I <3 Gmarket

I think it's so great that kitcheninafishbowl posted about her love of Gmarket today just as I was thinking of doing the same! I was thinking of doing so because gmarket chose me for a special event they're having...I won a gift certificate for being one of the top bloggers! Thanks!

I do a lot, if not most, of my shopping on Gmarket. It's like a gigantic shopping mall right in my computer room. I used to shop out in the real world a lot more before I had a baby, but since January 2009, Gmarket has come in very handy and serves most of my shopping needs. Shopping in Korea can be tough for a foreigner. Sometimes you just can't find what you're looking for...or if you're really new to Korea, you don't even know where to start. You see, there are product "districts" in Korea. For example, there are furniture districts, textile districts, lighting districts, and pet districts. Sometimes it's fun to go to certain districts if you want to see the product firsthand. I love shopping for fabric and yarn in Dongdaemun. But sometimes, it's a pain in the neck to take public transport across the city just to buy a trivial item. This is when Gmarket is very convenient.

It's also fun. It's nice to browse all the different options. There is an incredible amount of vendors on gmarket, so there are always some interesting and unique products. I have started to limit my browsing time, though, as I always seem to find something I "need." Another fun part is practicing and improving my Korean vocabulary. I learned a lot of Korean vocab from online shopping. That sounds funny, but it's true. Now, there are two gmarket sites: the Korean site and the global English site. I usually use the Korean one, but I took a look at the English site the other day, and there have been great improvements over there, so I'm going to give that site a go next time I need something and see what I come up with.

And finally, of course, the prices on gmarket really can't be beat. You can often find the more popular products with free shipping, and if not, it's never more than 2500 won ($2.50). I've often seen something in a store that I had bought on gmarket for several dollars cheaper. Over the last few years, I'm sure I've saved a lot of money by using gmarket. I know I saved hundreds right before Grace was born when I did my baby shopping! Baby stuff in the shops is very expensive.

Anyway, I'm not going to shop gmarket tonight because I just received my most recent order yesterday (diapers, deodorant, Quaker oatmeal, and knit baby leggings). I can't even begin to list all the things I've bought on gmarket. Too long... Oh, and my camera was bought on gmarket.