Purchasing Online

Some may say that buying online is not very budget friendly. I think that it depends on what, how much shipping is and how far you would need to go to pick it up in the real world. One of my children is very much into lolitta clothing. There really isn't anywhere around here to get it, so I went to a site that she sent me a link to and purchased her gift from there. Unfortunately, I got it too small. This is where I learned my lesson.

Always look at their refund/exchange policy. I was having this outfit delivered from California, so I never considered that it would not have a reasonable return policy. Boy was I wrong. First, you have 10 days to contact them. Well, I bought this well before Christmas, so that did not happen. Second, it has to be something that they did wrong. You have to take pictures of the problem and send that to them first. You must have ALL the original wrapping and pay shipping. I don't understand how an online only clothing shop will not exchange clothes that do not fit. There is no place to try them on, and the size I got was her normal size. Needless to say, I have wasted money. When there is not a lot to begin with this is bad, and even worse, my daughter didn't get her present.

My girls do not ask for a lot, and when they ask for something it is very reasonable. My youngest really loves classic Lolita clothing, but waited until the holidays to ask for anything because it wasn't reasonable to get it for everyday clothing. Now, I have to sell this entire outfit for less than I paid for it, and get her just one article of clothing rather than the whole outfit. We don't spend a lot on clothes, and Lolita styles require many pieces. She has purchased her own dress and her older sister lets her borrow the button up blouse and I found an inexpensive petticoat on Etsy.com which was lovely.

So, if your child is into this type of clothing, do not go to What a Beautiful Life even though their prices are usually really good. Frugal tip of the day? READ the policies of any place you shop. Just because so many places have lovely return policies doesn't mean that they all do. Take nothing for granted.

Lesson learned.