Some Good Pointers For Online Shopping

Alot have been written about safety for online shoppers. As we read this article we will find that the subject of safe and smart online shopping in a nutshell.Alot of things said here are already known to us, but it is good to refresh our memory to avoid costly mistakes.

It's really a good idea to probe a little deeper into the subject of safe and smart online shopping. What we learn may give you the confidence you need to venture into new areas.

Shopping Pointers List

Here’s a list of good pointers we should consult when shopping online. Print this page and keep it in a handy place so it will be easy to review before we order.

* Trust our instincts. If we don’t feel comfortable buying or bidding on an item over the web, or if you feel pressured to place your order immediately, maybe we shouldn’t.

* Be knowledgeable about web-based auctions. Take special care to familiarize yourself not only with the rules and policies of the auction site itself but with the legal terms (warranties, refund policy, etc.) of the seller’s items that we 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 we may be paying too much for an item, particularly if we are bidding through an auction site. We 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 us, how the information will be used, and how we can stop the process. If a site does not have a privacy policy posted, we 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 Terms.

* Review the return, refund, and shipping and handling policies as well as the other legal terms. If we 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 us in writing.

* Check that the Internet connections are secure. Before we 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 our order using a credit card.

* Print the terms. We 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 our item. If you’re concerned about the safety of our package if there’s no one home to receive it, ask whether we 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 our purchase. Look at our purchase carefully as soon as we receive it. Contact the seller as soon as possible if we discover a problem with it. Tell the seller in writing about any problem that we are concerned with, ask for a repair or refund, and keep a copy of your correspondence.

There's a lot to understand about safe and smart online shopping. We were able to provide you with some of the facts above, but there is still plenty more to write about in subsequent articles.