Dear LPG, 

Shopping is something that I used to enjoy, but there are a few reasons why I have to say that even that pleasure has become tainted for me, and I suspect that I am not the only oldie to say that. 

For many of us, the Coronavirus forced this activity to become an online affair, and if getting out has become more of a challenge, I have to say that it is good to be able to see what you think you want without having to do all that walking when our legs decide to go on strike or work to rule.

In my eyes, there have always been two sorts of shopping. The mundane things you need to buy are the less enjoyable genre, while the things you choose to purchase are much more fun to find. 

Some items cross over the divide though.  For instance, some people only buy items of clothing or a household necessity using the replacement principle that works more readily for food shopping (because the one they have had been used or needs to be thrown out). In contrast, others are more of the ‘look, see, got to have’ shoppers.  The underlying problem is that there is no online fitting room, and the tape measure does not always enhance one’s imagined perception of your shopping outcome.  All too often, the ‘try on’ or ‘fitting in’ part of the process can be a disappointment, no matter your age. 

But I digress.  I really wanted to talk about something that happened to me recently. 

One thing that has always upset me is getting my new purchase and then finding that I could have got it cheaper. So, once I have found the perfect thing, I check to see where it is cheapest before buying. Then, just like in the good old days of walking the high streets, the one I come home with is the cheapest I can find from a shop with a reputation that I hope I can trust. But it is getting harder. 

Not so long ago, I found the perfect item, and when I Googled it, one site showed it to be a whole £15.00 cheaper than anywhere else.  Buying anything from an online shop you have never used before is an involved thing, and I could not see the delivery cost, even though I did take a look.  I registered and established my account with this web shop and committed to purchasing. Still, the bargain I thought I got was lost because it was only after adding my card details and pressing the ‘pay now’ button that the delivery charge was revealed to be £15.99.

It arrived and does fit the bill as intended, but is there a law about withholding delivery information until you have committed to an item you want to buy online? 

In all fairness, it did not make a lot of difference to the cost in the end, and short of committing to buying another one, I will never be able to check again.

Perhaps I missed it or did not look hard enough, but while this was not a loss, what happened does reinforce that adage ‘if it looks too good to be true, it probably is’...   

The real moral of my story is a warning to other online shoppers / LPG readers to ensure they have checked for all the extra bits of the expense involved before pressing that ‘Pay Now’ button… 

SA, Catford.

LPG found a bit of relevant information…

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