How did people make choices when shopping before cell phones?

1. 81

   Tom Voglerposted 13 years ago

   How did people make choices when shopping before cell phones?

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2. 76

   Wesman Todd Shawposted 13 years ago

   HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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3. 60

   tamarindcandyposted 13 years ago

   There are still cellphones that can't access the Internet properly, you know.

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4. 74

   prektjr.dcposted 13 years ago

   Before the convenience of a cell phone, we would use a land line phone, look up the phone number in the yellow pages for the stores that we thought would be the best locations for the best prices and give them a call from home.  We would then select the two or three that gave us the best information and prices and would head out to the car and do some good old-fashioned leg work.  This would sometimes mean that we would visit a store two or even three times until we narrowed down our choice to the very best value.  I must admit there were times I opted for the slightly higher priced choice to avoid the extra time or gas to go back to another store.  It was a trade-off sometimes.  I really appreciate having my computer and cell phone to assist in making these comparisons and purchases, especially for those larger items!  I guess before the telephone was invented, they would only have access to visiting the stores only.  That was before my time. 
   
   This was a good question as it makes one think about what a great benefit it is to have those little cell phones with internet capability in our pockets!  Thanks for helping me remember to appreciate the technology we have today!
   
   By the way....no such thing as a dumb question.....just saying.

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5. 61

   freecampingaussieposted 13 years ago

   LOL ! I agree with the answer below by Prektgr ! We managed fine before the mobile phone , computers , and other mod cons .
   You would go to the shops and look around for what you needed.
   We would talk together at a meal table rather than everyone texting on their phone etc!
   Families were happier , life not as crazy as it is now..................

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6. 60

   Agnes Pennposted 13 years ago

   @Merlin: If new technology only fuels cynicism such as the one you've displayed in your answer maybe we should go back to a time when people did have to go through pain to even chose to buy an item.  Way back when, people thought twice before talking and they had a constructive purpose in talking.  Maybe, what we all need are the lights to go out for a good while and when fear of "I don't even know how to get to my mommy's house because my GPS isn't working" sets in maybe there won't be extra time to be cynical. 
   BTW, you wouldn't be one of those naive users who play video games all day?  It seems me a whole generation before you we had to learn how a computer worked, not how to work with a computer.
   The question proposed in this forum is valid.  Don't expect technology to evolve any further if we forget where we were to begin with.

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7. 39

   Jennie Demarioposted 13 years ago

   lol funny question.  I don't have internet on my cell phone yet either.  It is all about word of mouth buddy.  I'm sure you are friends with people whom have opinions that you trust.  Tap into your human resources.   There is a ton of not so accurate information on the net.  Ask someone whose opinion you value.

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8. 71

   danielleantoszposted 13 years ago

   jeez, how did we do ANYTHING? lol.  I remember having a pager... and not being able to say "lets just google it" everytime I got into an argument about...well anything!

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9. 71

   Naomi's Bannerposted 13 years ago

   Internet is always helpful in making choices but even before internet we actually used to have to get in our cars and drive to different places and check prices.  Also, word of mouth is a great way to make choices.
   We used to use the home phone and all around also.  Wow, have things changed.

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