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With just a computer,
shoppers can buy nearly any product
online - from groceries to trucks,
from insurance policies to home
loans. The world of electronic
commerce, also known as e-commerce,
enables consumers to shop at
thousands of online stores and pay
for their purchases without leaving
the comfort of home.
For many, the
Internet has taken the place of
Saturday afternoon window shopping
at the mall.
The
same things can go wrong shopping
online as in the real world.
Sometimes it is simply a case of a
computer glitch. Other times, shoppers are
cheated by clever cyber theives.
This
guide offers advice on how to make
your internet shopping experiences
enjoyable and safe
Here is a list of great tips you should
consult when shopping online.
Print
this page and keep it in a handy
place so it will be easy to review
before you order.
- Trust
your instincts. If you do not feel comfortable buying
or bidding on an item over the
web,
or if you feel pressured to
place your order immediately,
maybe you should not.
- Be
knowledgeable about web-based
auctions. Take special care
to familiarize yourself
not only
with the rules and policies of
the auction website itself but with
the legal terms
(warranties,
refund policy, etc.) of the
seller’s items that you wish
to bid on.
- Double
check pricing. Whether the
product is being sold as new or
used, be suspicious
of prices
that are too good to be true.
Also consider carefully whether
you may be paying
too much for
an item, particularly if
you’re bidding through an
auction site.
- You may want to
comparison shop, online or
offline, before you buy.
- Find and
read the privacy policy.
Read the privacy policy
carefully to find out what
information the seller is
gathering from you, how the
information will be used, and
how
you can stop the process. If
a site does not have a privacy
policy posted, you may not
want
to do business with that site.
If it does have a privacy
policy, there will probably be
a
link to it from the seller’s
home page, or it could be
included with the legal page
- Review
the return, refund, and shipping
and handling policies as well as
the
other legal terms. If
you can’t find them, ask the
seller through an e-mail or
telephone call to indicate where
they are on the site or to
provide them to you in writing.
- Check
that the Internet connections
are secure. Before you give
your payment information, there
are various icons and software
programs that indicate that
security software is in
place.
- Use the
safest way to pay on the
Internet. Pay for your order
using a credit card.
- Print
the terms. You should print
out and date a copy of terms,
conditions, warranties, item
description, company
information, even confirming
e-mails, and save them with your
records of your purchase.
- Insure
the safe delivery of your item.
If you are worried about the
safety of your package if
there is no one home to receive
it, ask whether you can specify
that the shipper must receive a
signature before leaving the
package. Or, it may be safer to
have the package delivered to
your office.
- Inspect
your purchase. Look at your
purchase carefully as soon as
you receive it. Contact the
seller as soon as possible if
you discover a problem with it.
Tell the seller in writing about
any problem that you are
concerned with, ask for a repair
or refund, and keep a copy of
your correspondence.
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