I, for one, have become quite the avid online shopper. And there are plenty of others like me. I only go to the mall as a last resort. Most of the clothes that I buy are from stand alone stores (except for one). But for baby gifts, housewarming gifts, dinner party thank you gifts, birthdays, skin care products etc etc, I buy online. According to the US Commerce Dept., US ecommerce sales totalled an estimate of $194.3 billion in 2011, up 16.1% from $167.3 billion in 2010. Now, the US government, being the US government and always looking for new ways to tax its populace, has for years been trying to tax online sales from companies that do not have brick and mortar stores. It’s once again being mulled over in congress. I look at it this way. If I go to a store in NY and buy something, are they going to be responsible for charging Georgia sales tax? I don’t think so. But that’s not what this blog is about. It’s about the BEST online shopping sites for you to peruse but not abuse. The Huffington Puffington Post had a list put together of sites they found “stand out from the crowd”. I’ll give you that list at the end. But first…my list! Read more…
Myhabit.com: This site is affiliated with Amazon.com. Since I am a Prime Member (cost $79 per year) that offers free two day shipping on almost all products, including orders from this site, the free shipping is a real winner. If you want to check out the other benefits of Prime, go to Amazon.com. MYHABIT’s time line is usually 9am PST or 12N EST. They send you an email to tease you about what’s available. Stuff is very limited so you really need to get on at the appropriate time. They even carry vintage Chanel…sells out in seconds. The sale times are limited.
Joyus.com: This is a cool site. They pick the products out there that are hot, have someone at the company do a video about the product, the beauty of it, how to wear it, use it, what celeb has it etc. Then offers you the product at a great price.
Onekingslane.com: Stuff for the house. I love this site because of the wide range of products from furniture, to pillows, to kids stuff, to the garden.
Hautelook.com: A Nordstrom’s company. Very much like MYHABIT. Has a time limit on sales’ events. Also limited availability.
Ruelala.com: Much like Haute and MYHABIT. This is the first site I used and got hooked on this type of shopping.
Jossandmain.com: Home furnishings with all of the good things to fill your shelves, your backyard, and your kitchen.
Portero.com: Pre-owned LUXURY items, handbags, watches, jewelry etc. May be $1000’s of dollars but if you’re looking for that one special thing…
And here is a list of other sites that might entice you to open that vintage Chanel wallet you just purchased:
local.amazon.com and groupon.com: Get local deals but Groupon is now doing travel. For both, you simply go to their site, tell them where you’re located and the deals roll in. Massages, facials, trips to Cancun, golf, food, you name it, they’ve got it. I’ve used both numerous times.
Renttherunway.com: Need a special something for a big wedding or special party to get all dolled up? Beautiful dresses and ensembles you can rent.
Zappos.com: Another Amazon company for shoes and apparel.
And here is the list from The Huffington Puffington Post:
ASOS.com (UK online retailer)
NastyGal.com
MrPorter.com
Singer22.com
Otteny.com
ModCloth.com
Fitiquette.com
Shoptiques.com
Kristin Bowen says
Great list Linda! I have sold my PlaceTile Designs products on at least 3 of these sites and I am a shopping member of just about all of them (yikes!). FYI, my understanding is that the government is only going to require sales tax to be charged across the country for those online retailers that do $1 million or more in sales annually. Thankfully at http://www.placetile.com we don’t have to charge you tax unless you live in GA.