I hate shopping. It's not that I'm lazy (although I am...), it's that I'm convinced that there must be an easier way. I tend to wait 'til my shoes fall off before I buy another pair, and often consider buying 10 pairs of shoes and jeans at a go, to save hassle when the first pair wears out. I own three pairs of shoes, and that's one pair too many... Girls, however, seem to be wired a different way - shoe shopping seems to actually be an enjoyable experience... some kind of comfort-purchase that just doesn't compute. The acquisition of shoes seems to be a genetic mission in life (Remember the Shoe Event Horizon sketch in Hitchhiker's Guide?)... Still defeats me that these newly-purchases shoes seem to migrate to under my side of the bed and rarely see the light of day... but that's another story!

Still, I guess I'm a fine one to talk - I have little problem when it comes to gadget shopping - I'm quite happy to spend a good number of hours in Dixons, or browsing mobile phone websites looking for the latest toy, and never tire of wading through the Maplin catalogue, even if I never actually buy the set-top box, PC accessory or 5-way, multi-input, bi-directional deflanging gizmo.

Guess that's why the Internet is such a godsend for me - Amazon in particular. Online shopping still maintains the "technical" side of my nature, and online shopping comparison sites such as Dealtime actually can make shopping quite enjoyable, sniffing out the cheapest online provider, or the one that doesn't sneakily add a £7.99 delivery charge onto a £10 DVD. I've now bought so many things from Amazon (both for me and as Christmas presents to save the mad bloke panic in the High Street), that the "Amazon recommends" is getting frighteningly accurate, although after buying my mum a knitting book a few years back, I still get the occasional suggestion that "Tea Cosy Knitting for Beginners" would be my ideal next purchase. My nirvana? That everyone I know creates themselves an Amazon Wishlist, and someone invents some software that merges birthdays from my PDA diary, email addresses from my Hotmail account, and links them to my friend's Amazon lists - I reckon I could cut my shopping time down to, what, fifteen minutes a year?

I’ve managed to find a couple of other shortcuts in life: online grocery shopping being one, with Tescos and Waitrose being my preferred choice. The other being the Argos Click-and-collect service - see what's in stock, reserve it, and then stroll down to the store to get it - saves on the online postage costs, and removes the chance of turning up to the "laminated book of dreams" shop and being disappointed.

One of the hardest things out there, is shopping for my partner. It's not that she's a high-maintenance nightmare (erm...), it's just that we go back to the "being wired differently" discussion. To me, a present doesn't count unless it comes with a manual, a USB port and goes beep... to a girl (and apologies if I'm generalising here), presents that don't actually DO anything, seem to be favourite - some of my best presents have been: a flowers. Please could someone tell me what's so special about getting flowers? They're pricey, contain no calories, can't connect using Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, and fall to bits after a few days. Personally, I don't believe in the things, but they seem to work, and have got me out of trouble on more than one occasion, so they're top of my list.

This site (Pleasing Presents) has been around for a while now, and actually offers quite a good insight into the female shopping mindset - guys... it's well worth a look around for a few ideas, although I'm still convinced that the page on jewellery (and diamond rings in particular) is a subtle-as-a-brick hint, aimed personally in my direction....

Guys – I wish you happy(er) shopping. And Amazon… any chance of adding online shoe shopping?

Written by Pete S, partner of this site's editor.

Shopping shortcuts:

Amazon - Wishlists, suggestions, loads of stock and smooth transactions
Dealtime - If you're going to buy online, get it cheaper
Argos click-and-collect - Find an item, check stock, reserve it and collect it
M&S flowers - Forget Interflora - Good old Marks & Sparks offer a better range, at a better price.
Pleasing Presents - A tiny glimpse into the mind of the female shopper

If you've got any other great time or money saving suggestions, or fancy passing on your thoughts on how to make shopping less painful, we'd like to hear from you. Contact us

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