UPDATE: There have been updates since this post was published. See the Related Articles section for more information.
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The kind folks at PayPal have challenged me to “Escape the Mall” and do my holiday shopping online this year. I guess their thinking is that once people realize the benefits to shopping online, they’ll wonder how they ever put up with the frustrations of mall shopping during the busiest time of the year.
Makes sense to me, I suppose.
The challenge actually does involve a visit to the mall, so PayPal has sent me $500 in prepaid Mastercards to spend at retail shops, and another $500 (to my PayPal account) to spend online. At the end of the day, no matter what the outcome, that’s $1,000 buckaroonies for charity. Thanks PayPal.
I think the best way to kick this whole thing off is to put together a shopping list of things for my sweetheart, dad, mom, brothers, etc. Once I’ve hit my budget of $500, I’ll shop online for the items before hitting up the mall and purchasing the same (or similar) items.
I’ll do as much as I can to accurately record the whole challenge and will try to be fair in my comparisons.
The Mall or Shopping Online with PayPal?
I’ve been giving this a lot of thought and I honestly can’t predict which experience will be the more positive one.
Online shopping is convenient, with lots of selection and good prices. But you have to worry about shipping costs, delivery timeframes and charges at the border. The mall is great because you go, pick the stuff up and your done. Although the crowds, the lineups at the cash, and the $20 parking fees kind of suck too.
Let the challenge begin!
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