Tired of circling around shopping mall parking lots and dealing with disgruntled, overwhelmed checkout clerks? Avoid Jack Frost and long lines, and join the rest of the World Wide Web.
Shopping online is fast, easy and pretty mindless. Specific sizes can be chosen in rapid scroll down option bars, and packaging, gift-wrap and delivery can all be handled in a short order form.Although buying gift certificates from Amazon.com always seems like a great gift idea, the following are a few exciting e-shops to surf by if you can spare a few extra mouse minutes to select a present.
Reflect.com
Reflect.com might be one of the coolest beauty shops in cyberspace. This site designs perfumes, cosmetics and toiletries that are made especially for the person the product is intended for. The gift giver needs to simply answers a series of questions about the person and her likes, dislikes and needs, and the site identifies a formula that is just right for them. The products are so personalized, they even come with the person’s name on it.
The site sells personalized make-up, creams and moisturizers, fragrances, shampoos and even body washes. While filling out the personalizing questionnaire, the shopper gets to pick the product’s packaging shape, color and text, like do you prefer your shampoo bottle to be squeezable or pump style?
But the best part may be that shipping is free, and if the person isn’t satisfied with the product, don’t send it back – the site will let you try again until they get it right.
Common products like shampoos are about $15 and fragrances are about $40.
Bluefly.com
Outlet shopping always seems like a bargain but a pain to get to, but now you only need to a ride on your hard drive to get to an outlet mall. Bluefly.com is one of the first online outlets that offers name brand and quality clothing and products for nearly half the price of their MSRPs.
Bluefly offers clothing, accessories and gifts for the home. Their gift catalogue is organized by price, and there are dozens of impressive items to choose from, like the men’s and women’s Cullen cashmere turtlenecks and V-necks that start at $99.
Phatstart.com
Got any fresh, funky friends whom you have trouble shopping for? Are they a little too trendy for the run of the mill mall? Check out Phatstart.com. It may say it’s a teen website, but the shirts are ultra hip, and some of the items are hard to find. Cartoon collectibles, Power Puff Girl posters and Strawberry Shortcake shirts are just some of the great finds at this site. All the tees run for about $15, and they come in hard to find sizes like XXL.
After shopping online, you may never go back to a mall in December again. In fact, it might be better for your health. Americans gain an average of eight to 12 pounds over the holidays, so avoiding the tantalizing and tempting scents of Cinnabon and Krispy Kreme emanating from the food court may not be such a bad thing after all.