Oklahoma State University students have purchased a wide array of merchandise at online stores. However, music is by far the most popular purchase. With newly issued credit cards in hand, students surf the Web for the hottest albums as well as compilation compact discs they can customize.
Why do college students spend so much money at online stores? Convenience and laziness, according to some students.
Kalin Schulze, architecture freshman, said convenience is a large factor.
"If I have the choice between walking in the excruciating heat down to a store, or shopping in my pajamas, sitting in my air-conditioned dorm room, I’m going to do the latter," Schulze said.
"The university provides us with the Internet and the Internet provides certain services that I think we should take advantage of," she said. "If it’s easier, why not?" Blake Arrington, Record Exchange store manager, said the availability of discontinued items and rare recordings add to the popularity of buying music online.
"If you go to a record store, they are going to have a selection, but they can’t possibly carry everything, and the Internet is endless," Arrington said.
Another reason to skip the stores and go online is price. Jodie Davis, business freshman, said with discounted prices and the possibility of free shipping, online stores appeal to the wallets of strapped-for-cash students.
"A lot of times you can find great deals on the Internet and — as college students — we don’t have money to throw around," Davis said. "If I can get something cheaper or get it shipped to me for free, I’m going to do it."
Like most things, shopping via the Internet has its disadvantages. Sometimes online advertisements are misleading and make students think they are saving money when costs are the same, or possibly more.
Ted Scribner, CD Warehouse manager, said, "Sometimes you only save what you would have paid in tax, and most of the time the merchandise ends up costing just as much because of shipping and handling or some other kind of charge."
Another complaint is the wait for your merchandise."When you buy something at an online store," said Daniel Neil, political science junior, "you don’t get instant satisfaction. You have to wait at least two weeks for it to arrive, where you would already have it, had you bought it at a real store."
Good or bad, online shopping has a direct impact on music stores in Stillwater. Every time OSU students buy compact discs and tapes from online stores, they take business away from Stillwater merchants.
"If you think about how many students there are and how many computers are available to them, of course they are going to make online purchases, and of course it’s going to hurt us," Arrington said.
While Record Exchange has combated online stores by expanding its merchandise line to include other products, some music stores have decided to play the online game themselves.
Hastings is able to sell music through its own online store, Hastings.com. CD Warehouse has called on Half.com — an eBay-owned company that sells compact discs at a discounted price — to help them move inventory.
"The Internet has actually helped our business. I not only have my own local customer base, but through Half.com I can reach people in any part of the country," Scribner said. "Really, I don’t think it should affect the in-store sales at all.
"There are a lot of people who still want to go look at the stuff that they buy, and stores that do not have online shopping have the upper hand on customer service," he said.
Loading ...
All Articles