Peer pressure while shopping

Everybody extols the advantages of online shopping. Vegetables, fruits, groceries and sundry things are bought as if there is no tomorrow. I like to see vegetables and fruits in stalls where I can assure myself of their freshness and not be taken in by pictures that may be deceptive. As for groceries, they are sold in large packs online which don’t appeal to me. So I leave that to the experts and bargain seekers.

I am, as I have said elsewhere, mentally negligible (to quote Jeeves who said that of Bertie Wooster), where technology is concerned. Not to say that I excel in other fields, but I get by.

It is not as if I am completely ignorant. I am acquainted with the computer as I can type -- though it takes me longer than I could using a manual typewriter, which has neither auto correct nor spell check. I can access email and Google for information and that, I feel, is quite enough for me. I don’t let the computer rule my life.

Well, I got a little adventurous when I heard people extolling the advantages of online shopping. I was tempted to try my hand at it. Groceries, vegetables and fruits were out for reasons already cited. Not being my area of expertise, I overlooked them.

I am slightly more knowledgeable about clothes. So I zeroed in on that section. I just clicked on a site I had heard my friend mention. I was inundated by invitations to visit other sites I didn’t even know existed. They vied with one another in offering discounts which staggered me. There had to be a catch somewhere.

Bewildered, I browsed the site I had heard my friend speak highly of. Spending hours mulling over the wide choice offered, I chose a sober outfit, though I was nervous of the outcome. But nothing ventured, nothing won. So I clicked, with a sense of unease on the picture posted.

The courier arrived. I opened the parcel with apprehension. I was pleasantly surprised. The outfit was actually quite good. Call it beginners’ luck! Growing more adventurous, I browsed for more bargains. After hours of deliberation, I chose a modestly priced kurta.

I didn’t have to wait long. The courier brought the parcel. It seemed rather bulky for one kurta. I looked at the label. It read seven kurtas when I had just ordered one! As if I was running an exclusive private school or an elite establishment! I promptly returned it. Then I bid a quiet goodbye to online shopping and decided to do real-time shopping for my needs, where I can look around, choose, and feel the material. I can even try it on. And the sales personnel are so obliging that they offer to make minor alterations!

May be, I fit Jeeves’ description but at least I avoided shocks.