Unit
Seven
Buy!
Buy! Buy! |
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READING
If you are new to the Internet,
it may be difficult to accept that not too long ago, the Internet
was completely non-commercial. It was almost completely unregulated,
too. People sometimes called it the new frontier, since it was
one place where everyone and everything was free and unrestricted.
Of course, these days the Internet
is all about money, and it has become a buyer's and seller's paradise,
almost like some futuristic bazaar or souk. There's almost nothing
that can't be bought or sold on the Internet, and for many, it's
the first stop in any shopping decision. Many sites offer consumers
information and comparisons on cars, coffee makers, TVs, clothes,
groceries, and almost any product imaginable. You can hear CDs
before buying them, and you can check for the lowest price worldwide
with the click of a mouse. The Internet has changed shopping completely.
One of the first, largest, and most successful shopping sites
is amazon.com. They began by offering an unbelievably large selection
of books for purchase online. These days they are expanding and
hope to be able to sell you anything at all. Even online buying
and selling of stocks on sites such as etrade.com has become extremely
popular. In some areas, you can order a pizza online.
People in Japan have been slow
to warm up to Internet shopping, largely because Internet shopping
almost always involves credit cards. Japanese shoppers are used
to cash and many still feel more comfortable with face to face
transactions. However, shoppers in Japan have the most to gain.
The surest way to beat Japan's high prices is to shop internationally
on the Internet. The book that costs 4000 yen at a local bookstore
can be had for less than half that price from amazon.com - including
shipping costs!