Things You Can Only Get Mail-Order?

[Peacock]

Every now and then I develop an interest in something unusual - say, gourmet teas, or a special kind of craft supply, and I can't think of anyplace around here I could possibly buy it. I live near 2 good-sized cities so it's not like I'm lacking in retail outlets even for specialty items, but sometimes it seems that there are things that just can't be found -- or if they are available someplace I would have no idea where to look. Or else driving there would be cost- or time-prohibitive. For example we have a store called Jungle Jim's that sells just about any kind of food you could imagine, including international and ethnic, but it'd take me 1.5 hours to get there. Another example is Lehman's - I could drive there and get some of the cool stuff they sell, but Kidron, OH is about 5 hours away.

What are some of the things you've bought recently, or buy regularly, or want to buy . . . that you have to get online or mail-order?

Just curious!

[SFM in KY]

I do a lot of on-line buying, partly because of vision problems ... can't drive so have to be a passenger and if I don't know where it is in a store, I may overlook it unless I can find an employee to help, which isn't always possible.

The town where I do the majority of my shopping isn't all that diversified so many of the things I want/need are not available to me "locally" ... Lexington would be the nearest city to find it and would require a full day trip which is, basically, more trouble than it would be worth.

Most of my livestock and pet supplies. A few of the basics at the local feed store, but for the most part online or catalog ordering is more convenient and cheaper.

All of my art supplies I buy on line, including most of my mats and frames. No artists' supplies available locally at all and the one framing shop is expensive and only one person can cut mats and he is often not there.

All of my books. No good used book stores, only new book store is more expensive than on-line ordering, even with shipping costs and they don't carry any of the magazines I like. I do occasionally pick up magazines when I go to Tractor Supply ... farm/ranch/horse/dog oriented magazines.

More of my clothing and shoes. I tend to be hard to fit with some things, especially shoes. I now know exactly what size I wear in a particular brand of shoe so I tend to order on line rather than try to find them locally.

I don't really enjoy shopping for anything except books and art supplies anyway so I find it much easier to type in what I'm looking for in a search engine and find it that way. I grew up doing a lot of shopping from catalogs so I suppose in a way, I'm just transferring my catalog buying habits over to the Internet now.

I guess, thinking about it, we don't do much shopping in local stores at all except for groceries and otherwise, if we can't get it at the feed store or the local hardware store in the nearest small town, we order it from a catalog or on line.

[HermitJohn]

Lets see, if Aldis, Autozone, Lowes, Wallyworld, or Tractor Supply doesnt have it, then its mailorder only. The medium size local independents are gone. The tiny boutique type stores tend to have to special order stuff anyway since they cant stock much due to space and finances. So whats the point adding another middleman, just order it myself. And frankly I can usually beat even the big box store prices via mail order if shipping isnt outrageous. And will do that if at all practical, hate walking miles looking for something in those big box stores.

[Horseyrider]

I just ordered a case of Mrs Meyer's laundry detergent and a case of her fabric softener. I love the way it cleans, and the fragrance is exceptional (lemon verbena). I can get it at Whole Foods but that means a drive of over an hour, and I never come out of there with less than $200 worth of stuff. So now I order it from Amazon. I found a bunch of her counter cleaner at TJ Maxx and bought every bottle they had. When that runs out, I'm sure I'll mailorder it.

I also mailorder certain flours and sugars from King Arthur Flour. The big crystals are so pretty on baked goods.

I mailorder some tack, but I've pretty much got everything I need so I don't tack shop much anymore.

Lehman's. What more do I need to say?

Books. Amazon. Yep. Yet I love to go to a real bookstore and browse. I often come out with books I didn't know I needed.

I just got a new Siberian down comforter from Amazon. Before I hit the "Buy It" button I checked around a few major department stores to see if they could compete. No dice.

There are lots of things, such as clothing and shoes, that I don't buy online. I have to try them on, inspect the quality and workmanship, etc.

[GeorgiaGirl]

My family drinks a lot of hot tea. My favorite online store is Teavana. They have wonderful teas!
Also buy vitamins mail order. I take Garden of Life products and found out that they are half the price through the mail verses buying at my health food store, Earthfare and paying double. And that's free shipping also.

Practically all of my books. Gainesville is a university town so no lack of bookstores, but my tastes are so esoteric that except for fiction I mostly have to mail order the books that I want.

Winter wear. Plenty of places carry Cahartts around here, but they never seem to have either the size or the particular style we are looking for.

Grain mills are not something I order often, but when I want one it's got to be mail order because I don't know of any place in Florida that carries more than one type.

Some storage foods. Most of what we use we can get more or less local but there are a few things it just has to be mail ordered. I try to keep those very limited, but there are a few things.

Christmas gifts. I could get more of them local than I do but I hate Christmas shopping.

[Our Little Farm]

I order books, smart wool socks (once a year), Christmas presents and bulk supplies such as 25lb of organic popcorn, barley, cornmeal and so on.

[fordy]

...................I use those Stimudents , little toothpicks previously made by J&J , then they sold that product in 2008 so I ordered a large supply from Amazon and I'm almost , out ! But , I finally located the company who is mfging them currently and they're available at Walgreens , thank goodness . , fordy:banana02:

[fordy]

................If anyone needs GM parts for their GM vehicle....gmpartsdirect.com
is an excellent source of OEM parts at much better prices than you would be charged at a gm dealership . , fordy

[Harry Chickpea]

Vitamins and supplements, fer sure. Save a ton of money using vitacost and other sites. Books. Assorted parts.

[hippygirl]

Jewelry making supplies (silver sheet, wire, tools, etc) - there is no walk-in shop anywhere within reasonable driving distance that carries anything other than what I consider as "get your feet wet" beginner's supplies.

Soapmaking supplies - bulk oils, bulk EO/FOs, lye...forget about it locally.

Electronic parts (I'm a tinker-er...what can I say!) - Ratshack is a joke and there are no other electronic "parts" stores around here anymore, so 99.9% of anything I need has to be ordered.

Pretty much everything I need for any of my hobbies.

[sheepish]

I order library books (yes, our library ships free to country folks) also purchased books, green coffee, yarn and specialized spinning fibres, sheep supplies (medicines, tags, etc.)

[TJN66]

Same here. I look at the store to see if its what I want then order it online for cheaper usually. I am a huge penny pincher. But it saves us money in the long run. Whatever works right?

[Loriann1971]

This Christmas I have done most of my shopping online. As a bonus, I was able to save money through online rebate programs, but the real reason I did it is because with a 1 year old and a 2 year old, going shopping is just too hard.

Through the year I do order used books on amazon a lot and shop for odds and ends on ebay.

[Txrider]

Parts for my '54 dodge Army truck.

Any part on it is available, as the army sold off all the parts when they sold off all the trucks, but the folks who bought em by the train car load are not even in my state, much less close. Well except one old guy about 300 miles away who has some.

Couldn't have rebuilt/restored the whole truck without it.

Parts for my old Farmall tractor as well, Got an engine rebuild kit for under $500 and nobody anywhere close I know of would sell one.

[LisaInN.Idaho]

I just had to mail order 2.5 pounds of dutch processed Callebaut cocoa powder. There is NO place around here to get that kind of thing. I also order most of my spices.

[CherieOH]

Amazon was my first choice for online shopping (especially for toys for the grandkids) until this year. Their prices fluctuate almost daily and I have found them to be more than double what they are in local stores now. Even the books I wanted were higher than our local book stores. So I did most of my Christmas shopping in stores this year. I much prefer the convenience of online shopping, but I'm not going to pay more just for the convenience. And supporting your local merchants helps keep them in business, so it was worth it. Vitamins online are still a good deal though--cheaper and better quality.

[KnowOneSpecial]

I've done a ton of shopping on line this year. Free shipping and good deals are what has made the difference. That and we live 40 minutes from the nearest mall and a good hour from a decent mall.

[SFM in KY]

I get really frustrated when I have to buy just one mat for one of my drawings/paintings that turns out not to be a standard size. I end up doing that locally and I get irritated every time.

If I get them on line, I can get a 11 x 14 double mat for around $8.00 but shipping is $8.50. At the local frame shop, the same 11 x 14 double mat is $13.00 and if it is a trip to town just for the mat, gas adds another $6.00.

If I order half a dozen or more at a time online it is definitely less expensive and I don't have the hassle of a trip to town. But if I have to do one single mat for a commission, if I have a deadline or if it is something I have to match colors for, then I have to go local. If I don't have a deadline and/or combine it with a scheduled town trip, I'd rather pay the extra to the online seller and have it delivered to my door.

[cc]

I mail ordered spices, ammo, books, extra tall winter clothing and a pair of winter boots for DH, a extra short winter coverall for me, a stuffed toy skunk, zippers, and a pocket templet on-line in the past month! Yes, I do order a bunch of things on line. I get a lot of stuff off of the barter board here too. In TN we have almost 10% sales tax so when I can save that it is a big help and even though most stuff I buy has free shipping the savings on sales tax savings covers helps off set it.