{"id":4866,"date":"2017-01-16T09:56:37","date_gmt":"2017-01-16T14:56:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.susanvogt.net\/blog\/?p=4866"},"modified":"2021-03-03T19:02:16","modified_gmt":"2021-03-04T00:02:16","slug":"365138-online-shopping-boxes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.susanvogt.net\/blog\/365138-online-shopping-boxes\/","title":{"rendered":"365+#138:\u00a0Online Shopping & Boxes\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>December 26 is celebrated as \u201cBoxing Day<\/a><\/strong><\/span>\u201d \u00a0in some countries. The name comes from the tradition that on the day after Christmas well-to-do families would give a box of money or presents to their servants or customers.<\/p>\n

<\/a>I remembered this as I was cleaning up after Christmas and\u00a0was struck by the extraordinary number of cardboard boxes we had accumulated \u2013 at least 20 large boxes, mostly from Amazon. (In our family\u2019s defense, most of our children live out of town so they bought things online and had them delivered to our house before Christmas.) The good news is that cardboard boxes are easy to break down and recycle. The bad news was the embarrassment of so many presents. (Well\u2026 the bulk of them were for the grand-kids so that\u2019s somewhat defendable.) I also started wondering about the pros and cons of online shopping which requires more packaging and transportation. Here\u2019s how I\u2019d sum it up.<\/p>\n

In Defense of Online Shopping<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. It can save time<\/strong> \u2013 although reading the many reviews in an effort to make a wise purchase can take a lot of time too.<\/li>\n
  2. It saves me<\/em> gas<\/strong> \u2013 although it shifts the gas expenditure to delivery trucks. Perhaps economy of scale can make this a plus.<\/li>\n
  3. Recyclable boxes<\/strong> – The cardboard boxes that items come in are recyclable. In fact, Amazon and Goodwill have partnered up to create a program called the Give Back Box<\/a><\/strong><\/span>. You fill an Amazon box with items you no longer need and Goodwill pays the shipping for your donation.<\/li>\n
  4. Creative Box Uses<\/strong> – Check out How to Reuse Boxes for DIY Home Crafts<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    In Defense of Buying Local:<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Direct, tangible contact with the product<\/strong> – You can touch, try on, and examine the merchandise to make sure it\u2019s what you want.<\/li>\n
    2. It supports local merchants<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
    3. Pre-cycling<\/strong> – Buying local requires less packaging and is therefore better for the environment<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Toss ups:<\/strong><\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Saving money –<\/strong>\u00a0Buying Online can save money by allowing comparisons and reading reviews. However, there can be shipping costs. Buying local can save money because you can see and handle what you are buying to make sure it\u2019s what you want. The base cost may be less. Often it\u2019s a toss-up.<\/li>\n
      2. Returns –<\/strong>\u00a0Sometimes returns are\u00a0easier online; sometimes it\u2019s easier to deal with a local merchant who wants your return business.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        \"\"<\/a>Seeking your experience and opinion \u2013 Online shopping is a relatively recent option in human history. I\u2019m curious as to how each of you weigh the pros and cons when making purchases. Please comment below.<\/p>\n

        Upon reflection, this certainly comes under the category of first world debates. It\u2019s sobering to remember that some people don\u2019t have the money to pay for necessities, much less gifts, whether online or local. Some of our neighbors on planet earth are hungry, living in dangerous places, fleeing war zones, living with addictions or family violence. Some don’t have the\u00a0luxury to debate the best way to spend or\u00a0save our discretionary money. Bottom line? Give a purchase to someone who doesn’t have a choice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        December 26 is celebrated as \u201cBoxing Day\u201d \u00a0in some countries. The name comes from the tradition that on the day after Christmas well-to-do families would give a box of money or presents to their servants or customers. I remembered this as I was cleaning up after Christmas and\u00a0was struck by the extraordinary number of cardboard […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[25,24,6],"class_list":["post-4866","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-days-365","tag-christmas","tag-money","tag-recycling"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.susanvogt.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4866","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.susanvogt.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.susanvogt.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.susanvogt.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.susanvogt.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4866"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.susanvogt.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4866\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7536,"href":"https:\/\/www.susanvogt.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4866\/revisions\/7536"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.susanvogt.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4866"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.susanvogt.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4866"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.susanvogt.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4866"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}