SHOPPING ONLINE - ENJOY THE EXPERIENCE.

One of the really great benefits of the Internet has to be Online shopping. Brick and mortar stores have become so big that shopping there is no longer enjoyable, so I'm pretty happy that the Internet provides another option - armchair shopping. I love the convenience of being able to sit down whenever I want and just browse, looking for the right product.

One of my favourite places to shop online is at Amazon. They have excellent customer service,  a great return policy and a very secure checkout - all things you need from any online store, but which isn't necessarily a given. I thought today I'd share some things I've learned to do or watch for when shopping online, so that everyone can enjoy the experience.

THE COMPUTER.
The first place to start is at the beginning (duh) and that is by knowing that the computer itself is safe and secure. Especially when shopping or banking online is it essential to have an up-to-date security program with superior protection against the latest malware (MALicious softWARE).

THE SELLER.

Know who you're dealing with. For new, unknown merchants, or even older established ones, it pays to take the time to check the online reviews. You want the merchant to offer the same policies as mentioned above with Amazon. I used to buy and sell on eBay and learned all about the importance of ratings - good sellers will go out of their way to maintain the highest customer ratings. But it’s still ‘buyer beware’ and up to the buyer to make sure they’re dealing with a reputable business - checking the customer ratings is a good way to do that.  
You can check store reviews at Epinion.com. They have a huge list of stores they review -  just click on this link Reviews  
Or you can just google the store. Using Sears as an example, you google 'Sears customer service reviews' and check the results.

VERY IMPORTANT. The seller’s web address must show an 's' added to http, as in https://www (this means ‘secure socket layer’ which provides an additional layer of security.) Using Sears as an example again, when you first sign on to the shopping site, it is just listed as http://sears.ca, but once you proceed to checkout it changes to secure checkout and the 's' is added as shown - https://secure.sears.ca/stores/shop/

Check the seller’s terms, conditions and privacy statement. Ask "Can this seller provide all you want?" and the biggie - "What recourse do you have if you're not satisfied with the product?"

THE PURCHASE

There are some really good consumer product review sites available and it doesn't take much time -and could pay off big time - to look up the latest ratings on any product being considered. You can't just buy by brand name anymore since so many brands have merged over the past number of years. They still keep their old name, but are actually produced by totally different manufacturers. Take the time to check the product.

• One of the best-known product review organizations with an excellent reputation is Consumer Reports Online       
• The largest consumer review site with thousands of customer product reports is- Product Reviews and Consumer Reports     

PERSONAL INFORMATION.

This is a very sensitive area that requires caution. When registering with a shopping site always use a strong password with a combination of letters, numbers and symbols. Make it extremely difficult for anyone to figure the password out.

During checkout, provide only the minimum information needed to process the transaction, usually name, address, phone number, email, and payment information. If any more information is requested, question why and make sure you like the answers. If you become uncomfortable by any of the questions asked, immediately cancel the transaction - there are other suppliers.

NEVER GIVE ANYONE YOUR SOCIAL INSURANCE NUMBER.

Use PayPal or a Credit card to pay - they offer buyers a certain amount of protection against fraud. Do not use a debit card for online purchases as this gives strangers ready access to your bank account, not a good idea at the best of times.

PRINT A COPY OF THE ORDER, READ IT TO MAKE SURE THE FINAL TRANSACTION IS AS AGREED AND COMPARES TO THE CREDIT CARD/PAYPAL INFORMATION. FILE IN A SAFE PLACE.

This is fraud prevention month so here's an additional reminder.....Banks, Credit Card Companies, PayPal, Gov't Agencies, etc. NEVER ask for any personal, financial or account information by email. If you get such an email, look up the phone number of the claimed sender, either online or in the phone book, (do not use any information supplied in the email) and call the business. This will do two things - first, you won't go around wondering if this was a legit request or not, and second, the business needs to know that their name is being used for fraudulent purposes so they can start tracking and taking preventive measures.

By using the same care as shopping in a brick and mortar store, there really should be no more risk shopping online than anywhere else. You wouldn't hand a clerk in the store your debit/credit card along with your PIN. The same common sense caution applies to shopping online. Know who you're dealing with, feel comfortable with the transaction and make sure you go through a secure checkout. Then sit back, grab that drink and enjoy the experience. 

Talk to you again next week,

Lenie

All images courtesy of Freedigitalphotos.com
Shopping icons - thanks to digital art
Computer security - thanks to Stuart Miles
Shopping girl - thanks to imagery majestic
Confidential - thanks to Idea go