What you see is what you get?

I applauded myself for putting one foot in the modern era. Bravo, Nana! Welcome to the world of online shopping!  My initial thought, after my first successful transaction, was: how convenient! No more running around at the mall with a hyperactive toddler who could turn a shopping trip into a nightmarish adventure. And as the advert said: shop at your convenience; no traffic jams; no queuing up and no wasted time.

This happy thought was immediately followed by doubts and anxiety! What if the store sent me a different item? What if some parts were missing? It was an expensive buy—what if I had to return it? A child’s car safety seat won’t fit in an envelope and the cost of shipping would be staggering. Maybe I should have got a small and cheap item first—just to see how this online shopping business works. But there was nothing I could do after I had paid for the item so it became just a wait-and-see game. (I was also careful to not give a hint to Mr. Hubby who wouldn’t be pleased to know I had thrown my money away like a fool.)

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But I had worried needlessly! The car seat came about ten days after I ordered it. It was what I had wanted. There were no missing parts. Everyone was happy and I didn’t have to tell Mr. Hubby how much had flown out of my purse.

Buoyed by my successful first buy, I started browsing through online store catalogues. There are so many things I could get by just dragging the mouse across the screen and going: Click! Click! Click! I could buy this, that and those. You don’t know what you need until the item is staring at you from the screen and urging you to “Buy me! Buy me!” Who knows, I might even save money buying imported stuff if our currency continues to slide! So I started ordering a few things—footwear, house-ware, underwear.

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Now, the downside, when you’re buying clothes, is this… You see the pictures. You can refer to size charts provided by the vendors. But you can’t be totally, one hundred percent sure about how the item will fit or sit on you. So you make an educated guess based on the details provided and helped by the pictures—and your imagination. That was exactly what I did when I ordered some underwear. Looked nice on the model, I thought. It was neither too big nor too small. Perfect for fussy, old me.

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The first to arrive were the rainboots for the toddler. I was pleased when I could finally convince her that the boots were not ‘too big’. And she was delighted to be able to ‘jump up and down in muddy puddles’ just like Peppa Pig! And she could walk in the overgrown grass in the backyard without me worrying about thorns and bugs and centipedes.

The parcel of underwear was delivered with a smile—I had struck a conversation with the same guy when he came with the boots a few days back. I crept up the stairs with the packet, while Mr. Hubby was busy with the TV, so I could have a look-see without an audience later. And I didn’t have to explain anything to any busybody.

 I had a look when everyone was napping. The panties were neatly folded and packed in a small, clear plastic envelope. I took out a pink pair and unfurled it. Gasp! Choke! My goodness, it was a pair of granny under pants!

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It was supposed to be a midi ( like in the picture above) but this thing would come right up to my waist. It was also so baggy that my hips would be floating in it, I thought. Oh, I’m proud to be a nana to my adorable little princess but I just don’t fancy granny panties. Sorry!

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Now I’m filled with ‘if onlys’. If only I had picked a much smaller size. If only the  height of the panties didn’t stretch to waist level. If only the crotch area was wider and not so ‘not-there’. If only it didn’t make me feel so granny-ish. If only I had bought just one packet. Oh well, at least the bra fitted perfectly.

Dear reader, if you had a similar experience, did it stop you from shopping online?