Welcome to the new economy

Lately, I can't find stuff I want to buy in stores. It isn't there. Lately, for the past year or so, I am buying more and more of the things I want, and need, online.

Even Walmart does not have my desired stuff in stock in their store, even though they list it for sale on their site. I have had to buy the shoes I want online, even though they are replacements for the same exact shoes I bought a couple of months ago - at Walmart. And, no, I am not a weird shoe size, I am a size 8. And, worse, when I decided to buy yet another pair a few months after that, no one online or in stores - anywhere in the world - had them. These shoes fit me well and I liked them a lot. These shoes are now extinct.

Underwear? You would think that in Los Angeles, department stores would carry Jockey men's underwear. NOT. I went to 3-4 department stores and ended up buying the desired Jockey sport microfiber boxer briefs online. And, no, I am not a weird size, I wear a Large.

Yes, besides patterned ones, I got plain colors too: black, green. I now have 8 pairs, all purchased online. Because I could not find them in my local stores.

I needed a new pair of scissors, to clip and snip my sideburns. Simple 5-inch scissors. Local stores did not have what I wanted. I had to buy them on amazon.

And I recently needed an extension cord. A 12-15 foot extension cord. For home use. Not a big deal, right? Wrong. I went to 3 different home supply stores and could not find what I needed. They all offered extension cords with a "flat plug" or a 2-prong plug. I needed an extension cord with a normal regular 3-prong grounded plug.

Nobody had it. I spent an hour online and finally found it - in Atlanta. Yes, I bought it.

Recently, I needed to buy some more vitamin C. I like the GNC brand, 500 mg, chewable, mixed fruit, 90 tablets. I have been taking them for years.

I drove to my local GNC store to get another 90 tablet bottle. They didn't have any. I said, "You make the darn things, how can you not have any?" The clerk shrugged and said he didn't know. I ended up buying them online - on ebay. They arrived with many broken tablets, due no doubt to rough shipping.

Where's my toothpaste? It's not in stores anymore. I have been using this whitening toothpaste for years. It costs $1.00 a tube, much less than the major brands. And it works well. I went to my local RiteAid, where I have been buying the item for years, only to find out they no longer carry the item. And none of the other pharmacies or supermarket near me carry this item for anywhere near $1.00, if at all. It sells online for about $12 a tube (includes shipping). So, I can no longer use this excellent inexpensive dental product. Where does that leave me? Stuck in the new economy, where I will now have to spend $5-8 at a store for an f-ing major brand tube of toothpaste. Until stores stop carrying toothpaste altogether, then I'll have to buy it online, or stop brushing my teeth.

I also recently bought a jacket online, because Sears did not have any available in any nearby stores for me to try on. Why did I want/need to try it on? Because sometimes I am a L and sometimes I am an XL, it totally depends on the fit. That's why I wished to try it on BEFORE I bought it.

My new jacket. Hope it fits!

I had to buy this jacket online and have it shipped to me. I had an online chat with Sears and, even if I paid for it online, they wouldn't even ship it to a local nearby Sears store (there are two) so I could pick it up (and try it on) there after purchasing it online. If it doesn't fit, I could return it right then and there. Now, I have to wait a week until I receive my purchase at my residence, try it on, and see if the Large fits me. It may not. I have a lot of jackets. Some of my jackets are L and some are XL. All of them are old, and fit me. And, yes, I was able to try them on - in a store - before I bought them. If this hooded bomber jacket doesn't fit me, I will have to return it, i.e. mail it back and get a refund. I was hoping to find the item online (which I could, and did) and then simply go to the local Sears store to pick it up and try it on (which I couldn't, and didn't). Guess what? A few days later I received the jacket and it was the wrong style, the wrong label, and the wrong size. EPIC FAIL!

My new teapot. Not.

And this week I wished to buy a replacement tea kettle, as my 10-year-old tea kettle was getting corroded on the inside bottom. Time to buy a new tea kettle. No problem, right? Wrong! I looked up my beloved tea kettle online and saw that amazon sold it. For $12.49. Good. I put the tea kettle in my amazon shopping cart and got ready to pay for it and have it shipped. I then noticed that it said shipping time was 1-2 months. MONTHS? WTF? I called amazon to report the error. They looked into it and said the 1-2 months shipping time was correct. Apparently, they were out of stock at the moment - but still selling it! I told amazon that doing so was stupid and I deleted the item from my shopping cart, frustrated and annoyed. I then looked online again and, voila, Target had it in stock. At the same price. And they had it in stock. I drove the 10 miles to one of my 2 local Target stores. I tried to find the tea kettle and walked the entire store trying to locate it. Finally, I asked an employee and he took me over to the mini-section of tea kettles, buried among the coffee makers. I looked closely and could not find my new tea kettle. It was not on the shelf. They had a cheaper smaller one but I did not want that one. Target did not have the tea kettle I wanted in stock, even though their website said they did. The employee suggested I order it online via Target.com. I told him that I looked into that and saw that I could not order it online without first signing up for a Target account -- and being FORCED to receive their email offers and promotions. No thanks, Target, go F yourself! I walked out of the store, annoyed. I drove home and ate lunch. Later, I decided to try the other Target store and see if they had my tea kettle in stock, ready for me to drive there and buy it. Their website said there was 1 left, in stock, at that store. I jumped in the car and drove over to the second Target store, happy to be replacing my wonderful teapot with an exact replacement. I went into the store and looked around for the "coffee machine" section. I couldn't find it. I walked the entire store (the second one that day) and finally asked an employee where the tea kettles were. He took me over to the well hidden tiny section. There was, once again, an empty space on the shelf where my tea kettle should have been! I was outraged! Why the F did the Target website show it in stock, in the store, in TWO stores, if it wasn't available, wasn't there??? After spending hours driving to, and walking through, 2 Target stores, I had no new teapot! Welcome to online shopping and picking your item up at the store.

Based on all the above, am I a happy shopper? What do you think?

Welcome to the new consumer economy. Where you can no longer find what you want in a brick-and-mortar store. Welcome to the new consumer economy, where you have to buy your stuff online, and wait days or weeks to receive it. When I want to buy something, and I want/need to use it that day, or try it on, buying online does not work! Yes, Amazon Prime has same-day delivery (on some items) but I am not a Prime member and would rather not pay to become one.

More and more, I am buying the stuff I want, and need, online (if possible). Because much of the stuff I want, and need, is not available in physical stores.

And the new consumer economy - online shopping - is putting brick-and-mortar businesses - small and large - out of business. Retail is dead! And that's a big problem. Retail employment accounts for millions of jobs. These jobs are disappearing.

Welcome to the new consumer economy. Welcome to sitting on your ass and shopping with your cell phone. Now, you'll have to excuse me, I am going to take myself to the supermarket. Yes, I know they'll deliver but, as a old-school human, a human dinosaur, I want to be around some other humans.