Buying gadgets at ‘brick and mortar' outlets can sometimes be a risky affair. Store attendants with half-baked or sometimes even zero knowledge can spoil your day.

An attendant at a mobile store informed my friend that any SIM used with a 3G-enabled phone will enable browsing at 3G speeds. Such hair-brained attendants are not restricted to small showrooms. I once asked an attendant at a big supermarket chain whether he could help me with the model number of home-theatre system. He vanished for about ten minutes, came back, looked at the system and pointed to something and announced that it was the model number. The ‘model number' he showed me was ‘DivX'. “Ask anyone,” he said, when I pointed out that it was only a video codec format.

Another guy dutifully informed me that Blu-ray players could not play DVDs. I must also have a DVD player, he insisted. None of the three showrooms I went to that day had brochures of any of the products. “You can check the Web site sir,” the attendant said and helpfully added that I could view the specifications free of cost on the site.

Later that day, I made a decision – the next time I want to buy something I will first collect all the information and specifications of the products online and then visit the showrooms. I also discovered another thing - many products were priced at least 5-10 per cent lower on some Web sites. Some end-of-life products were available at almost 40 per cent discount. And, shipping was free. Online stores also offer a wider variety of models. All the three shops I went to had just one or two models. In fact, one of the biggest chains I visited had nil stocks for over 15 days! Neither the attendant nor the manager had any clue about when the stocks would arrive. I have often been criticised for making ‘risky' purchases online. After my experience with the three brick and mortar showrooms, I stick to my guns that buying online is a better option.

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