Online shopping a hazard to wallets

Issue 17, Leandro Fefer, online shopping, Opinion - By Leandro Fefer on Thursday, February 9, 2012 - 04:42

As citizens of a capitalist nation, Americans are born and bred to be consumers. This may explain why America has an infatuation with bargain shopping, sales and finding a “good deal.” People will line up outside of stores before they open, pre-order items before they come out and even stampede over fellow citizens in order to purchase an item for less than its original price. We Americans love to spend our money on material goods; however, most Americans have to balance their urge to spend with their financial insecurity. Hence, the American loves sales. This way, even if they know that they shouldn’t be spending their money, their guilt can be diminished by the fact that at least they aren’t spending as much as they would have had they bought the item full price.

The last several years have seen the rise of a new way for Americans to feel better about spending their money. Online shopping sites that offer outlet prices for new fashions or sell coupons for dining and spa services at discount prices.

As a Whittier student, I often feel like I live in a bubble and have limited options when it comes to looking for new clothes. Hence many nights I find myself glued to my computer screen, poring over leather boots by John Varvatos or the newest jackets by Spiewak. This is when my second dilemma as a college student comes into play: with full-time classes, clubs and work study that goes straight to tuition, I am almost always severely strapped for cash. But these boots are down from $459 to $109, and even though I don’t have half that money in my pocket, my hands are itching for my credit card, as if my student loans were not enough.

Normally, I wouldn’t even look at Versace blazers, but when they are presented on Guilt Group at nearly 75 percent off, my innate American consumerism yearns for the good deal. I don’t even wear any of the blazers I brought from home, but damn, that’s more than $300 dollars off the original price. Guilt Group should be renamed Guilt-Trip Group, because it’s not the fact that I need any of the items it offers, but my own consumerist desires that make me want their products. While I can easily talk myself out of a trip to the mall or away from a pair of boots in a storefront, when the item is several hundred dollars off and in my inbox, it becomes a lot harder to stay away.

My mother is far better at Internet shopping than I am. She uses coupons to cut $45 off a meal at a fancy restaurant when I come home for break, or finds a way to upgrade her bi-monthly haircut at no extra charge. She also has a paying job and doesn’t live off what her parents send her.

The Internet is a dangerous place, and even when you’re guarded by PayPal, you can still be taken advantage of. Websites like Guilt Group will not steal your identity or scam you into a subscription, what they will do is use your own shopper’s instinct to make you spend far more than you should. “But just think of how much your saving!”