Online shopping

Shopping online is something I enjoy doing.. and it is becoming more like a regular thing for me now than in the past.

In Singapore, shopping is so convenient that it kind of makes shopping online seemingly redundant.

But I find that it saves me quite a bit of money buying stuff online sometimes. Plus you get things delivered in a box right to your doorstep.. Plus I really like the "box" part - it's like opening up a new present.. (oh dear, do I sound like a shopaholic?)

Here are a couple of websites I like to go to.

The first is Amazon.com - I go there for books and beauty products. Books are the obvious, I guess.. for Amazon. I've found that some books, especially baking books are cheaper to buy online than at major bookstores in Singapore. Even after the delivery charges.

Beauty products too. I like a couple of brands my dermatologist suggest.. and it saves me about at least 30% - 40% to buy from Amazon than from the dermatologist. (By the way, the brand I like the most is PCA Skin. Their rejuvenating serum is very good!)

Some other stuff is usually cheaper on Amazon too.. like some specialty bakeware. Our Silpat and Microplane, for example (see this post for more information). These are available in some specialty baking stores in town for about 30% more than what we paid. Plus I don't have to drive halfway across the island to buy a baking sheet.. it gets delivered to me.

The Singapore Post vPost system makes shipping a lot cheaper for any purchases from US website.

Another website I like a lot is Taobao.com. I like it a lot a lot. It is really convenient to buy stuff from this Chinese website.. if you have a Chinese credit card and an address in China. What I do now that I moved back to Singapore is have them delivered to my friend and collect it from her whenever I visit.

Because of the trouble, I shop a lot less on Taobao now. But it is really a fantastic website. You can find all kinds of stuff on this website.. and the very effective ratings and payment system makes shopping a breeze. So far, I have been really satisfied with most of the things I've bought from Taobao.

A couple of websites my friends like a lot. I haven't really bought anything from these 2 websites.. but I have done lots of browsing. One is Esty.com - a website that sells everything handmade or vintage. The things people make for sale on this website! Some people are just so creative and artistic!

The other website is for everything branded - Netaporter.com. With the Euro and Pound so cheap now, it makes shopping on this UK website really worth it. A friend who regularly buys from this website says she gets her shoes at least 20% cheaper. That's really quite a bit for a 300 pounds pair of shoes!

What websites do you like to buy things from?