Instant Gratification vs. The Cheaper Price

Society is getting faster! We want things on our own timetables. Usually at the click of a mouse. No longer do we shop based on what is on the store shelves, we can customize our shopping desires to meet our individual needs...and we can usually get them quick. But what happens when online and instant grat don't mix.

Sure, we understand what it's like to stream a video or purchase a song on iTunes, but what about those tangible items that have to be shipped when purchased. School books that take a week or two to get in. Concert tickets being mailed from Ticketmaster...or my favorite, a new cell phone. Forgive me for ranting, but this hits close to home.

I recently purchased a cell phone from my carrier's online store. I did this because there are built-in cost benefits to buying online. Rebates are usually automatically added instead of mail-in, as with a store. The problem was not with my price however. The price was exceptional. The problem was when my phone will actually ship to me. I purchased the phone on September 4, 2010. According to my carrier's web site, my phone (due to high volume) will not ship until September 17. I could drive down the street, walk in to the store (where they are in stock) and pay full price for my phone and fight the mail-in rebate. Instant Grat!

Instead, for choosing to purchase my phone online and save the money, and probably some overhead costs including the commission of the sales rep, the cost of operating the store that i was in, and the time spent shopping, I must now wait because an overwhelming volume of orders has delayed my order by two weeks.

Point: I am a byproduct of this fast-paced culture. You probably guessed it. My new phone is a smartphone. Just adding to the stereotype aren't I? We have become so permeated with the idea of instant grat that we just forget about waiting even one moment for something that we desire. Even now, I still check my email in the chance that they might send it early. How has this desire for instant grat affected us as a culture, and can we expect it to only get worse as technology progresses?