Monday, November 28, 2016

Shy-ber Monday

I make it a point to avoid the 'Black Friday' orgy of consumption like the plague... I've never been that materialistic to begin with, and the idea of joining a scrum and trampling some poor $8/hour retail serf into pulp to get a flatscreen television is utterly repulsive. Same thing with this whole Cyber Monday thing... I prefer brick-and-mortar stores to purchasing online. I work for an organization which depends on visitors' dollars, so I make it a point to have a cashier ring my purchases up- my motto is 'the job you save just might be your own'.

I'm not saying I've never purchased anything from Amazon- all of the independent bookstores within fifty miles of me, with the exception of The Strand, have pretty much gone the way of the dodo, though there is still a really neat independent bookstore in Hastings-on-Hudson, not too far from a funky falafel shack. I miss the slightly grotty used book dens where a patient biblio-hunter could track down weird Science Fiction or Fantasy paperbacks which cost less than a buck. I typically have to wait until I visit mom's house to get my used paperback fix. Every so often, I will break down and use Amazon to find a particular obscure item that I absolutely must have.

Listening to the news radio coverage of Cyber Monday, I was struck by the reporting about possible security threats to online shoppers. While I wouldn't consider myself a Luddite (a ridiculous assertion by a blogger), I do admit to being a little squirrely about using credit cards online... on those rare occasions on which I purchase something over the intert00bz, I tend to use prepaid gift-cards purchased at a brick-and-mortar store. I'm a little cybershy when it comes to purchasing things- I want to deal with a cashier even when I succumb to the e-commerce siren.

4 comments:

zombie rotten mcdonald said...

I did go shopping on Friday- to the hardware store for a replacement diverter valve core. biggish crowd, no insanity. Plumbing was preferable though....

mikey said...

I am a 100% full on convert to online shopping. Infinite selection, good prices and I never have to leave mikeyHQ. Then, a day or two later, stuff shows up at my door. Now that you can easily and affordably buy stuff like toothpaste and toilet paper and loctite and lightbulbs and underpants online, it's like a dream come true.

So, Mr. Bastard, as someone with a professional background in cyber security, let me make a suggestion. Apply for a separate credit card. Never put it in your wallet - only use it for online purchases. If something bad happens, none of your other shit is compromised and managing the fraud process against that one single card is simple.

ifthethunderdontgetya™³²®© said...

I think we went to Food Lion in Berkeley Springs on Monday for groceries.

Wasn't particularly crowded, the Thanksgiving crowd had already left town.
~

Emma said...

The Glass Harmonica, all right.

I have a dedicated online credit card with a $2000 max limit, I hate myself.