Online shopping can be a fun experience, whether is it on blogshops or online retail shops. Or it can also be your worst nightmare. Stories of people getting tricked are heard from time to time and surely, you don’t want to have your own similar tale to tell. Here are the top do’s and dont’s so your online shopping experience remains smooth, safe, and scam-free.
The 5 Do’s
1. Do shop online at trusted sites.
This is a no-brainer but many shoppers interchange “trusted” with “popular.” Popular websites can turn out to be not-so reputable after all. Similarly, little known sites and blogshops can be reputable.
To know if a site is trusted, look for HTTPS in the address bar. This means that your data is encrypted, thereby protecting you against hackers. Also, check whether the office of the website / company is located at a legit address.
2. Do trust your instincts.
This cannot be overly emphasized. If it’s too good to be true, it probably is. If you believe that the seller is hiding something, he or she probably is. Simply walk away and choose another seller.
3. Do shop around.
When shopping for women clothes / apparel, check out the brand’s official store to know how much they’re worth. Then, go through other shops to compare prices and other offers (such as free shipping). This shouldn’t take long, and you’ll save money.
4. Do read reviews and consider ratings.
But just because one person had a negative comment doesn’t mean you’ll experience the same thing. That said, always check the consistency of the ratings. If a hundred consumers gave one item a high rating, there’s a high chance that you’ll be happy with your purchase.
5. Do read the site’s Privacy Policy and Terms.
The Privacy Policy page tells you what type of information the site collects from you, and how the owner of the site intends to use the gathered data. The Terms and Conditions page gives you the shop’s terms on refunds.
The 3 Don’ts
1. Don’t trust anyone with your credit card.
This advice is for people lending their credit card to friends and relatives. It can happen that the other person isn’t knowledgeable or shops at a phishing website. To be safe, offer to do the shopping for them instead.
2. Don’t use a debit card.
When things go wrong, it’s easy to dispute a credit card purchase than refund the money used in a debit card purchase.
3. Don’t give out more than the usual needed information.
If you’re paying through Paypal or credit card, your name and address (for shipping) are enough. Social security and bank account numbers are not needed.
In addition, you might also want to learn to protect yourself from blogshop scams.
