Money Management Newsletter

Holiday Series

Mail Order Shopping Can Save Time and Money

Dr. Jo Turner, Professor

Family and Consumer Economics

Many Floridians have begun to think about their Christmas gift list and are wishing they could find an easy way to shop.  For the growing number of families in which all adults are employed, catalog shopping is a convenient way to accrue extra leisure time.  Simple changes in shopping habits can provide savings, decrease driving and shopping time, and help you compare prices and products.

Well-designed, mail order catalogs offer excellent product information, including pictures, descriptions, and prices used in making comparisons and decisions.  These can be pursued at your leisure.

Shopping at home is becoming a popular time and energy saver.  With increasing demands on time, more consumers are trying to save time and energy as well as cut expenses and mail-order shoppers are finding that it makes good sense to purchase and have items delivered to the home.

A mail-order catalog is an ideal salesman that is available on call and is never rude to the customer.  Toll-free telephone numbers and the use of credit cards, have combined with computerized inventory systems, to make today's catalog ordering simpler and more efficient.

If you plan to shop by mail this holiday season, now is the time to make decisions.  Deliveries on mail orders may take as many as 30 days and in some cases more time.  To avoid disappointments, do your mail-order shopping early.

When ordering by mail, remember to buy from reputable companies and to shop as carefully as you would in the seller's place of business.  Be sure to correctly give all the order information needed and keep a copy of the order form for future reference.

You can also use the telephone to shop at home by locating needed items and comparing that information, to information found in a catalog.  You can often find the best buy with no unnecessary time and gasoline expenditure.

Some businesses offer telephone shopping with free or low-cost deliveries, as well as mail-order shopping.  A few stores offer a personal shopping service in which you call the store, describe the item you want and a store employee shops for you.  If you are a charge customer, the item can be charged to your account and sent to you on approval.