Danielle, 26, from Newcastle, likes shopping online because of the lack of pressure from sales assistants, and the convenience of being able to shop at any hour of the day.

“I can do it whenever I want – and I’m not limited to store hours,” Danielle says, and she’s not wrong.

Never has it been so painless to buy Manolo Blahnik’s from New York City, care of the likes of Neiman Marcus or Nordstrom, or Australian fashion labels including Sass & Bide or Alice McCall via Mycatwalk.com.au.

The Vogue forum has thousands of posts from its members dedicated to online shopping, and just recently Jyesmith.com posted an entry divulging the sensational Retailmenot.com, complete with discount codes for around 15,000 online stores, including Victoria’s Secret, Domino’s Pizza, and Magshop.com.au.

Annik, 22, of Sydney, also likes the convenience of shopping online, and frequents sites such as dymocks.com.au, sanity.com.au, and contactlenseshop.com.au. That’s correct, contact lenses.

“It’s cheaper to buy them online,” she states.

If you want beautiful stationary, try Australian site Littlebirdblue.com.au, run by the fabulous Kylie Wakely, who does everything from birthday cards to wedding invitations, or P.S. Pearl Stationary’s shop on Etsy.com, who will ship to Australia – just send her a message.

Lulu, 23, of Bathurst, isn’t so keen on shopping online, because she likes to try clothes on before she buys, and she’s one of the few who still enjoys browsing through shops. Admittedly, she has bought make-up online, but only after first trying it out in the flesh. Another shopper who is not so keen to purchase online is Kellie, 28, from Darwin, but because of the “now factor – and having to wait.” Kellie is also a little “dubious” of online shops without PayPal, and she raises a valid point.

PayPal increases the ease of transactions internationally, allowing its customers to send and receive money in a total of 18 currencies worldwide. It also protects buyers, to a certain level – but it’s not fool-proof, with a number of users complaining about the rigmarole in obtaining a refund on dodgy purchases.

Never fear, the Vogue forum is to the rescue again – with members naming and shaming corrupt websites, or shoddy sellers on eBay. If that wasn’t enough, all buyers and sellers receive “feedback” every time they buy/sell an item, which is scored out of 100%.

Pam, 29, also of Darwin, loves Strawberry.net for cosmetics, and Steve Grace via eBay for day, corporate, and glamour wear.

Danielle from Newcastle adds that a big part of online shopping is that she can “covet items that (she) otherwise wouldn’t feel comfortable looking at… as (she) wouldn’t want to waste the attendant's time.” If you’re after Chanel pre-loved bags in top condition, her suggestion is to look at Malleries.com, and her secret love? The Tiffany & Co. website, much to the worry of her husband.

“You can indulge in fantasies…. Entertaining the ‘what if I win lottery’ thought,” Danielle says.

 Now isn’t that something that we all dream of…

 Other sites of mention include:

www.frockyou.com.au – Bargains are added almost daily to the sale rack!

www.shopbop.com – Juicy Couture, Vera Wang Lavender, Zimmerman, plus many more…

www.net-a-porter.com – Another American site, which is currently having a 20% of Summer stock! Another perk of shopping online – when Australia is going into summer, the USA is going in to winter and trying to get rid of ‘old’ stock.

www.bloomingdales.com – Again, another U.S. website having sales to get rid of summer stock.

www.thepetloo.com – Perfect for those in apartments – it’s your “backyard in a box.”

www.seewantbuy.com and www.catchoftheday.com.au for top bargains here in Australia.

www.bendigowoollenmills.com.au and www.woolshack.com.au for all things yarn!

www.myus.com or www.shopaholiques.com if you need a parcel forwarded from an online store that doesn’t ship to Australia.

Image by liewcf licenced by Creative Commons