I Can't Quit Yoox

I was watching Brokeback Mountain the other day and the line "I can't quit you" kind of stuck to my brain like an annoying piece of white statically charged lint that refuses to leave your perfectly pressed black ensemble.

In a non-homoerotic kind of romantic way, that's how I feel about Yoox.com.

Sure it's odd. Let's face it. Most men only use the web to:

1. Look at porn
2. Check their bank accounts
3. Find out the score of a game

The last thing most men do is check out an Italian based online retail site to see if they can score the last Costume National shrug in a size small since it would make the perfect gift for their moms.

This is what I've been sucked into doing the past couple of weeks since Yoox.com has heightened their online sales.

Since I've always been a pragmatic holiday gift shopper whose agoraphobia kicks in the day after Black Friday, I've been stuck on Yoox like it's my job. So far, I've bought my sisters' birthday presents, my mom's birthday and Christmas presents along with my dad's gifts. It's the site that keeps me clicking.

But once I exhausted all my time and decide that I've bought gifts for everyone in my immediate family, I figure that I can quit Yoox. This never seems to be the case. Their consumer targeting must have been built by Steve Jobs because they always seem to pull me back in to check out the site for more. There's the free shipping, the additional discounts made available only for members or the 24 hour flash sale on new arrivals that tempts me to come back to visit again like the best little whorehouse online. It doesn't seem to be a problem because I never spend more than I can afford, but it does strike me as funny. I laugh at how much of a sucker I am for a bargain. And the fact that I never have to go to a store to be bothered by pushy people, aggressive sales clerks or disappointed by never finding my size in-stores makes my time spent with Yoox all seem worthwhile.

I've even started buying gifts for next year's birthdays, Father's Day, Mother's Day and christenings. I am an official gift hoarder. I hope my nephew who is scheduled to be born in February will fit into the Baby Dior onesie I already bought.

So long as I keep a financially healthy relationship with Yoox, I think that I'm okay. It's my online Barney's without the hike up to midtown. And with the amount of orders I've placed in the past couple of weeks, I know for a fact that Yoox loves me back. You can't say that about a lot of stores you shop at.

YES: When I say I want a Yoox gift card, I really do want one
NO: You won't end up buying something that everyone else has (well the odds are against you since they ship their inventory worldwide...so maybe you'll see it in Tokyo)
MAYBE: Yoox isn't for you if you prefer to try things on before making a decision