Under The Glass The world through my lenses

My World Tuesday

Roughly a year ago Walmart opened a Super Walmart in Leominster. Super Walmarts are ones that combine a department store along with a grocery store as well as a pharmacy. It's an interesting thing seeing where retail stores are going. Many are not making it and it seems that others are going strong. This past year has seen Walmart which is pictured here, a Walgreen's downtown and a CVS which is currently being built on the Leominster/Lunenburg town line.

With all these store you would think that I could go out and find what I need. My 8 month old son has outgrown his bath tub. This is one of the those that you place in a sink. So last week I went out on a quest to purchase a bath ring tub seat. These are seats that have suction cups that stick to the bottom of the tub. Until my son gets better at sitting on his own this is the best way to go. An easy task to find one I figured and why not we have a Super Walmart after all.

Well Super Walmart does not carry them. Next I figured I'd go to Baby's R US. I mean if anybody would have this item designed for a baby they would right? I mean that is the whole concept of the Baby's R Us Store , selling baby stuff. Of course I wasted my time again, they do not stock these items but I can order it online from their website I'm told. Next I go to Bed, Bath and Beyond only to find out the Beyond part of their name must mean beyond my reach. Another store that does not stock these, but lo and behold I may order it from their website. My last stop was at Target and as you can guess they have it online only.

This really gets under my skin. I research my purchases before making them. Going into a store I know what I want. Price for the most part does not bother me. When I decide I want something I want it yesterday. Might not be the best approach to shopping but that is the way I roll. I hate nothing more than being told we don't stock that item, you need to purchase it over the web. When it comes right down to it if I need to purchase it from the web it is certainly not going to be from one of the local stores. I can guarantee that I can find a better price than the big box stores online. If it needs to be shipped and I can not satisfy my need to get it yesterday you can be sure I will find the best deal out there and wait it out.

I'm fortunate to have a tax refund this year. I decided to do my part and stimulate the economy. I got to thinking though, why waste all my gas driving to these stores only to be told that I can only order things online?

Instead of buying my new Nikon D90 body at circuit city I ordered it from a well known company in New York. Best thing about it? It was $150 cheaper delivered than the 20% off going out of business sale that CC had. It was at my doorstep within 24 hours of placing my order.

I bought a plasma TV roughly 6 years ago when they were incredibly expensive. It's probably run the 10,000 hours they claim it will last so I'm okay with needing to replace it. Again didn't feel like driving to Best Buy only to be told that I would have to order my new TV online. I skipped that step and ordered it from where I work. This worked out good because I got to use my employee discount.

Well a new TV means I need HDMI cables as well as a new surround sound system. See I told you I was doing my part to stimulate the economy. Did my home work again and got the cables dirt cheap. Even got a good savings on the sound system.

Oh and I almost forgot, bought a new printer to print those nice photos my D90 is capable of.

To sum it all up savings by shopping online rather than local retail stores ...

Camera ~ $100 savings
TV ~ $700 savings ( I mentioned I got a employee discount on this. My discount was $250)
Cables ~ $125 savings
Surround sound ~ $75 savings
Printer ~ $50 savings
Bath ring tub seat ~ Haven't gotten this yet. Might be time to teach my son how to swim

All in all I saved $1050 by shopping online. It's a global economy now and these chain retail stores need to adapt. I don't mind paying more money for something that I can get my hands on immediately. If you make me go online to find it chances are I will find it somewhere else much cheaper. The way we do business is changing in front of our eyes. It wouldn't surprise me to see more and more items only available online.

To see the world through others eyes, visit That’s my World, a weekly meme sharing photos and impressions of all the world seen through the participants’ eyes.