Cyber Shopping Sucks!

I like shopping the old fashioned way. I like to physically see my options, compare them, maybe even touch them. I like to pick up my selections and put them into the cart. A real cart. A cart that has wheels and the only problem it might have is a wobbly or noisy wheel, or it might be a bit hard to steer. Despite a wobbly wheel, a squeek or difficult steering, it will go where I want it to, when I want it to, and it will only hold what I put into it. Then, when I decide I've found everything I want, I can place the items onto the sales counter or checkout stand, watch it being rung up, be sure prices ring up correctly, see the total and make my purchase, knowing that I have everything I want, nothing more, nothing less, and leave with it in my hands.

These days, even though we have big stores with lots of stuff and even lots of little shops, the things I want aren't always available. So, to get these things, I have to resort to cyber shopping. Ugh! It's something I don't enjoy. It's hard to compare items...all the back and forth and waiting for screens to change is annoying. I can't touch the items and I have to hope that the colors I'm seeing on my screen are somewhere close to the actual color the item(s) will be when I recieve them. Then...there are computer glitches!

Right now, I need some yarn to make Christmas gifts and have not been able to find what I want...despite numerous trips to yarn shops and craft stores. I kept going back and hoping that, miraculously, the yarns I wanted would appear. No such luck. I knew I could get what I wanted from Knit Picks but kept putting it off because I hate cyber shopping. But, Christmas is getting closer and closer and I knew I couldn't put it off any longer. So, to the Knit Picks site I went. What a mistake to do it yesterday though...on "Cyber Monday". Duh!

I kept trying all day to get their site to work and it just kept locking up. I think lots of other people may have been procrastinating on placing their orders too. The site finally started working late last night and I carefully placed things in my cyber cart. When I finished making my selections, I checked and re-checked my cart multiple times. It all looked good. I had bought just enough yarn to get free shipping. I then proceded to check out. Across the top it said something like, "items previously put into your cart have been added". Huh?! What was that supposed to mean? I checked and re-checked my cart again and it all looked good. So, I entered my credit card number and made my purchase. After that, the site didn't give me a screen with a confirmation number, order number, what I purchased...nothing! It just went to a screen that said my order has been placed. I hit the "back" button to see if I could find find an order number or something and a screen flashed for a couple of seconds and then went back to the one that said my order had been placed. But...the total on the screen that flashed was a lot more than what was on the screen of what I had purchased. Hmmmmm?! Could it have been those "previous" items that I couldn't figure out?

I called the 800 number but they were closed. I waited and kept checking for the order confirmation that the site said would be emailed to me within an hour. Hours later...nothing! My only option was to call them at 5am this morning when they open. I set my alarm, got up at 5, stumbled downstairs, checked my email and finally had that confirmation. There were multiples of yarn I had chosen. Ugh! I called up and was able change my order. Whew! I got through in time before it was packed and shipped. But, wait! The new total she gave me didn't seem right. I called again and she said it was the shipping charge. Oh...hmmmm?!...ok. I said "thank you" and I hung up. But...I had worked hard to make sure I ordered enough yarn to get free shipping! I started tapping away at my calculator (still sleepy....it was very early!) and realized that the amount was wrong on another yarn...there were only two balls instead of three. I called again to fix it but this time it was too late and it would cost more than that extra ball of yarn to ship it and I might not even get the same dye lot. Argh!

And...I thought I remembered Knit Picks operators being friendly and warm from previous orders...or was that was another store?! Regardless, they weren't very warm this morning...either it was because it was early or lots of other people were calling to get their "Cyber Monday" glitches fixed too.

Lesson learned...never shop on cyber Monday or any other day that the website I'm shopping on keeps locking up. And, if it says something weird like, "previous items have been added"....call them up before making the purchase...even if they aren't showing up in the cart. I've never had a problem before but I'm sticking to shopping the old fashioned way as much as I possibly can! It's so much better, I know what I'm really getting, what it's really costing before I pay, and I can walk out with it in my hands, ready to use and enjoy right away! And, besides...real carts are a lot more fun!

Now...I'm wondering...with all the shopping going on yesterday at Knit Picks...will I get my yarn in time to make all these gifts before Christmas?! I'm keeping my fingers crossed!