I’ve never given real thought to this phenomenon until today.

There are some things which you can only buy on the Internet. The reasons are vast, and varied but certain products in certain niches simply cannot be bought on the high street.

When I see something I want/need, I often will go out and buy it from a shop simply because although the Internet may be a little cheaper.. it also takes a little longer. The problem is, that as happened today, I ended up wasting time looking for a product which now I will order online anyway

I have thus made it my prerogative to highlight products that I believe are only available online.

N.B I am English, I live in England, and these are my findings in my local area. I am sure if you look hard enough, and in the right places these products can be found offline BUT who wants to put effort in?! Feel free to let me know of any products you believe can only be bought on the net.

Body Fat Calipers: These things basically pinch your body fat, and give you a reading in mm. This can then be used to calculate your body fat percentage. I thought you could find these in any pharmacist, or sports shop. You cant ! I asked in JJB Sports, and the guy clearly had no idea what I was on about, yet pretended he did. “Any Idea where I could get them from?”… response “Yes, from the protein store” (I think he thought it was some sort of mass gaining supplement).

The logic behind such products is obvious… they don’t sell many, so it is not profitable. Why use storage space with something you are not going to sell.
This got be thinking: What happened if you wanted these before the Internet? Mail order catalog I guess.

If you know of any items which simply cannot be bought on the high street, then let me know. I will go an have a look, and If I cant… Ill give you absolutel nothing.

Addition One 15/08/2009 19:37
Thanks to Acroplex for this.. not sure how I missed it.

Domain Names
Domain Names cannot be bought in any way, shape, or form offline. It would however be extremely cool if you could: “I’d like a 20 pack of Malboro lights, and www.shopping.com please.” Response “That will be $100,005.99″.

Cheers