Ordering food and clothes online

RoyceSraphim

I've never really been big into shopping for stuff online. I dragged my feet with digital games and Newegg, and haven't branched out beyond those. However, college being what it is, I'm trying my options to see if I can get clothing and food cheaper through online sources rather than at my local stores. Furthermore, the farmers markets don't open till late spring so there's no loss of social justice to do it this way.

So, I need oatmeal, flour, and cheap canned foods (sauces, fruits, vegetables).
I also need a replacement backpack and a new set of street clothing and several pairs of jeans to destroy through hard, manly labor.

But, I don't know where to shop for these and not get burned or a box full of food infused with Chinese Lead.

Please advise me!

Wassermelone

Without an idea of what style you like to wear and your budget, it would be hard to recommend online clothing retailers.

But considering you mentioned cheaper, this has been a good resource for me because I really only ever buy stuff on sale and don't have the bandwidth to track every shop.
http://www.reddit.com/r/frugalmalefashion

RoyceSraphim

Thank you

Cambiata

For clothes I recommend Zappos.com. They always ship free and have free returns for up to a year after ordering, allowing you to order several sizes to make sure you get the pair of jeans (or whatever) in the right size. Good customer service too.

As far as food I don't shop for food often online so I can't answer with the 'best' place, but sometimes I make food purchase via Amazon.com marketplace and have never had an issue (I also shop specific brands I can't find locally though, so that might make a difference)

Gafoto

Thrift stores are the obvious place to shop for clothing. If you have more time than money they're an especially good choice. I routinely find pants and shirts at a 80+% discount that are in excellent shape. If you are patient you can usually find good brands and good fits. The only exception might be for denim. Never seen a good pair of jeans at my thrift stores. On the other hand I just bought a literally brand new pair of Patagonia pants for 8 bucks. With the 55 dollar price tag still attached from the original retailer.

Buying clothing online in my opinion is not a super great idea because you just can't try things on. The added cost of shipping usually outweighs the savings except for more expensive items.

My preferred method for saving on food is just buying sale items and shopping for bulk items whenever possible. Retailers like WinCo and Costco can be worthwhile if they're convenient for you. Stock up when sales happen, especially if it's a good sale and the items you're buying won't go bad for a while.

Cambiata

Gafoto wrote: »

Buying clothing online in my opinion is not a super great idea because you just can't try things on. The added cost of shipping usually outweighs the savings except for more expensive items.

This is why I like Zappos, though. No shipping cost (only tax) and no cost to ship back, because zappos gives you a shipping label (of course this does require that you have a printer at least). If you're not sure what size you are in those cool looking sale jeans you find on the site, order 3 pair, keep the one you like, send other two back free of charge. Or send all three back free of charge if you don't like any of them.

Gizzy

Yessss I love zappos
I buy all of my shoes through them

Horus

Seems you are looking for basic clothes and not dressing up, I recommend going with ebates.com to get some money back through their sites. In addition what I do is buy the same item in various sizes and what doesn't fit or like I return them to the store. So make sure if you want to return something make sure there is a local store. Overall I find better deals online than stores.

streever

Amazon does good for me by bulk goods for food.

zepherin

amazon also has an auto-reorder which sends me toilet paper, dog food, razor blades and deodorant every few months. That has been very convenient.