Local and broad networks - Shopping

Shopping 

Local:

As an art student i require a fair amount of materials and resources so i will need a good selection of local shops to meet my ever expanding list of items. There are a few local stores which are a couple of minutes away from the college, this is convenient and makes it easy for me to quickly grab the stuff i need. The list below shows a number of different shops which are local to me, i use each one for different purposes: 

WHSmith - Office supplies, books, DVD's etc - I buy my large sketch books here.  

Ryman  - Office supplies and stationary - I normally get my books and folders here, fair price and i get student discount.   

The Art Side  - Canvases, paints, craft materials etc - i get most of my pens and markers from this store, they are quite pricey but are the only shop in Plymouth that stock them. 

Paperchase  - Groovy books, planners, high grade papers, stationary etc

Waterstones - Store where i can get my artist reference books! 

The college also has a shop in the library which sells some basic equipment should we not want to make to journey into town. 

Pro's 

• Can get advice on the item im buying
• Shops normally have offers for students which allow me to get things for a good price, i can also get student discount.
• Local so if i have any problems i can go in and complain
• Get to see what i am buying and maybe test it out
• Don't have to pay a fee to get it shipped to me
• Instant purchase
• Good selection of shops to choose from

Con's 

• Sometimes overpriced
• The shops don't always have the equipment that i require (e.g. different thicknesses of paper, precession fineliners and pro makers)
• Have to psychically go there to get the item 

Broad:

Nearly everyone uses the internet in the 21st century, shopping online was somewhat taboo 10 years ago but now it is a big thing, you can get everything online - and normally for a cheaper price. 

There are hundreds of online stores which can deliver directly to me, online shopping is efficient and convenient as we don't even have to move to get the item. When local shops fail me i know that i can find what i need online, i use a variety of different sites to buy equipment, this cuts out the multiple journey's i would have to take from shop to shop. I find myself buying a range of things that i would not normally find in a local store, for example i have just bought a brush tip pen which i cannot seem to find in any local store.

Here are a list of online stores that i use:


Amazon  - Sells pretty much everything and for nearly half the price of some local stores, i have recently bought a hard drive and a cutting matt from Amazon.

Play - sells more tech than anything else but is good for USBs, spare disks and graphics tablets.

Cult pens  - Sells a lot of different brush pens and fineliners

Hobby craft  - all kinds of craft materials e.g. glue, feathers and glitter.


Pro's 

• Normally cheaper than local stores
  
• Great selection of items to choose from
  
• can find nearly anything online
  
• Don't have to go to the store to pick it up 

Con's

• What you save on the item you normally make up for it with postage and packaging
  
• Buying the item isn't instant, you have to wait for it to be delivered
  
• you can't test or see what you are buying
  
• Can be hard to return an item bought online