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A lot of people nowadaysprefer to shop online because it is so convenient andeasy. Every consumer who has experienced it will have his/her own viewsabout it. This article will give you a clear pictureabout（give sb a clear picture about sth 让某人清晰的了解…） thepositives and negatives of online shopping so that you can easily analyze its risks and benefits.

With increased use ofInternet, more and more people are drawn towards onlineshopping(be drown toward…像…靠拢，被…吸引). This means of buying products has gained immense popularity in today'stimes. Earlier, Internet was only accessible to people of developed countries（发达国家）, but recentrevolution has made it accessible to almost all parts of the world. Withincreased awareness, people now flock towards（涌向） Internet for shopping. The concept of shopping goods through onlineservices has been highly recognized and accepted, as it provides severalbenefits to the customer. However, every good aspect has a bad side to it andthis is applicable to online shopping as well. The advantages and disadvantagesof this kind of convenience shopping are listed below.

Advantages

•  The best part of online shopping is that you can shop from home. Thereis no need to（there is no needto do sth没必要做…） go to the mall to purchase theitem you need. You just need to order and it will be available right at your doorstep(在家门口).

•  As you shop from the comfort of your home, you save on gas andtime（节约汽油和时间） that would otherwise have been spent to reach to the nearest store andlook for the desired product.

•  It is convenient and easy! You do not need any degree to learn online shopping. All you have got todo is, visit the website, search for your product and buy it. Your product is just a click away（产品一点既有）!

•  Shopping online givesyou the privilege to shop whenever you want. The stores are never closedand you can do your shopping 24x7.

•  It provides variety to thebuyer. You don't need to jumpfrom shop to shop to look for varieties of a product available in themarket. The options available online are many and this is one of the bestfeatures of online shopping.

•  Shopping from malls and stores makes it difficult to compare betweenfeatures and prices of products. Shopping through websites provides simplified comparisonof products and helps in deciding which one should be purchased.

•  Many websites device specialdiscount schemes from time to time to attract customers. You can alwaysbuy products under such schemes and save a lot of money.

•  It keeps annoying salespersonat bay(使烦人的售货员走投无路).Aggressive salesmen often pressurize（v，强迫） you to buy their products.This harassment（骚扰） can be simplyescaped by shopping using the Internet.

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Disadvantages

•  The first disadvantage is that there is a time lag（时间差） between you making the payment and the delivery of the product.

•  You cannot try out theproduct before buying it. Many people like to trythings out before making the payment. This feature remains missing when you buya product online.

•  High shippingcosts（高运费） often add up to the total cost of the product. Companies usually set veryhigh shipping costs, which add to the total expenditure. Also, if the productis shipped from another country, you are liable（有责任的） to pay extra taxes for it.

•  The payment mode may not besecure（支付方式不安全）. With increased securityissues, making online payment through debit or creditcards（debit card储蓄卡，credit card信用卡） might be an insecure mode of transaction（交易）. It is therefore important to check whether the paymentgateway（支付网关） is secured or not.

•  Possibility of productdamage while shipping cannot be nullified. If the product received is damaged,it may again take several days for replacement （退换）or the company may not provide any replacement at all.

•  The ease of shopping can beextremely dangerous for shopaholics（购物狂）, as they may get provoked to buy manyitems at a time leading to unwanted expenditure.

•  The incidence of billingerrors is high and if you encounter one, you will again have to follow along procedure and wait for several days before the error gets resolved.

•  You need to have a debit orcredit card to make a purchase. Very few websites give youthe option of paying cash or check on delivery.