Lessons I’ve Learned the Hard Way From Online Shopping

I think I have learned some hard lessons from online shopping. It's possible, however, that while someone is trying to teach me some good lessons, I'm not being a very good learner.

One lesson I learned -- AGAIN -- this week was to be a careful online shopper. Read all the fine print, more than once, and be SURE what it is that you are buying online.

I needed a golf club, a fairway wood, to get me through the rest of the season. My PING 3-wood, after years and years of use, finally gave up the ghost.

I'm thinking maybe I can find a decent club on eBay that will get me through the summer and maybe next spring I can buy a decent club.

I was thrilled to find a relatively cheap club that seemed to be just what I was looking for, a Callaway Big Bertha 3-wood, 15-degree. I placed the order and waited anxiously for it to arrive. This is going to be a really nice used club!

The golf club arrived this week, and as I began to unpack it, my heart skipped a beat or two with excitement. This club is in even better shape than I expected! Wow! I pulled it from the box and as my hands wrapped around the grip, my heart suddenly sank like a concrete brick in a bathtub. I suddenly realized that the club I had ordered was lefthanded. I am completely and 100% RIGHT handed. The club is totally useless. Are you kidding me?

I went back and looked at the order. Sure enough. It didn't say it was a left-handed club. All it said was "LH."  Suddenly, a light came on. In some moment of complete and utter ignorance, it never once dawned on me that I was being told it was a left-handed club. Somehow I was thinking "LH" was just part of the model name, a limited edition or something like that. Unbelievable! Now I have a club that does me absolutely no good, I'm out 20 bucks, and I'm still without a 3 wood.

Unfortunately, this isn't the first time things have gone awry when I've attempted online shopping.

A number of years ago, I won a bid of $36 on eBay for a Minnesota Vikings sweatsuit, including a jacket and pants. The picture looked like it was in "like new" condition. I was so excited to be getting some Vikings attire. This is gonna be great!

Well, one day, the package arrived, a very small package. It wasn't even a package, it was an envelope, a padded envelope. "My, that's an awfully small package for a sweatsuit," I thought. "Maybe it's just one piece of it."

Nope. It was the whole thing -- all of it. And it was very, very small. I looked at the tag in the collar of the jacket and saw "3T."  Suddenly, it dawned on me. So, THAT's what "3T" stood for! Are you kidding me? I had never purchased children's clothing. How was I to know? I just paid $36 for a sweatsuit I can't even wear.

I ended up holding onto it with the idea that my son could wear it one day. Unfortunately, he never arrived, and I ended up giving the suit away at a yard sale some years later.

Between these two purchases, I'm out a few dollars but look at the knowledge I've gained and the lessons I've learned. Never again will I be puzzled by "3T" and "LH."