If Blindness Comes: Shopping Ideas

If Blindness Comes: Shopping Ideas

Shopping Ideas
Blind people use as many different techniques for shopping as
sighted people do, and everyone will use a variety of different
techniques for different occasions. The following is a list of
methods available. None of these methods will always be
satisfactory, but a combination of them will enable a blind person
to get the things he or she needs and wants:

Walk to the store, ask a clerk for assistance in finding items. This generally
works well when only a few items are needed. If the store is too far away
from home to walk, a city bus may be used. If you go to the same store regularly,
you may not always need assistance in finding items.

Telephone the store with a list of items needed: then go to the store in
a taxicab to pay for the items and bring them home. Grocery shopping can
be done in this way, especially if you know some of the people at the grocery
store and if you ask for this help when the store is not too busy.

Hire someone to drive you to the store and help you find the things you
need when you get there.

Shop with a friend or neighbor who is doing his or her own shopping at
the same time.

Find a volunteer from church or a civic club who will set aside an hour
or two occasionally to help you shop.

Ask a friend or neighbor to pick up a few items when he or she is out running
errands.

Often large department stores have a shopping service which can be arranged
for in advance. You can go to the store, meet the shopper, and find the
items you need. This is generally used when you wish to purchase quite a
few items at one store in one day.

Find a senior citizens program that sends a van or bus to a shopping center
occasionally, and make use of it.

Order items from a mail order catalogue by telephone.

Many companies do business primarily at your home. Jewel T, Amway, Shacklee,
Avon, and Fuller Brush send salespeople door-to-door and deliver. If you
like these products and are at home during the day, this is indeed a convenient
way to shop. Products such as Tupperware and Stanley are purchased at parties,
but can be ordered through the sales representative, as well.

Many blind persons arrange to shop repeatedly with someone whose judgment
they know and trust, especially for clothing, furniture, or decorative items.
You will probably enjoy shopping or dislike it as much as you did before you
lost your sight. Your shopping techniques will vary according to your health,
travel methods, preferences, and the occasion.
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Copyright © 1994 by the National Federation of the Blind All Rights Reserved.