Here are some things I've bought via the internet.
First, the big stuff. My Miata, and before that my Isuzu pickup truck, both on eBay. There were so many high-resolution photos of each there was no way I couldn't see just what I was getting, and a one-month warranty on mechanical components and Paypal's protection against fraud made the purchases easy. I paid $2300 for the truck and drove it for five years before the camshaft snapped. I paid just over $2600 for the Miata, and I've had it for more than three years.
Next, medium-sized stuff. I bought my vintage 1972 Honda CL70 motorcycle on eBay for $900, and it's a beauty. I also bought on eBay a 1981 Honda CX500 for about $800. It was in perfect condition except for a squeaky speedometer cable, which I fixed with an application of graphite. I kept it for a year and sold it to pay my property taxes. I wish I still had it.
In 1978 I bought a pair of Quantum 3 loudspeakers by Infinity. I still have them. They're served well, needing only refoaming of the woofers because the rubber surrounds eventually disintegrated due to polutants in the air and a new midrange, the old one having been blown by a roommate who turned the volume on my amplifier all the way to 11 and then went shopping. And finally, my kitchen sink. I was talking to a co-worker one day, explaining eBay. "You can buy everything except the kitchen sink," I said, and searched kitchen sink. And there it was, my kitchen sink.
I bought my Canon Digital Rebel SLR camera used on eBay, and lenses and filters, a remote control, a flash, and a strap, and put it all in a case I picked up at the eBags site. On eBay I found replacements for the Canon mini-DV video recorder and Maxxum 35mm SLR film camera that had been stolen. I also picked up the room divider that rests in my living room. I found my laptop online, too, at NewEgg.
It's mostly, however, the small stuff that has been important. When I needed a new battery for my cell phone, instead of paying twenty-five bucks at the mall, I found it for $2.15 on eBay-- with free shipping! When one of the tabs on the phone's back cover wore down, making it necessary to hold it in place with Scotch tape, I found the correct replacement on Amazon for $7.95. When I bought my iPod three years ago I found a website that sells inexpensive accessories for portable devices and bought an armband, an external battery, and extra power cords and earrphones-- all for a pittance. Most recently I purchased the hand-held event counter pictured above. I use it for counting laps at the wellness center. It feels good in the hand, but I was unable to find one anywhere. It was so inexpensive-- $1.70 with free shipping-- that I bought one for my friend Rena, as well. It was ridiculously inexpensive. And when I read (on the internet, of course) how easy it was to make vanilla extract, I bought vanilla beans from Amazon. In all my years of shopping, in hundreds of grocery and specialty stores, I had never seen a vanilla bean.
I realize a lot of the things I've purchased have come from China or elsewhere in Asia-- but then so does most of the merchandise in the big box stores. I buy American when it makes sense-- but when that American-made adjustable wrench costs $79.95 and Harbor Freight Tools has a set of three for $14.99, it just doesn't make sense.
I've had no problem with the quality of goods made in China. I bought my 14.4-volt cordless drill more than a dozen years ago and it still works fine.If I were a carpenter I might spend a couple of hundred dollars for a DeWalt, but I use my drill only a few times per month, so spending so much money for a DeWalt drill that was probably also made in Asia also just wasn't logical-- especially since I bought mine for ten bucks with a battery.
I still like to browse bookstores and thrift shops, and I like to shop for groceries-- but when I can order groceries online I'm sure I will.
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