Deal or no deal? When it pays to buy online

You can buy practically anything online, but that doesn’t mean you’ll always want to – or ought to, according to Consumer Reports.

The convenience is undeniable, of course, but the matter of cost is still very much a question. About 71 percent of products are essentially priced the same online and in-store, according to a recent study by Anthem Marketing Solutions. When there was a difference, the online product was cheaper 72 percent of the time.

But stores have advantages that the virtual world can’t match: opportunities for shoppers to touch, see and size up the goods and to walk away with a purchase.

Consumer Reports asked its experts and industry analysts about the things you should buy online – and when you’re better off with a trip to the store.

5 THINGS TO BUY ONLINE

1. Electronics. In addition to the fact that you’ll find a much wider selection online, more than two-thirds of electronics are cheaper when purchased on the Internet, according to Anthem. Still prefer to buy a TV in person? Do your research online. Many walk-in retailers will price-match a Web deal.

2. Small Appliances. You’ll find the best selection of blenders, toasters and the like online, although you’re still better off trying out heavy or hard-to-maneuver items, such as vacuums, in a store first.

3. Pet Supplies. By signing up for regularly scheduled pet food delivery from Petco.com, you can save 15 percent on every qualifying order and guarantee that Fido never runs out of kibble. You can also net big discounts by buying pet meds online rather than going to the vet, where markups over wholesale prices can be 100 percent and up.

4. Theme Park Tickets. You’ll pass by the ticket booth anyway, but buying online helps you “avoid lines at the park and find some of the best ticket-price deals that a park has to offer,” says Robb Alvey, founder of ThemeParkReview.com.

5. Baby Supplies. It’s cheaper and more convenient to order diapers, baby food and ancillary items (such as diaper-pail refills) online, especially if you opt for a delivery program such as Amazon’s Subscribe and Save, which discounts your entire order by 15 percent if you select five or more items.

3 THINGS NOT TO BUY ONLINE

1. Paint. The colors on your computer screen are made by emitted light and will never look the same as actual paints, which are made of reflective pigments. “Color should be chosen only after viewing painted test patches or large sample color chips on the walls of the space to be painted,” says Amy Krane, an architectural color consultant.

2. Office and School Supplies. The customer-service firm StellaService has reported that the average cost of purchasing a typical list of school supplies in a store was 41 percent cheaper than buying them online. Busy parents who want the convenience of ordering can urge school districts or PTAs to sign up for a mail-order service such as Staples’ SchoolKidz, which enables you to order items on the next year’s list ahead of time and have a box of supplies delivered when school starts in the fall.

3. Drugs From Overseas. Up to 97 percent of online pharmacy storefronts are considered “rogue,” meaning that they don’t require prescriptions or they sell drugs not approved by the Food and Drug Administration, according to a January review of almost 11,000 sites by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP).

Shop at one of those sites, and you could wind up with a drug that’s old or was improperly stored, or it could be adulterated or even fake, Consumer Reports warns. You also risk having your financial or personal information stolen. If you want to order medication online, choose a reputable site like CVS.com, Walgreens.com and Walmart.com, or go to legitscript.com to see whether an outlet you want meets NABP standards.

2015 Consumers Union Inc.