Buying stuff on line can save you a fortune

One of the things I have finally figured out after all these years is that there are an awful lot of things I can use that I can buy through either mail order or by purchasing on line.

I needed a hefty chunk of 550 paracord and I managed to find it at a surplus outfit north of where I live and I Googled directions. The place was about 40 miles north of me. This interprets to about three or four gallons of gasoline at about $3.50 to $4.00 per, figure somewhere between $12 and $16.

I found a 1000 foot spool on line for a little less than the surplus outfit wanted for it, plus another ten bucks for shipping. I simply ordered it on line because I am not in a hurry for it. I figure I saved a few bucks because travel isn't as cheap as it used to be.

I will admit that I am of the Old School and want to see what I am buying and for a lot of things that has not changed. Still, when you are looking at a pretty generic item like 550 milspec paracord it really doesn't matter a whole lot as it is really all the same.

Of course, there are a few el-cheapo outfits there that will try and schlep you some kind of junk here and there, but most of them do not last very long because it doesn't take a whole lot of time anymore before word gets out.

One of the biggies in the internet trade, eBay, even has a feedback section on virtually every seller out there and after he has made a few sales it is easy to see what kind of reputation they have. People don't pull a lot of punches when it comes to feedback and part of this is they can say what they want about someone from the safety of their keyboard. Generally you can figure if a person has excellent feedback the product is going to be pretty good.

Of course, there are a lot of people out there that would gripe if they were hanged with a new rope, but you have to figure that anyway. When Toyota had a recall of sorts a while back after my 2000 Tacoma rusted through they offered me $7200 for it, which is about two or three times what I could have gotten for it anywhere else, someone tried to tell me I was getting ripped off. The Taco was a simple 2 wheel drive rig I had paid a little less than $12K for, new. I had run the hell out of it, well over 180,000 miles. She was tired.

When the complainer told me I was getting ripped off, I told him I was going to renegotiate. An hour later I called them back and told them I was now getting a loaded Tundra, a check for $75,000, free Jameson's and vehicle maintainence for life AND that they took the sales manager out and shot him.

That shut them up.

Anyway, there probably will be a few gripers out there and you have to figure that in when you are dealing with a person's on-line reputation.

I have needed a soldering gun for some time now. The last time I was home my soldering iron, a small little underpowered thing, crapped out on me. I decided to get a halfway decent gun tonight to replace it.

Amazon dot com had it. One click and I could have snagged it for about 32 bucks, plus about $7 for shipping. The only reason I didn't grab it is because one of the guys has one he used once and offered it to me for $20.

In a way it is too easy and my rule of thumb is to wait for several days before I order anything to keep from buying anything I really don't want on impulse. You can sure rack up the expenses by doing that.

You do have to think first, though. There are still a lot of things out there you really ought to either look at or try on and on line really isn't the place to buy them. While most small/medium/large clothes are probably good to go, I sure would not want to buy an expensive outfit on line.

You also have to go with brand names or deal with someone you know gives fair measure because it you don't pay attention you're likely to wind up with a piece of Chinese junk. Paying good money for a bad tool is money wasted.

What has actually gotten me to buy on line as opposed to getting into the pickup and heading out to the store is the ever increasing cost of gasoline. It used to be one of those things you never paid a whole lot of attention to until the past few years and now I look long and hard before I go anywhere to look at anything. Even at 22-26 miles per gallon it adds up pretty fast. My habits are changing.

Anyway, as an old dog I find myself constantly learning new tricks and when you think about it, for the most part it is probably a pretty good thing.



my other blog is: http://officerpiccolo.blogspot.com/ http://piccolosbutler.blogspot.com/