Technology: we buy it, we use it, we love it and in 2013 we must admit we are addicted to it. Be it television, laptops or personal computers, tablets or various other IT gadgets that make our lives easier or just entertain us, we always buy new gadgets to replace the old ones, or because we don’t actually own that specific gadget or the latest model of it. You got a laptop, which is great and you can take it with you anywhere when traveling, but a tablet would be really nice when you are out at a coffee break from your work, or simply at a beer with your friends and you really need to check something online at that exact moment. We always need more and always buy more, the biggest question is: Should we buy these great pieces of technology from online websites or from the IT shop in the corner of the street?
People are used to go outside for a lot of years now, grab what they like from the shops they like, give the money, eventually sign a contract and congratulations, you now own that product. Nowadays because of the fact that technology makes our lives easier, the main side effect of it is a lot of people becoming lazier and they prefer to sit at their computers and order products online using just one click of a mouse. In an objective way let’s really see the advantages and disadvantages of buying from an online website or buying from an offline I.T. shop.
Is it the classic way of doing things, as I said before, getting out, going to the store, buy it, get it, use it, the only reason some people prefer to buy things from stores outside and not using the internet? Of course not! We, as human beings, are highly sociable and we love to talk with other people concerning our problems, work, achievements even emotions and to keep it on topic, we like to hear other people’s objective opinion when we take an important decision and we like for them to validate us, to confirm that our decision was a good one. This obviously apply when you buy IT equipment from an IT shop, since there are people paid just to talk with you and help you make a decision and you know you like that because you need confirmation that your final decision is a good one.
Offline IT shops also offer you the possibility to actually see the product you want to buy, you can watch it, you can touch it, you can test it. You can find a lot of problems or things you don’t like at that gadget just by doing that, an obvious point for the classic offline IT shop since you know you will 100% like that tablet you just bought, because you like its design, you tested its features for some time, you know is not too big or small, too heavy or whatever you were afraid that you will dislike at that tablet. When you buy that tablet online you can obviously inform yourself about everything you want concerning the product, but you won’t really know how it feels, how it is or how good that specific application you really need actually is, unless you “played” with that exact tablet that a friend owns and you still might have the surprise that you don’t really like the design of it or something similar, so as I said, big point goes to the offline IT shop.
Security is yet another important thing to consider when buying something, especially IT gadgets, which aren’t very cheap. When you go to a store, you buy your product, you sign a contract, you give the seller the money and you get your product, that’s basically as secured as it gets when buying something. On the internet, though the last years made people be more open minded about online shopping, there are still a lot of problems with scammers, hackers and the actual online IT shop not being secured for bank or card transactions or just having bad reviews of people not getting what they bought or not getting anything at all. These cases are rare, but we can’t just say it doesn’t happen anymore because it does, so another point goes to the offline IT shop for the security of transaction since it happens right there at that exact moment when you got that product in your hands.
The last, but not the least, an obvious thing you got in mind when buying gadgets from IT shops and for some people probably the most decisive factor when purchasing a product either online or offline is the price. Since online shopping became popular, almost everyone knows that products online are cheaper than going at the store and buying it right there. Besides people being lazy or simply too busy, as in they really don’t have the time to go at that local store, the success of every online IT shop over the internet depends on their prices. It is a fact that buying online is cheaper, even if you include transport fees or any other fees you must pay, so this point goes to online IT shops.
All in all, even if all I did was comparing the online and offline IT shops, you know that both are great options and the most important thing at the end of the day is you owning that gadget you really wanted. If you like socializing with local stores employees, touch and test the IT product you want to purchase before you do, you do have time to do all of this and don’t really mind spending some extra money just for that the IT shop close to where you’re living is the best option. If you are really lazy or busy, you would really like the best price possible for that one product you want to buy, or in the case you can’t really find that gadget at your local IT shop, the online stores are the answer for you, but remember to pick a popular one just for the security. What are you still waiting for? Go out or check the website you like and buy that gadget you really want.
Harvey Norman is Singapore’s leading IT destination, offering the latest in computing and electronic gadgets, PCs, mobile devices, software, networking, accessories, gaming, and much more.
