FAQ

There are a number of Frequently Asked Questions, (FAQ), that come up; there are short answers here with links to where you can find more detailed answers where applicable. The most often asked are about online grocery shopping in Canada. Our cold winter temperatures just make it seem too scary to venture out ourselves. We'd like someone else to bring them to us.

FAQ on Grocery Shopping Online

Can I do online grocery shopping in Canada?

Yes you can - if you are in or near one of the larger cities, like Toronto, Vancouver, etc., you can get your local supermarkets to deliver your groceries to your door. If you live in a small town, village or rural place, you can still get around it, by ordering from sites like Amazon.com and others that will ship grocery orders by mail, or sometimes by courier. But that will be more expensive. On this site I have several pages that describe the grocery shopping options online for Canadians, American, and the British.

Which Canadian supermarkets are online?

See this page for more details of Canadian supermarkets online, but here's my current list from that page;
Papa Earth (free delivery in Ontario, Quebec)
eBay.ca (various sellers, not a complete grocery store)
Hello Fresh
Walmart.ca (free delivery for orders over $50, also curbside pickup)
Instacart (delivery service; shops for you at your choice stores)
Spud.ca
Real Canadian Superstore (With PC Express order groceries online from Superstore, or NoFrills, then arrange for pickup, either yourself, or send someone with your pickup code)
Sobeys (started online grocery deliveries in 2020 via Viola in the GTO)
Costco.ca (grocery delivery only in select Canadian areas)
EZ-Grocer (several provinces)
Grocery Gateway (Greater Toronto area, as far as Hamilton, Kitchener/Waterloo, & Guelph),
Metro Glebe (Ottawa & Nunivut),
Nestor's Markets (BC),
Safeway (most major cities),
Quality Foods (Vancouver),
TeleGrocer (Ottawa and Greater Toronto Area),
Natural Food Pantry (Ottawa & Kanata)
Mr. Case (Greater Toronto area)
Spud.ca (BC lower mainland and USA west coast)
And, Amazon.ca - will ship in Canada.
Cartly (online grocery delivery service exclusively designed for East/Asian ethnic/community

How about buying groceries online in the USA?

There are many, many options for buying groceries online in the US. Check this page - online grocery shopping in the USA for the latest list I've found in my research.

Does Amazon Canada (Amazon.ca) have groceries?

I just checked again, and yes, now they do! (19 departments in Groceries)

Can you pay for your food shopping via PayPal?

You could ask. Generally though the stores that go to the expense and bother of setting up their stock on a website can also afford a merchant account with a credit card company, so they may not bother with PayPal at all. That is mostly used by marketers on a shoestring budget. Some sites offer it as a second option.

FAQ on Shoes and Eyeglasses

What kinds of shoes can I buy online?

All kinds of shoes! Dress shoes, sports shoes, casual, winter boots, designer shoes - with accessories, if you wish! In fact you have a far greater selection online than you could ever have in any one store in your local area. The sites usually advise how to measure for their sizing rules, and generally pledge to allow returns if you are not happy with your purchase. Check my All Kinds of Shoes page.

What sites sell eyeglasses online?

There are many to choose from! Do a google search and you will be busy for a long time checking them out. You'll find my online shopping guide here for prescription eyeglasses online. If you want to see how I appoached my own search in 2011, you can read my my eyeglasses shopping saga. Furthermore, I provide a summary of my optical site reviews (Remember, that's my own impressions and opinions).

FAQ on Personal Shoppers

What's a personal shopper vs. a power shopper?

A personal shopping goes shopping on behalf of a client who pays you for the service. A power shopper is very smart and savvy. You can claim this title when you are really organized so that you end up with the best prices and quality in your shopping, and you know how to zero in on the best place to shop for almost anything you want. You know how to research and buy smart! Naturally, a power shopper makes a very desirable personal shopper and your clients will love and refer their friends to you, if they discover that you are really good at shopping smart.

A good Business Plan for a Personal Shopper?

Most rules for setting up a small business would apply, so you can adapt any simple business plan to this goal. I have a page with suggestions and questions to consider as you set up your Personal Shopper Business

Where are the Personal Shoppers in Canada?

Many exclusive fashion shops offer a personal shopper who advises you on what to buy. This may be a good starting point so that you learn to have a sharp eye for suitable styles. Once a personal shopper has the confidence and know-how, it is possible to list your services on some websites that specialize in this kind of job search, but it is also possible to put up a website about your services and seek your own clients so you can charge your own rates. So a Google search for personal shoppers will take you to the websites of some of these. It depends on whether you are looking for someone with a classy, very modern taste, or someone who is a smart power shopper and knows how to find you the best deals. Then you might ask around among your network of friends and contacts.

I see that personal shoppers need a website if they hope to be found by potential clients. On the other hand, if you just want a job, there are some fashion stores advertising for personal shoppers, but you are expected to drum up (find) clients on behalf of the store, and you would only be recommending that store's stock. A number of employment sites have a category for Personal Shopper, but when you get to that category, they have no jobs there. That implies some demand. You have to create your own personal shopper business. Or, if you are hoping to hire one, you may have to find a savvy, power-shopper friend, and train her/him to go shopping on your behalf.

FAQ on Technicalities

Do I get rebates if I forgot to click in the portal site (eg. Rakuten, etc.) first?

Well, think about it for a minute. If you were running such a site, and folks discovered they could call or email you and say, I did see the link on your site first, but I forgot to click before I went ahead and bought there. Can I still have credit as if I did click? Even if they knew you personally and did it as a favour, someone else would hear about it, and ask for the same favour - even demand it. Then what would happen to your system? Chaos! (Same as if in math 2 + 2 was occassionally 6. Not always 4. The worlds of math, science, computers, nature - they would all crumble.) It's only fair that you obey the rules and click the link so the purchase is credited to you as the system was set up to do.

FAQ on Misc. Tips

How do you use oasis for fresh flowers?

Easy. You cut a piece to fit into the bowl in which you plan to arrange your flowers. If it looks like it could slip or fall out too easily, I would tape or tie it down as invisibly as possible so as not to show outside the arrangement. Then add water and leave it for a while until it soaks all through the chunk of oasis. Now gather or cut your flowers, and arrange them by sticking the freshly cut stems into the oasis. It will hold them in place and at the same time give each stem some moisture. - Well, that's if you keep adding water as you see the bowl is empty or too low a water level. I used my experience of researching and shopping for oasis on this site as an example.



Online Shopping Guide:

MyWorld Features:
Get Cashback on every purchase (use to shop more or get paid whenever $10 accumulates). You also get Shopping Points with purchases, which you spend in the Benefits Lounge. Download the Shopping App for your phone, or the Plugin to your desktop computer. Login to your 'myWorld' portal and find discount coupon codes for many stores! or,... Order eVouchers or Gift cards for yourself or for gift-giving. Free Signup