Shopping online has become a big part of our lives but some people still worry about their credit card details been given to the wrong person. Online shopping is defintely here to stay and online security continues to advance. There are aguments that shopping online can be safer than shopping over the phone or even in person, as you never hand your credit card details to another person.
1. Make sure you know the identify, location and contact details of the online shop. There are online companies whos brand are recognizable like amazon.com. Many real life stores now include an online retailing arm as part of their retail services and you know their reputations. It is important to establish the identify of online companies who do not have instant recognition of store status. It is improtant to look for the name, company registration details for your country, contact details that have an email, postal address and a mobile number and a clear indication of where the company is based.
2. Find out more about the companys reputation, After looking for signs of identification it is a good idea to make sure that the company has a good online reputation. Do not assume that just because a store in the real world sells things one way that their online service will be as good. There might be a risk of lacking service back up or even return policies. The reputation can be checked by searching on internet for comments from others or consumer review sites. Many online companies allow you to rate their products and services, for example computer and camera stores.
3. Find out about billing guarentees and delivery before you buy always look for the costs and payment details before sending credit card details. look for:
- Packaging costs.
- Delivery costs.
- Wheather or not you will be billed before or after you recieve your products.
- Wheather you can track the item from the moment you purchase your item to the arrival at your door.
- Wheather the product comes with warrenty or not.
- How you can return the product if it doesnt work or if you arent happy with it. Look for information on the site about refunds and returns, print off a copy.