Shopping - I must have lost the plot.

[Hawkey01]

Yesterday my wife and I wanted or were about to purchase a couple of items. A Greenhouse and an eletric table hot plate.
As is normal with us we have a look on the net and see who is selling the items and of course the cheapest - less expensive - seller. We then head off to our local town to purchase said item if this is possible - not the greenhouse. Helping to keep our shops alive.
The best deal for the electric hot plate was Argos. Fine - so what I have done in the past is order it on line and then go and pick it up from Bridgwater - our nearest Argos.
Not possible - we have to have it delivered. So now we have to ensure we are home on a designated day to recieve the item.
Greenhouse - decisions made on size etc etc so ready to hit the button and purchase
said item. Huge sign on web page - Buy this on Black Friday and save £25 - So of course we are now holding back until then. So they have lost £25 which they would have had if we had purchased yesterday. Where is the good business sense in that I ask myself.
The world has gone mad!!!!

Neville

[BobClay]

It is mad. Couple of weeks ago my old electric kettle started to leak, so I bought a new one online. Ever since I've been bombarded with adverts and spam mail and cookie based pop ups trying to sell me an electric kettle.
I mean, how many ******* electric kettles do they think I need ??

Maybe I should look for a new discounted 'straight jacket' on purple Friday, or black … or whatever bloody colour it is.

[Engine Serang]

Bridgewater? Is there a Main Street in Bridgewater??

[Tmac1720]

I made the simple mistake of buying an item on line from a "specialist" company now every post brings catalogues from companies I have never heard of or wish to but apparently these organizations share your details amongst each other so you get all this crap through your door.

[Malcolm G]

Originally Posted by Engine Serang

Bridgewater? Is there a Main Street in Bridgewater??

Bridgwater - No middle 'e'.
When I did a dog watch there, selling tyres, it was the main road from Bristol to Exeter, then they built a motorway.....

[Hawkey01]

Its grown a lot now, new estates almost joining it to North Petherton - village -
also the hub for Hinkley C power station. Continuous bus services from park and rides to Hinkley.
No smell these days as the cellophane factory long gone. Population around 35,886 and shops and many new businesses. Home to the famous Guy Fawks carnival.
Not my favourite place but its trying!

Neville

PS just had msg - our order arriving by courier tommorrow.

[Malcolm G]

OK I admit it, according to how it is reported I am one of those 'killing the High Street'.
However I do not call an out of town warehouse the size of Rutland 'The High Street'. The retailers have killed it by going for bigger and better.
Currys, for example, used to be shops on the High street. Now one enters a building with its own weather and seeks out what is required, then to find a member of staff. The first one will have knuckles on the carpet and tell you that it is not his area. Another person is found, carrying his or her tablet device. Any questions are typed in to the tablet and the answer read off. I COULD HAVE DONE THIS AT HOME!

The only reason I can think of for going to this so called High Street is to have a physical look at the product, assuming that they have one in stock.
I go home, check Price Runner or whatever, and find that I can in fact have the same thing delivered free with accessories for 10% less than carrying it home. Is it any wonder that I shop on the internet?

There are some things which I insist on buying in person, for example:
Groceries, because I have seen the delivery pickers in action and would not trust them to buy a postage stamp.
Shoes, I have tried to buy by mail order and they never fit.
Presents, easier to hide.
Light building and DiY materials, because I want it now, not as and when they feel like it.

[YM-Mundrabilla]

Originally Posted by BobClay

It is mad. Couple of weeks ago my old electric kettle started to leak, so I bought a new one online. Ever since I've been bombarded with adverts and spam mail and cookie based pop ups trying to sell me an electric kettle.
I mean, how many ******* electric kettles do they think I need ??

Maybe I should look for a new discounted 'straight jacket' on purple Friday, or black … or whatever bloody colour it is.

I have been told that if you use the Google 'Incognito' search thing when searching airfares (for example) that the airline/website (whatever) cannot see you and cannot bombard you with ads for ever.

Obviously this will not work when you actually buy something but might be a small help when searching only.

Don't know if it's true or not !!!!

I inadvertently looked up something months ago from a mob called ProBikeKit in the UK and have ever since received almost daily emails flogging something or bloody other. Needless to say their 'unsubscribe' link doesn't work.

[MikeGDH]

Scrub Google.....use DuckDuckGo - no tracking, no hassles!
Mike.

[BobClay]

'Black Friday' … very possibly the longest drawn out day of all time. Or at least, so I thought …. then I got an email today saying: 'Continuing bargains for Black November.'

Where will it end ? Black Decade ? Black Century ? Black Aeon ?

Could there be an entire Black Universe out there ? A sort of giant conglomeration of Amazon like sellers stretching out beyond infinity (whatever that means.)

Could there even be: … a Black Infinity ?

(Sod this, I'm off down the pub.)

[Engine Serang]

For a pint or two of Black Beer.
I'd join you if I was allowed out on a weekday evening, roll on Friday, black or not.

[Lancsman]

Black Adder!

[lakercapt]

Black Friday sales in nearly all stores.
What was Black Friday ??? It was a thing that started in the USA as its all associated with their "Thanksgiving"
We already have had ours so I will not be catering to this ploy to empty my bank account.
These gimmicks to increase sales such as Mothers Day Fathers Day etc. I dislike intensely.

[BobClay]

It's designed to turn all the nice black ink on your bank statement to red.