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Do you love it or do you avoid it?
I'm generally indifferent to it. I think my preference is to a real store where I can actually look at something I'm not quite sure about.
What are your reasons for doing so?
It's something I can't find locally or I can get it cheaper than at Best Buy/Staples, etc
What sites do you prefer and why?
newegg.com for computer parts. I used to use pricewatch.com to find vendors with the best prices, but settled on newegg in the last couple years since they are just about as good price-wise as the other vendors and it's one-stop shopping
bhphotovideo.com for photo gear. They have just about anything I could want and their prices are better than the local Best Buy or Ritz Photo
Amazon.com for used books.
Is there anything that convinced you to buy something when you normally wouldn't? (Evil question, I know.)
No, I generally don't shop unless I need something
Are there any website features that you enjoy that help you shop?
The website needs to be plainly laid out. If I have to study the website to figure out how to place an order, I'll probably move on.
If the website looks like it was designed by an amateur, I'll probably move on.
If it has color combinations that are painful to look at, like green text on red background, I'll move on.
How do you research what you are going to buy?
I prefer to look at real user reviews, with a dose of skepticism.
What kind of products do you buy? Electronics? Media? Clothes?
Mostly electronics, photo stuff and used books. The occasional odds and ends thing that I can't find locally.
What's the most "personal" (something that you're picky about and usually need to check out in person before you buy) item that you've purchased online?
The last thing of this sort I bought was a Sansa mp3 player. I wasn't sure which I liked better, the sansa or an ipod, so I finally ended up going to a Best Buy to look at both. In general, if I need something, but I'm not sure which of a set of choices I want, I'll probably go to a real store to check them out.
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