Online Nirvana

Add to cart (pats self for finding the same dress for 15% cheaper online)…and apply coupon. Fingers crossed, eyes glued to the small concentric circles going around indicating it is processing, I hold my breath and pray that it is accepted. After an excruciating 3 second delay, during which I start thinking of alternative websites where I could find a similar bargain, the invoice is generated, and….the coupon is accepted! I pump my fist in the air exuberant, but quickly get on with the payment as I have this online superstition. If the payment does not go through properly the first time, then somehow the coupon you used will also get screwed (c’mon if Sachin can pad up left first, I with my talentless tiny self should be allowed a few idiosyncrasies of my own. Humph!).

The website people are smart, they first lure you with a newsletter with pretty pictures and “SALE” or “Happy Hours” or “One Day Deal” or “Cashback” written in big bright letters. Then they hook you with a promo code or a coupon for a 10% extra discount on an already discounted product but only if the total bill amount is 1500 and above. Oh shoot, you scan the people around you, would anyone want something from this website? Who among them looks like the likely candidate? The guy behind me (yup I shop during office hours. Don’t even try to make me feel guilty, that ship has long sailed :P) recently got married; surely he must want something for the home or the wife or both. Or the girl in the far corner is going through a bad time; maybe she needs some retail therapy to cheer up…Meanwhile the credit card people get to know via telepathy that you might just sink in your teeth on a delicious coupon they sent you. You consider this divine intervention and a good omen. But…but you are smarter than them. You are not satisfied by the meager 23.5% discount you will be getting via this way (10% off on a 15% off product). It just does not give you that kick, the winning feeling (now psychoanalysts take a break, its nothing to do with daddy issues or identity crisis or low self esteem problem, it is just sheer OBD; Obsessive Bargain Disorder :D). A few years back, you would have had to maneuver your way through narrow windy lanes of wholesale shops and bargain your way using every trick in the trade; threatening, pleading, warning, even flirting! All that is a thing of past thanks to the concept of online shopping and more than that the concept of coupons. Now just a few clicks, some google searches, a little smart thinking and you have a bargain your mom would be proud of!

Now getting back to our original quandary, obviously you want more discount, you are restless to find a way and google for coupons. As you scan through the sites and the deals, your brain is literally whizzing as it calculates and discards the bargains offered. Finally you find a coupon which looks promising. It says it is applicable for the customers of a particular credit card (unfortunately not in your armour). Is it necessary to use the same card for ordering? It worked the last time you tried something like this, have the website people fixed the flaw? Only one way to find out…Copy and paste the coupon, apply the coupon, and wait with baited breath as the coupon is…accepted! Aah! pure bliss...pure nirvana!

(Smug and content till the next prowl. Yes, I am a shopaholic, but a smart one J).

Image source - here