I have always found shopping to be therapeutic. We all do right? But I have a problem. I buy one thing and that is enough therapy for me. I absolutely loathe going to a million shops and looking at million things. Every time I go shopping, I have two things in mind. The budget and the store. I straight go to that particular store, buy it and come back. I do not like walking around streets and peeping into shops looking if there is something that I could buy. The term window shopping does not exist in my dictionary. Also, I hate shopping in malls. I would any day prefer to walk into a stand alone shop and pick up my stuff. A crowd makes me nauseous. And scents trigger migraine for me. So I stay away from crowded places as much as possible. Today, I prefer to shop from the vicinity of my office desk or from home. Online. It is a boon, that I had not realized until now. *hangs head in shame*
I started shopping online only after I got married and mostly due to lack of time. I'd rather sit at a cafe and have a mind blowing conversation with my husband instead of dragging him from one store to another. Online shopping always meant uncertainty to me. You never know how the product would turn out to be right? What if the shade in the picture is different from the actual one. What if it is damaged during shipping? What if it is not worth the price? The paranoia in me kicked in every time I wanted to buy something online. Believe me, I did not even want to buy books online before. I'd rather travel up to Crosswords or Gangarams and pick it up. Foolish much? Yeah I agree.
When my husband asked me to try it once, I decided to first buy a book. It came to me in perfect shape. Then I ordered a hair straightener. It came safely too. The cloud over my head slowly disappeared and before I knew it I was hooked to online shopping. No, I'm not an addict. Materialistic things never appeal to me anyway, but online shopping gives me a lot of time to do other things. I even ordered a phone online and I'm more than happy with it. The only thing that I go and buy in person is jeans and lingerie. I have a terrible OCD when it comes to jeans and I shall only pick it up after several trials and fitting sessions. I'm yet to order lingerie online. I soon shall though because I hear that there are very good and reliable sites out there for them alone.
Of course I have my own preferences when it comes to online shopping. I prefer a few sites over the others. Flipkart has remained my top favorite though. Most of the deliveries is done by the same person and he knows my address perfectly now. Not a damage, not an issue. Be it books, clothes, electronics or phones. I'm a Flipkart loyalist and shall continue to be so. Another site I was unaware of was 'Cashkaro.com'. I hadn't even heard of a it. But when they approached me to write a review for them and even offered me money to shop, I decided to give it a shot. And boy, was I glad.
For the uninitiated, Cashkaro is India's number one cash back and coupons site. This is how it works. Cashkaro.com features a large number of shopping sites. So instead of going directly to the site you want to shop from, what you do is, go to it via Cashkaro.com. You will need to create an account with Cashkaro before this or you can login via Twitter or Facebook. Then you search for your destination site and shop normally like you would do. What is the benefit you ask? Well, for every purchase you make, Cashkaro promises a cash back. For example, Cashkaro gives you a cash back of Rs 180 for every purchase above Rs 499 at Myntra. All you have to do is visit Myntra through Cashkaro and make your purchase. The cash back amount will be added to your Cashkaro account in about a week. This will be in your pending cashback account. Once Myntra provides their commission to Cashkaro, they add it to your confirmed cash back account. Once your confirmed cash back amount reaches Rs 250, you can transfer it to your bank account via NEFT. In this way, you can earn while you shop. It is awesome and hassle free. Only that now you will be going to your shopping sites via another site. Nothing else changes apart from that.
Pros: Easy and simple. One click and you are taken to your site for your shopping. Cashkaro also offers restaurant offers and product deals. The process of shopping still remains the same. Cashkaro has a tie up with almost all the popular shopping sites and you are mostly likely to find what you are looking for here. The accumulation of cash back gives you a joy as you think you are spending money shopping while you are also earning it back.
Cons: The cash back is added to the pending account almost after a week of purchase. But by the time the cash back gets confirmed you would have forgotten all about the purchase. It took about a month and a half for my cash back to get confirmed. It shall eventually get confirmed I know, but it would have been more appealing had it been more quicker. But we cannot blame the Cashkaro guys for it. As they have to wait for the commission from the respective dealers before they can confirm it. Sooner or later, the cash back will be added to your account. I mean that's all that matters at the end of the day. Right?
Shopping just got more therapeutic. So go ahead, shop and start saving!
~ Soumya
Woaaa.... An attractive post. A must try site it is, I guess!
ReplyDeleteThank you Preeti! Please try, it is awesome :)
DeleteThat is a great idea.. I had heard about cashkaro but have never used it.. Will try it next time I want to buy something online.. :)
ReplyDeleteDo try and let me know your experience :)
Deleteohh.i like window shopping too...but online shopping is also lot of fun :) specially where there are discount banners...you canot escape ;)
ReplyDeleteTotally agree :)
DeleteI hate window shopping too... I just don't get that concept of walking around aimlessly in malls and all that insane crowd - not what I need after a whole week of work!
ReplyDeleteOh you bet! I'd rather sit back and relax with a glass of wine and shop online!
DeleteNow this is interesting. Cash back thing is an Indian's dream come true! :D
ReplyDeleteHahaha, so true! Try this site out, it is awesome :)
DeleteEven I liked Cashkaro, Soumya. Did shopping & got cashback. Wish I knew of it before! Could have saved & earned a lot more :)
ReplyDeleteI know! I wish I knew before too! Its nice to get cash back for shopping :)
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