Shopping online: a blessing or a curse?

I love to shop online. The ease, the non-existent crowds, the way I get to browse without having any pants on. It’s heaven. But…is it really?

What brings me to question the holy grail of shopping online is a purchase that just arrived from Old Navy. I saw this cute shift dress that was a nice floral mustard print. It even had bell sleeves (a trend I was willing to ignore for a good mustard dress).

I was so excited when it arrived today. The excitement of the UPS man just dropping it off in front of the door. *inside squeals* I ripped it open as soon as I had it inside.

What I expected was vastly different from what arrived in that bag. I expected an adorable, floral, mustard fall dress that could be paired with booties. What I got was something akin to Mrs. Doubtfire’s dress. Not. A. Good. Look.

It’s so hard not only to find your size when looking online, but if you’re cheap like me, you don’t want to pay for shipping (with so many places offering free shipping it feels barbaric to make someone pay for shipping). But free shipping comes at a price. Usually that price is spending over a certain amount. Most of the time – easy.

HOWEVER if you’re also like me, you don’t want to part with your money that easily. I want to know if I order from a site and I don’t like it, I want to have the knowledge I could go in store and get a full refund (after a few mishaps with items not being received I don’t exactly trust Canada Post).

This really limits where I shop and spend my money! Maybe it’s just me being super picky. But I feel like I’m not alone.

Shopping online can be amazing, especially around Christmas time or if you need a gift to get here pronto but don’t have the time to shop for it yourself. Although scrolling for ages to find something you like or that isn’t sold out – honestly biggest pet peeve is if a place is showing an item but it’s all sold out.

What are your thoughts guys? Online shopping: love it or hate it? Also if you have any sites that you think I should check out, let me know! I’d love new stores for me to spend my hard earned ca$h at.