Cyber Window Shopping

I want a new bench for my front porch. The plastic wicker is disintegrating and the bench needs to be thrown. I want a real patio dining table. I'm using 4 sling back chairs purchased at Target over a decade ago and a slightly bigger than a bistro table wire table. They both do the job but are not attractive. I want a polished work wardrobe, new or different, to go along with the black booties and tall brown boots I finally replaced (a necessity for both as opposed to just a want). I have no business buying anything in the want category until I search my current belongings for items that will fill the same purpose. I also am still only making baby steps towards decluttering the stuff we do not use and have no need of in the foreseeable future. There is no space for new stuff. And when I do finish, or at least get to an acceptable level of clutter, anything I decide is needed because I didn't find an alternative, should be researched and planned rather than dropping hundreds of dollars on a whim. 

When I get in want modes, I tend to start looking on line at all the possibilities. I don't like physically shopping, never have, and have always been more of a targeted shopper or a restocker. On the Internet though, it is a whole different thing. I bounce from furniture to household to clothing sites, clicking hearts on things I want to revisit, and even put items in my virtual cart. fortunately, that's where it usually stays. Sometimes I clear the cart before logging off the computer. Other times I leave it there so I can see what my last  online shopping frenzy was eyeballing. Often, I don't even like the items anymore. This is a good way for me to get the wants out of my system. It also helps me remind myself how easy it is to get sucked into the immediate gratification game. It would be so easy to move forward and check out, really purchasing those items. I rarely do, unless I have made a good long hunt, wait several days or even weeks, and then am confident it is what I want and will use. The boots were good examples. I'll get a minimum of three years out of both pairs, and having bought them on clearance, it will average $25 per year, for both pairs. I couldn't buy a cheap pair at Target or Walmart for $25. 

The another benefit of cyber window shopping is that I am not wasting my time driving to a shopping center. I'm also not wasting a shop workers time when I really do not have intent to buy. On-line, I have the options of reading reviews on a product as well. Even if I end up buying in a bricks and mortar store, knowing the styles, brands, and features that are the most positively received is a bonus of doing online window shopping. Anyone else out there cyber window shoppers? What benefits or thrills do you get from it?