What I dislike about online shopping:

* It feels anti-social. I much prefer dealing with people than machines as my first point of contact. It's one reason why I prefer TakaraTOMY's customer service over Hasbro's... when I call Hasbro, I usually get their answering machine where I leave a message and typically never get a call back. When I call TakaraTOMY's call centre, my call is always answered by an operator and my issue is promptly dealt with. Real life shopping is a social experience, and online shopping, to me, removes that social element of direct interpersonal contact.

* I'm not a patient person. When I purchase a toy, I want to play with it straight away. Sometimes I carry my Toy Emancipation Kit(TM) with me if I'm anticipating to make a purchase at a store (if not, I open the toy as soon as I get home). The idea of purchasing a toy, and then having to freakin' wait for the toy to get delivered drives me bonkers. Whenever I order a toy from Amazon I find myself constantly checking the shipping status wondering, "Is it here yet? Is it here yet? Is it here yet? Is it here yet? Is it here yet? Is it here yet? Is it here yet?!?"

* I can inspect the condition of the toy and its packaging first hand when purchasing from an actual store. I also find it a lot easier and faster to do an exchange/refund with a faulty toy that's store bought, whereas I'm more reluctant if it's online bought. For example, my AoE Slug had a dodgy elbow, so within 24 hours I'd brought it back to the store where I bought it from and exchanged it for another. My online bought Generations Springer doesn't lock in flush in car mode -- a relatively minor flaw, but if it were store-bought I'd most likely exchange it. But being online bought, I'm ceebs to jump through the hoops to send the toy back and then wait again for a replacement to be sent! (waiting for the toy the first time was excruciating enough! )

* And yeah, I'll admit it, it's habitual. I've been collecting Transformers since 1984, and almost all of my collection is store-bought.

Quote Originally Posted by kup View Post
To me it's a saviour as the options for us are very limited in this country.
The deteriorating retail options here is driving me bonkers, and even forcing die-hard store shoppers like me to ever increase my online shopping. Which I just hate. Online shopping for me is something I do out of "necessity" rather than choice (i.e. when the toy is unavailable locally). I do appreciate your point -- and it's true that online shopping gives us an alternative option when local retail fails us... but it's not an option that I prefer, and only one that I take if I feel that I "have" to. If Hasbro Australia were able to release more stuff here, I'd most gladly buy it all locally.