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Comment by gtaylor | Hacker News Reader

I'll gladly pay an additional 6-10% to keep avoiding Wal-mart or Target or even Home Depot. There are people like me who just really hate having to suit up and go shopping. I don't like the traffic, I don't like getting ripped off, and I don't find in-store shopping a fun or magical experience like some do.

I can pull up Amazon and read ratings/reviews, see what kind of problems people ran into with products, and make a reasonably informed decision with my money.

In a big box store, I feel like I'm taking more of a chance unless I stop, scan the barcode, read through reviews. Meanwhile, I look like a silly guy who can't make up his mind.

Yes, I enjoy obsessively comparing reviews/ratings for potential purchases. Even the really cheap/insignificant ones...

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If you walk into Bestbuy and show them the item you intend to purchase from Amazon, they'll match the price. With taxes, and assuming you don't have to drive out of your way, this can be more convenient than Amazon. If you need something overnight, it's actually cheaper than Amazon.

Bestbuy is very hit-or-miss. It really depends on the people working there.

Some employees are very informative and helpful while many aren't.

Depending on your work or living situation, that might not be more convenient. I'm in SF with no car, and I wouldn't even consider going to Best Buy.

I've often had the problem of not being home during the day, and post offices closing early, so hitting a store would be easier for me in some cases.

Of course if the price is right...

In the London - no idea about elsewhere - Amazon offers drop-off at a large number of local convenience stores. Usually I have stuff dropped off at the office, but if it's something big I get it delivered to a convenience store 2-3 minutes walk from my house which is also open late.

I believe that's available in the US now as "Amazon Lockers"

yup, for people with commutes, we often have a few big box stores that we pass on the way back from work next to the highways.

From where I live, it's a hassle for me to go to any of these big box stores. It's not going to be this way for everyone, I just really don't like going shopping.

The primary benefit of Amazon for me is not having to deal with a brick-and-mortar store.

I've actually been able to get them to match it in such a way that the final price (post-tax) matches the non-taxed (final) Amazon price.

I live relatively close to Best Buy (I just have to walk a block), but even then, unless I really need something immediately, I'd rather wait 2 days than go into the store, wait in line, and deal with their reluctant customer service. Also, given my experiences with returns, I much more trust that Amazon will treat me well if a return is needed than Best Buy.

Best Buy, the place where I had to literally explain to three employees six times that I did not want an extended warranty on my television? I'll pass.

+1 for that. I find "shopping" in a physical space is more of a serendipitous, unpredictable experience. It's nice to get introduced to different products and engage with different brands. It's a totally different experience from getting something exact and specific that you need.

If I know I want exact product XYZ, need it on a time scale of 'days' and not 'hours/minutes', and don't have any other need to go out ... why not order it online?

My definition of Hell?

IKEA on a rainy Saturday afternoon.

(read it somewhere, but really can't recall the source)

Leveling up:

- IKEA cafeteria

- seated beside family of six

- children are bored

Levelling up:

- in China

- on a hot summer day

Some pictures: http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/09/travel/gallery/china-heat-ikea... ;)

That's right. Going to the mall to buy something is a 2-3 hour time sink, plus gas. Buying online is about 5 minutes, no gas.

The "no gas" part is big. I don't think many people realize how much they spend on gas to run errands. A quick run to Target for something is about a 10 mile round trip from my house or about $2 in gas for a typical minivan. A Home Depot or Lowes is more like $4 from here, $5 with tolls.

Varies hugely from person to person. Target, Lowes, and Home Depot are all right on my way home from work. If it's a weekend, they are ~5 miles round trip.

Absolutely. My favorite is running the numbers to figure out how far out of the way it's worth going to buy cheaper gas -- for my MPG/the size of my car's tank, typically less than half a mile for a 10¢ difference.

I'd buy a LOT more from Amazon if I didn't live in Alaska and have to wait at least a week and a half for shipping. I hate shopping - if I could reliably get something in a couple days, I'd almost never even need to leave the house, except for groceries.

> I hate shopping - if I could reliably get something in a couple days, I'd almost never even need to leave the house, except for groceries.

This is exactly how I feel. The primary draw of Amazon for me is that it lets me avoid the brick-and-mortar shopping "experience". Heck, I'd pay extra to not have to deal with it.

I concur. But from what I've read online, you'd be the only person that "suits up" to go shopping at Walmart. (Do not live in America, though.)

Some people "suit up" in a very extraordinary and occasionally disturbing way.

http://www.peopleofwalmart.com/

Those who don't want to suit up for Walmart, can always shop at Dollar Pallace: http://www.ghettoredhot.com/debra-jackson-dollar-place/

I work from home, so "suit up" means "put pants on" for me.

Home Depot still gets plenty of my business. I like to buy tools online- mostly for reviews- but lumber & hardware still belong in my local warehouse (or perhaps at a boutique lumber shop on the edge of town). Same goes for many home improvement supplies.

Basically, lots of stuff requires interaction (holding a bracket or a screw in my hand to determine if it will fit) and other stuff (2x10's, 48x96's, toilets, refrigerators etc) is simply unfriendly to shipping. Home Depot of course ships wood, but they specialize in that sort of thing and ship in great bulk.

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