) and wait in line.
Male staffer who I talked to on my second visit seems to be the only salesperson NOT occupied. He zeroes in on me; I shrug him off and tell him we’re being taken care of. The second time around he finds us looking at the tungsten ring page of a catalogue which was lying on the counter, and goes for the kill. Jenny is still busy, so while I inform him that she had been the one dealing with us, we end up going along with him. Not only do I feel terribly guilty, it also turns out to be a huge mistake.
This guy (I won’t name him) is useless. Fast talking (came across as kind of sleazy), and downright incompetent. He promised to call us when the ring arrived instore, but forgot to get our contact details (I had to prompt him). Then he forgot to give us our receipts, and texted T once we had left the store to come back and get them. According to T, however, the guy was NOWHERE to be found when he returned. But by that time Jenny WAS free, and helped him sort things out (reprinting the receipts, etc). He apologised for what happened, and apparently she understood, though no doubt she was pretty gutted.
The next day Jenny texts me again asking when we’re going to come in. Cue back and forth messages while I recount what happened (even though she spoke to T, obviously she wasn’t sure if we were the same couple she originally spoke to. She must see dozens of people a day…
I can’t tell you how awful I felt. She gave us top notch service, and I gave in to the pushy sales guy who swooped in while he could. I FAIL. I hope she didn’t miss out on too much commission (how much would they earn? And is that reduced during massive sales (50% in this case)?
It’s official: I don’t give two shits about fashion.
Of course I wish I was more hip, thanks to the infinitely more stylish ladies in my office. (Still has nothing on the time I worked in the office of a fashion magazine.) But the thing about maturity (ha) is you come to realise what your real priorities are – and clothing and accessories are not among mine.
I set myself a no shopping challenge this year, and I can’t say I’ve missed it. I don’t miss malls. I had no idea what ‘peplum’ meant when one of my best friends dropped it into a conversation, and I didn’t care (I’m googling it now).
Basically, I was only allowed to replace things I actually needed. And my trip to Sydney in July proved the perfect time to do so, where I picked up two pairs of flats, a bag, and a wallet (the latter not strictly being essential at the time, but everything else was definitely a need).
The canvas shoes (Ked-style ripoffs) that I put through their paces walking all over the city got waterlogged on the first (or was it second?) day, and while I could handle the squelching, I could not deal when the sole actually cracked – it literally split across the middle. So off I headed to a cheapie shoe place – I forget the name; we don’t have it here in NZ – and bought two pairs of ballet flats for $30. Expensive flats have never worked out for me, so I stick to the low end. Boots, on the other hand, are a different story. (That reminds me – I got my one pair of black leather boots resoled this winter, but they’re not going to last another season. Sigh.)
Elsewhere, I’ve been lucky in that I scored free moisturisers and makeup through work, and the goodie bag at Semi-Permanent included a full-size tub of my holy grail: Trilogy Everything Balm. It almost made up for the fact that lunch wasn’t provided on either day, forcing me to go out and buy food.
The one thing that’s still on my wishlist? A killer leather jacket. Unfortunately, I have neither the budget nor inclination to find the perfect one, unless it falls out of the sky. Cloudy with a chance of leather jackets? Yes please.
What’s your shopping philosophy? Any standout purchases this year? What’s on your wishlist?
Since I got my first and only credit card back in 2007 (I still have the same one, although obviously not the exact same physical card as I’ve been through a couple of expiry dates, but the same account nonetheless) I’ve made many big purchases online. Mostly things like hotel reservations, flights, concert tickets.
When it comes to buying physical goods online, I stick to smaller items. Guitar strings and contact lenses are SO much cheaper online than in shops. I bought my voice recorder and phone recording adapter online. I’ve bought a handful of clothes online, which is okay when you stick to a label you know and where you’re familiar with their sizing. I even played it risky and bought a bass amp online once (a trusted brand, of course).
My Pretty Pennies recently had a bad experience buying clothes online, which actually inspired this post. See, I recently made my biggest ever purchase of physical goods online. T bought aftermarket full fairings for his bike (which he’s been working on), which cost not far off $1000. They arrived safely, are the right colour, shape and fit, and allowed for an all-round sigh of relief (although for some reason they packaged and sent one lot of bolts separately. Bizarre).
We suffer from high prices and lack of choice here (on a related note, see Vanessa’s guest post on the headache that is shopping in Canada) though NZ Post has a new service, YouShop, that lets NZ shoppers buy items from US online stores to be delivered to a US address, and then on to their NZ address (circumventing policies that exclude NZ delivery, or impose high shipping charges). So it’s no surprise that online shopping is serious biz.
That said, I’m definitely cautious about buying things off the internet, a fear that rises in proportion with the amount at stake.
Here’s what I take into consideration.
Is it a commodity? If so, it’s probably cheaper online. Books, CDs, etc.
Can I check it out in person first, somehow? I bought my glasses online, but only after I was able to try the exact same pair on in a retail shop. That was uber important to me because I have a ridiculously wide head and flat nose/face, which means very few frames fit properly. After that, by all means buy the exact same item online at a major discount.
What about shipping? Shipping costs can kill a bargain. Apparently everyone loves Asos thanks to its free freight around the world. I’m keeping that in mind for the future (when I’m off my shopping ban), but not knowing anything about their sizing, I’d be wary.
I’ve been doing some higher-end mystery shops of late: jewellery, luxury fashion. They’ve been awesome experiences, actually. The staff know their stuff and when it comes to making suggestions for improvement, I really don’t have any ideas to offer. In fact, one of the surveys went so well I very, very nearly went through with the purchase (and if New Zealand had strong return policies I probably would have). This wasn’t one of those surveys that included purchase, or purchase followed by return. Just one of those teasy ones where you pull out at the very last minute.
Luxury retail, SoHo (Photo credit: La Citta Vita)
One thing they always make a note of is to mention a layby option. I never really understood this until I got older and realised that some people spend hundreds of dollars on a single item of clothing. (Personally, the most I’ve ever spent is under $200, on a coat, and a pair of a boots respectively.) Since the big bad GFC, layby is apparently making a bit of a return to the retail scene.
If you’re not familiar with the term, layby involves the shop putting aside the item for you. You pay weekly instalments toward the balance – usually interest-free – and once it’s paid for in full, that’s when you finally take it home.
For those who can’t pay in full upfront, I think it’s a great option. It beats paying 20 percent interest on a credit card, that’s for sure. And I certainly am not going to argue with a system that promotes delayed gratification (something I think our generation lacks a little, myself included).
Then there’s that other beast – hire purchase, offered on bigger-ticket items. Electronics. Appliances. They’re not such a good deal, in my view.
I did consider taking out a hire purchase on one of my laptops. It was a lovely interest-free deal, and interest rates were high enough that I figured I might as well keep money sitting in my account as long as possible.
But digging down into the fine print, I found upfront fees and annual charges that totally wiped out the interest-free carrot. And that’s why I whipped out my credit card, took the rewards points, and took the savings hit.
I can see in some situations this might also be preferable to carrying a credit balance, depending on the specific numbers. But I don’t anticipate a hire purchase ever worming its way into my list of financial liabilities.
So I hear that most retailers in the US have a no-questions-asked returns policy.
Having grown up in New Zealand, the concept strikes me as totally bizarre. Here, the responsibility is on you to make sure you put a bit of thought into your purchases. Changed your mind about a pair of pants? Unless it still has the tags on and hasn’t been worn, you’re out of luck. Even then, odds are you can only exchange it for a store credit, not cash.
I wonder if that is part of the reason for rampant consumerism? How easy is it to buy something knowing you can easily return it later for no reason?
Personally, I hardly ever impulse shop, so when I buy something it’s because I really want it. There’s nothing inherently wrong with spur-of-the-moment purchases, but I don’t see why stores should have to take back products back “just because you changed your mind”. It’s a waste of energy and time for their staff; returns can be a tedious process, to say nothing of their wasted time on the original transaction.
The Warehouse is the one retailer I know of with a very generous returns policy. 12 months on pretty much anything, and I don’t THINK you need a reason. They need one though; when you sell cheap stuff that doesn’t last, customers will expect a refund or replacement.
Sure, I wouldn’t complain if local shops suddenly adopted a looser returns policy overnight; I’m just amazed that one exists. It doesn’t seem to make good business sense.
I ask because I still sleep in shirts that I’ve had since I was barely in double digits, and only recently purged a bunch of clothes that I just couldn’t get away with wearing anymore. Tops that were a little too short, but were in every other way perfect (grrr – waste irritates me to no end! Part of it was me growing taller, part a trend for longer tops coming in).
I can’t really say I update my wardrobe from season to season. I just don’t shop for clothing that often. This month I bought a pair of canvas sneakers, two tops and one skirt – a veritable shopping spree! They were all pretty cheerful and cheap, so I’ll be happy if they last me two or three years.
Prior to that, my clothing purchases for the year amounted to: one dress, two cardigans, one top, a jacket, a pair of shoes and a pair of boots. If my memory serves me correctly, that is. For some reason, that sounds like a lot, and yet I feel like my wardrobe still has a lot of holes in it. I think it’s time to get cracking with that item-by-item show-and-tell…
Do you get rid of clothes once you’re bored of them? Once they’re too worn to pass muster? How much life would you expect from a $10 item? A $20 item?
For some reason, NZ is home to a shedload of “one day deal” websites. Some are better than others, obviously.
But my new favourite is Dailydo: it sells experiences and other deals that I would actually use, rather than things like cheap clocks and lawnmowers and whatnot. There’s a new offer everyday: if you choose to purchase it, they then email the coupon to you. For example, I got a “buy one, get one free meal, along with two free house drinks” voucher for a local pub/bar for just $1. I also bought a fishing charter boat trip for less than half price – that can either be T’s birthday present, or he can take some of his guy friends out on a weekend and make the money back easily.
A lot of their sales would also be ideal for gifts. I’m actually kicking myself for not scooping up a really great discount on a facial at a spa – that would be a great birthday present for a girlfriend and save me pounding the pavements/shoving through crowds at the mall. I’m also hoping to find a great, EXTREMELY belated birthday present for a friend who’s currently overseas; with a few months left, I’m sure something will come up.
Now, I know you guys in the US have restaurant.com and all sorts of other crazy bargains. What are your favourite sites for snapping them up? Do share.
People always say that men spend less than women, especially on clothes. But that so isn’t true! Krystal hit it right on the head when she says that the way guys shop isn’t conducive to saving. They get in and get out. They go for one thing. And then they leave.
It’s difficult enough to shop secondhand for guys, let alone in extreme sizes. Outlet stores are also usually out of the extra big sizes. Which leaves T (who’s 6’3, stocky and maybe 120kg) just SOL most of the time. He really hates shopping, and although I love to stalk stores waiting for a bargain, that’s his version of hell. He also really hates to wait for stuff (no delayed gratification here), not to mention that it’s hard enough to find things that fit him, so instead of thinking “let’s wait till that goes on clearance” it’s “quick, snap it up before all the big sizes go!”
Did I mention he is also really hard on his clothes? He’s the typical boys’ boy, likes to mess around with cars, wrestle, roll around in the mud etc. (Kidding about the last one…sort of). He’s either vegging out being a couch potato, or being super active. Clothing never lasts long – it stretches, rips, gets irreversibly stained, etc.
His sturdy Dickies are finally giving out, and I’m dreading shopping for him. No $20 pants for this boy, not like me. And he needs a dress shirt or two. And a light jacket. And jeans.
Anyone got great tips for shopping for an extra large person?
For the house: A toilet brush, new kitchen and bathroom sponges, bulldog clips to hold up my hanging shoe organiser, and new sheets – I’ve had most of my bed linen for almost four years! Am loving my new duvet though – the old one must have shrunk, because it didn’t fill out the covers anymore. SO annoying, having empty fabric all around the edges.
For me: new facial moisturiser, a short jacket (my long coat looks ridiculous with casual outfits), a new bag (have my eye on one at the moment, but have only set aside $30 towards it so far and it costs $50), socks and underwear. I’d also like a long line cardi and some tops, and sandals and casual shorts for summer, but they can wait. In the meantime, I’ve cut off the legs of some old jeans and now have a pair of somewhat cute denim shorts. I just have to sew up the hems…
T needs a new wallet (his is literally falling apart), singlets, and a jacket. Earlier this year (or late last year?) someone decided to start a fight at a party, bottled him in the head (yeah, REAL classy) and I awoke in the middle of the morning to him coming home with a bleeding head. To top it off, his awesome checkered jacket was stolen. Honestly, it was the styliest thing he ever owned, and it didn’t make him over heat – a thankless task – as it had a nice cool lining, even in the hood.
Following my recent laundry mishap (I lost THREE bras to a single wash/dry episode) I really, really badly needed to go bra shopping. I don’t know about anyone else, but three bras is a lot to me…it’s almost half of my entire bra collection. I don’t exactly have a large chest, so it’s not uber important to me to have a super well made, super comfortable bra…as long as it fits fairly well without chafing or riding and isn’t fussy and lacy, I’m on board. Thanks to rock bottom sales, the Bendon outlets, and Dress Smart, I think the average price I pay for a bra is between $5-10. I wear them till they give out and then reluctantly begin the hunt all over again.
Luckily for me, I managed to pick up three brand spanking new bras for just $21 at BnT in DressSmart . Considering they were all originally $40 to 45, that’s a steal. I kind of want to describe them or even post pics, because I’m kind of in love with them, but I think that verges ever so slightly on TMI.
And then the checkout girl asked if I wanted the matching underwear. BLANK.
I’ve never in my life bothered to buy a matching set. I just don’t see the point. But I’ll note it down on my list of things to do before I die (along with flying first class…somewhere, anywhere). I’d be too disorganised to actually wear them together, and despite being told I should never wear the same bra two days in a row…well, I do. Methinks it would make more sense to buy two matching bottoms for every one bra.
I’m pretty sure I break a lot of the rules when it comes to bras. I don’t spend much. I wear them more than once before washing them. I don’t replace them every six months and I don’t buy matching bra/knicker sets. And I don’t lovingly arrange them in a drawer organised by colour/fabric/X-factor. I have a lingerie wash bag, but I don’t always use it (plus, it seems to unzip itself in the wash about half the time, voiding its purpose entirely).
Come to think of it, that’s probably why those three bras gave up the ghost on me. It’s karma.
. Considering they were all originally $40 to 45, that’s a steal. I kind of want to describe them or even post pics, because I’m kind of in love with them, but I think that verges ever so slightly on TMI.