Online shopping is great, isn’t it? No malls, no crowds, no parking lots. Click, click, click, and it shows up on your doorstep in time for the holiday.

Maybe.

Like many parents of teenage girls, I purchased some stuff online at Delia’s. Order by December 14 for guaranteed delivery by Christmas. No problem: Items were in stock, and I placed my order on December 6. So when I go to check the status of my order, why am I told that the estimated arrival date is December 26?

Forget credit card fraud: This sort of disingenuous playing with shipping dates is the kind of thing that will ultimately turn people off from shopping online. The takeaway for shoppers is clear: Need it by a certain date? Go to the mall; ordering online isn’t trustworthy.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 19th, 2005 at 9:23 am and is filed under Internet Stuff.