Well, the day after Thanksgiving is fast approaching, at least here in the states.
Now, I’ve managed to weasel my way out of shopping for anything on this day for the past several years, and this year will be no different. I’m a fan of a low-key sort of Christmas, where the main event is having everybody get together, rather than the emphasis on loot.
However, not everybody shares my flip attitude towards tradition, so I know a lot of you are planning to head out and join the fray. I’d like to encourage you to consider staying at home and shopping online this Friday, though, for the following ten reasons:
- Online retailers, especially the major companies, have unbelievable security these days. It is safer than ever to shop online. In fact, it’s probably safer than shopping in person.
- When shopping with your credit or debit card, you’re not liable for any fraudulent charges (unless your contract is set up really weird, which might occur but should be very rare).
- Shoulder surfers: It’s impossible for someone to sidle up and take a photo of your credit card if you’re not in the store to begin with.
- Skimming: you can’t be tricked into sliding your card through a skimming device if you’re not even in the vicinity of an ATM or other card-reading machine.
- Theft: it’s also exceedingly difficult for someone to steal (or “find”) your wallet if you’re at home.
- Scammers: I know you would never be tempted to buy a TV from some dude in a gas station parking lot at night, but you’ll never even see him if you shop online from established retailers (he might be lurking about on Craigslist, though, I guess).
- A lot of Black Friday sales are bait-and-switch schemes. Stores use the frantic nature of the day to unload items that are…almost what you were looking for, but not quite. Online, it’s easy to closely check an item (without some nutjob trying to tear it out of your hands).
- Also, a lot of stores will advertise an item at a wildly discounted price, with fine print that states they have a “minimum of four per store.” You realize that means there are only four per store, right? This generally doesn’t happen online.
- You’ll save money just by not driving your car around all day, forlornly circling parking lots in search of something, anything, that looks like a space your car might fit into.
- You’ll spend less money, because you won’t get caught up in the insane “get yours before somebody else gets it” mentality the stores depend on.