Korean Job Discussion Forums

[coffeeman]

Yes! I admit it. I am addicted to Ebay. I check out the site daily for those hard-to-find things and bargains. I get a thrill out of bidding on things and am actually happy when I lose because this habit is costing me too much!

So, I am curious about the people on Dave's. Are you addicted to auctions or on-line shopping? They make it so easy to spend your money now. All you have to do is click your mouse.

[JongnoGuru]

I clicked the third option, though I'm not sure the wording is an accurate description of me. There are work- & hobby-related online shops that I will browse even when I'm not looking to buy something at the moment. But just "browsing the shelves" as it were, no, that's not me. I'm the furthest thing from a window-shopper in the brick & mortar retail world as well. Browsing the department stores with empty pockets? That's girl-stuff, isn't it?

Anyway Coffeeman, how much are you spending and on what? Since you're this big addict of online shopping, it should be a snap to cut & paste a few months of your excesses here for all of us to peruse and snicker at. I know I'd do it if I were you. So come on, show us what you bought. Right here, right now.

[coffeeman]

95% of the time, my shopping is for cds, records and dvd movies. There are a lot of bargains on these on Ebay, but the shipping charges are what often add up to a fortune if you're buying 3 ~ 4 cds a month. You have to pay $5 typically to have one cd sent to you. I can't be bothered going to cd shops anymore - even at home. Takes too much time and there's no guarantee they'll have what I want.

Last month I got a bargain, a brand-new Levis jean jacket for $24.99 + $13.00 shipping to Korea. $38 for a new jean jacket. Not bad, eh?

[JongnoGuru]

So this "addiction" is costing you less than 100,000 won/month? Hardly deserving of the name. I've known expats here with homesickness-induced international phone bills that averaged well over 400,000 won/month (in the days before pennies-per-minute rates, obviously) and others with ... well, let's just say they kept a few Itaewon bars in business.

I was expecting something better from you, Coffeeman. I'm rather disappointed. Perhaps others can cheer me up.

[spark05]

I'm not that into auctions, but I do a lot of online shopping. Some weeks I receive packages everyday. Once you know how much things cost online, it seems like a waste of money to pay more to buy them in the store. Also I buy side dishes (����) and fruit online. It's cheaper and more convenient to shop online for a lot of things.

I was big into online shopping back in the States as well and here delivery is so much cheaper and faster - it's great!

[HapKi]

I was addicted to ebay for awhile. What did I shop for, you ask? Well, I collected Absolut Vodka ads for the longest time, and believe me when I tell you, there is quite a collecters' network out there. Also, Picasso lithographs and Keith Haring sketches. My Paypal account has expired, plus shipping to Korea became annoying on my end, discouraged on the sellers' end. If I buy anything now, I have it shipped to my parents.

[HapKi]

My Korean wife, however, goes on-line for the much needed items. Sofa bed, coat rack, crib, dresser, diapers, cat food--the list is endless.

[coffeeman]

[tzechuk]

My husband is always very busy, so most of the time I go shopping with Letty alone. Well, she is bigger now, and shopping isn't as fun as it once were..

So I shop online a lot. It's just a lot less hassling for me. I like getting things delivered... especially things like nappies and fruits and heavy things that I won't be able to carry anyway.

The one thing I probably will rarely (but not never) buy online is cosmetics - even at department store prices here in SK. I just like the feel good factor you get at the counters.. yeah call me a snob but I like it.

BTW, I clicked I am addicted. I spend around 500k to 1m a month on internet shopping........ depending on what I have to buy.

[Dawn]

Approximately half my monthly spending goes toward online purchases. I've never been overly fond of shopping in stores and stores in Korea have a unique ability to drive me absolutely stark-raving mad.

Take, for instance, my recent attempt to buy a replacement filter for my air purifier. Should have been a simple matter of going to the store, specifying the model, and getting a filter, right? Not so. Turns out that while pretty much every store in town stocks my air purifier, none of them stock filters. Those have to be ordered directly from the manufacturer (and sell for more than 60 percent of a new machine, no less). Of course, getting the information needed to order said filter required spending an hour and a half at E-mart's after-service counter.

Online shopping is so much simpler. Compare prices, click, order, and wait for goods to be delivered. I now buy three fourths of my clothes online, at least half my groceries, and all sorts of "fun" stuff (books, movies, puzzles, music, etc.).

[Bulsajo]

For those who are addicted, what's the craziest/stupidest/most expensive/most disappointing thing (any or all of the former) you've bought online?

I'm not a a big online shopper and certainly not an addict... but-
back before Amazon.kr and What the Book ('99?) I ordered a book online from Amazon.com and had it shipped to Korea.

I think it came to about $20 USD including shipping, which- given the selection and prices at Kyobo- seemed entirely reasonable at the time.
It took at least 3-4 weeks, I can't remember exactly.

When it arrived I brought it to the next Seoul computer Club meeting at the USO to show some buddies.

"Check it out, I just got Neal Stephenson's 'In the Beginning was the Command Line' from Amazon.com!"
Their reaction was not what I had anticipated.
There was a long pause, and then one of them said "you didn't know you could download that for free off of the internet?"

[HapKi]

-a bunch of plastic eggs filled with chocolate and peppermint patties.
-Cadbury eggs (but the way, if anyone knows a source for these, please let me know)
-an Easter basket filled with green straw.
-3 chocolate bunnies
Estimated Price: $15.00

Shipping from the United States: $32.00

Knowing That My Parents Love Me: Priceless

[coffeeman]

I love Amazon.com, but don't like their international shipping charges. They charge a hefy handling fee plus postage. Here are Amazon's shipping fees copied from their website.

CDs, DVDs, music cassettes, VHS videotapes, vinyl $3.99 (Per Shipment )+ $2.49 (Per Item ) ,
Books* $6.99 (Per Shipment )+ $4.99 (Per Item )

That's $12 to have a book shipped here. Fine if you're buying a huge art or computer book, ridiculous if you're ordering a small paperback.

For this reason, I prefer to shop on Ebay. The sellers will often charge you by weight and some will agree to send it cheap by sea mail. By the way, I think people exaggerate about the delivery times for sea mail. They say it takes 2 months. Well, I've found it to usually take 4 ~ 6 weeks. Still, if you're in a hurry, air mial is the way to go.

[coffeeman]

[canuckistan]

I only buy stuff online if it's much cheaper than buying it in the store. Just bought 24 aquarium filters for $18. They'd be $3.99 a piece if I went to Petsmart to buy them.