Sounds simple doesn't it?

I admit it. I get caught up in buying stuff. It's fun. I put a bid on for a Nokia 7000 and something model - a fancy flip shell phone with a camera. Then I regretted it. Then I prayed for someone to outbid me, and finally they did. (Hooray!)

I realised how wrong it was for me in so many ways:

1. The flip thing would annoy me after about 5 hours of using it. I don't care if you're Elle MacPherson - NOBODY looks good in a 1 megapixel camera/phone photo!! I'm better off buying a digital camera if I decide I want one.

2. I don't care if I can send videos and stuff - when I use a phone I usually send a text like "I'll be at the station at 6:30pm see you soon"? - I am unlikely to send that person a video of myself on the train, waving.

3. 'Fashion'? phones are just that. And they go out of fashion. And then you look like a dork.

I realised I needed a phone that didn't flip, open up into a keyboard and pretend to be a computer, swivel, attach to my head like the Borg (see photo!), or wash my clothes.






Has anyone else noticed this? Am I the only one? These things look like the Borg!! People have been assimilated!!! It has begun!!!

I needed a phone that made phone calls. And sent text messages.

And that's it.

Sometimes simple is better.

One thing you will have to get used to when shopping online is measuring things.

You will need:
A ruler
A measuring tape
A set of scales

Use every method possible to get a sense of what the item will look like in your house - lounge, bedroom or whatever. How much space will it take up? There's nothing worse than getting excited about a purchase, getting it home and realising it's too big or clashes with your decoration scheme.

When it comes to clothing - make sure the size is relevant to your country - a US size 10 is hugely different to UK or Australian sizes. Another mistake people make with sizes is ordering a size 10 - and finding out the clothes are in children's sizes.

I can't emphasise this point enough. Don't just check one site for the item you want. First, do a general search on the item. Next, go to the manufacturer's website and find out the recommended retail price (RRP).

Note: make sure the site you are visiting is in the correct region. A few times I've seen a price and thought wow! That's cheap! Only to find out it's a .com site not a .com.au!! Argh!

Also, there are a few sites such as shopferret.com - these sites seek out different online stores and come back with a number of different prices for the same item. Amazon.com has a similar feature. Check out reviews, ratings and any other info that helps you decide if its really what you want.

Hmmm. Spent a long time researching what to buy online and what not to buy. Thinking that buying large things like big screen tvs, computers and cars on ebay is not the best idea. Mostly because they can get scratched or dinged during delivery. Or in the case of cars, I have read of people buying cars that don't exist.

Here's a short rundown of what I have learned:

1. Don't buy anything from anyone who asks you to send a large amount of money via Western Union to countries such as Nigeria.

2. Don't buy things that can get completely bingled in transit. Eg. lenses on digital cameras, flat screen monitors (a lot of these have a dead pixel or two!!)

3. Don't answer any emails outside of ebay.

4. Try to pay for things using traceable means. Eg. Money orders from the post office, PayPal can be good for certain items as it can proven you paid for it. Basically don't use Western Union and for heaven's sake don't send cash in the mail. It's illegal in some areas!

Hmm. Still going. I have bought a number of things online with varying amounts of success. More about that later.



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