Online Gift Ideas - The Benefits and Drawbacks

When thinking about online gift ideas, try to go back in your memory banks. If you're old enough you can remember the special time of year when the three big catalogs would fatten your mailbox or lay waiting patiently at your doorstep. Sears was always the biggest, followed by J.C.Penneys and Montgomery Wards. The mother of the house was usually the first to crack open these literature pleasures followed closely by dad who was looking for that one tool that he didn't have. Then the kids got their chance.

Flipping through the pages was a great and sometimes painful experience. Seeing all the new toys and clothes was true happiness, but the paper cuts seemed to never heal. There are no more paper cuts from online gift ideas but carpel tunnel can be excruciating. Some of the stores that published these monster books are gone with the dinosaurs. Yet, some remain. Now all it takes is the click of a mouse or the entry of a keyword and your there.

There are some great online gift ideas. But there are also some terrible ones. Now that they've passed the online buying tax. It's a little more expensive to purchase those large or more pricey items online. To some it's well worth it not to have to fight all the crowds and incompetent store clerks to get that special something. To others, it's well worth the wait and struggle. If a person is going to make a purchase of a couple of thousand dollar item, tax spent can be worth it for the security of the item. As a consumer, I like to walk out of a store with a big box.

Thinking back to the days when your choices of an item was in the confines of a book, makes a plus for online gift ideas. The shopping is truly endless. You can surf the web from one end of the globe to the other looking for that special goody for Grandma. No more dog-earing the page or circling the item with the brightest crayon in the box. Now a store or item can be placed in your favorites box with the push of a button.

Online gift ideas can be more readily available for the elderly and disabled as well. No more going and picking up grandma or aunt Girdie with the car. No more need to stuff their walker in the back seat so you can fit all the packages in the trunk. Now Uncle Fred can sit in front of a screen and be happy knowing that his new upside down tomato garden will be hanging on his back porch within seven to ten days. The drawback of all these folks sitting on their duffs is just that. There is less and less physical activity in the world. A kid can sit in a chair and buy a game that's going to cause him or her to sit in a chair for hours on end. The only physical thing that has to be accomplished is going to the front door and signing for a package.

Walking into a store and being greeted by a well dressed individual makes a person feel welcomed and comfortable. Even though the persons intent is to milk all the money that they can out of the buyer. It seems easier to give up the cash. While looking for online gift ideas, the second thought moment comes into play. Do you really need this item or is Cousin Earnie really worth all the hassle of "Pay-Pal" or waiting for a delivery so you can deliver it all over again. Having a gift wrapped by a professional then taking it to an individual just seems more fulfilling. The upside of online gift ideas is when the loved one lives two thousand miles away. No more packing up the whining kids just to drive a million miles and deliver that special knick-knack to Meemaw. She can get the package without you losing all your hair.

Basically the good and bad of online gift ideas falls in the need of the consumer. Always protect your money whether its online or in a store. But to keep our economy from tanking any further...Keep on shopping.


Daniel Baker is the author of this article about buying gifts online for more information visit ">Grandma Polly's Attic