why do you buy online?

[whole diary]

[6 OF 2 redundant adjunct of unimatrix 01]

i dont have a land line also works

also for double glazing sales, fake interest and then enquire about having a conservatory installed on the roof of your house in the bedroom so that you can look out at the stars

[Glovidge]

I buy online to get the best savings and to split the tickets. I only purchase advance cheap tickets online though. I would find it embarassing to go up t a ticekt counter and ask to split tickets at Swindon to make my journey cheaper. 

 I just would ok!

[6 OF 2 redundant adjunct of unimatrix 01]

The advance tickets all come from the same pool all the same price when bought online or at the station

[JayMac]

The advance tickets all come from the same pool all the same price when bought online or at the station

Er..... no. Some TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company) offer a discount on their own Advance Purchase fares if you buy them from their website.

East Midlands Trains - ^1 off.
East Coast - 9% discount.
First TransPennine Express - 16-25 Railcard holders get 50% off, instead of the usual 34%.

[6 OF 2 redundant adjunct of unimatrix 01]

none of which apply to this area

[inspector_blakey]

True, but still a good reason to buy online if you're venturing further afield - and remember that not all of our members are located in FGW^▸ (First Great Western) territory (yours truly included...)

[JayMac]

Indeed. Just last week I bought Advance Purchase tickets, for a January trip to York, on the East Coast website.

There are other incentives to avoid a trip to a station booking office as well. redspottedhanky's loyalty points and the ability to use Tesco vouchers and Southern's 6% cashback.

With all these incentives and the fact that websites are available 24/7 and rarely closed 'due to staff shortages' (an all too common occurrence at Bristol Temple Meads these days) means that I haven't bought an Advance Purchase ticket from a booking office/ticket window for many years now.

[Brucey]

Buying online also has the advantage that you can work out connections (e.g. buses and lifts from friends/family) at your own pace, as oppose to holding up the ticket office queue.  It's fine looking at a timetable before visiting the station, but that doesn't mean an advance ticket will be available.

I did used to buy Advance tickets at ticket offices when I had RTVs to spare, however I now save these up for railcards and/or rovers.

Also, Southern have their "Rainy Day Guarantee" on walk-up tickets (even from other operators).  This is really handy as it gives the best of both worlds:
1. A seat reservation on other TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) services (i.e. the booking in advance advantage)
2. The ability to get a refund without any charges if you decide not to travel (i.e. the turn up and go advantage)

[inspector_blakey]

I'd never heard of the "Rainy Day Guarantee" before now but after looking it up that strikes me as a bl**dy good reason to book flexible tickets with Southern rather than anyone else! In fact given the vagaries of airline arrivals at Heathrow around Christmas (2009 I was two days earlier than planned due to the strike that never happened, then in 2010 I was three days late after Heathrow got screwed up by snow - on both occasions I lost the value of an Advance ticket that was waiting to be collected) I may well be booking my tickets through Southern in due course.

[Wilf19]

I buy online because I can't abide queues of even one person, any kind of queue sends my blood pressure soaring.

Usually at Taunton I can get to the collection machines without having to queue whereas the same cannot be said of the normal ticket office. Whenever I decide to use the human method of buying ticket I invariably get stuck behind someone investigating the options for a cheap day return to Thurso via Dover with a railcard and a dog ticket to boot.