Safe Shopping Tips
Granny advises:
"Hon, you really don’t have to worry about the safety of online shopping. Why, you are in more danger in the parking lot at the mall! I did all my Christmas shopping online with no problems. Really, there is no greater danger in giving your credit card online than there is in carrying it around with you and having your purse snatched or handing it to a strange clerk who may swipe it twice! Why, you would hand your credit card to a waiter or cashier with a nose ring, 10 earrings, spiked hair, and 3 tattos! Don't you know that a reputable company with a website is just as safe? If the idea of online shopping still makes you uneasy though, there are some tips you can use to increase your safety. What would you do without old Granny here?!?!
Since there are two superb sites covering safe online shopping that you can link to from this page, Granny said to keep our tips to you short and sweet!
1. Make sure that you can establish a “real” presence for the merchant, ie. address and phone number, just in case you do have a problem. Be cautious about dealing with a seller who cannot offer this information or who only has a post office box. Be careful on auction sites, especially with Dutch auctions.
2. Check out the company’s return and refund policy. Many require that you get permission before returning an item and then must pay a restocking fee that comes out of your refund. However, even when this is the official policy, many stores will want to keep your business and will waive that if you are not known to return items frequently.
3. If it makes you uncomfortable to put your credit card number on the Web even with secure socket servers, you can always call in the credit card information on their 800 number.
4. At each store, you register and set up an account, usually requiring you to come up with a password. Don’t use something obvious, such as your birthdate, house number, or Social Security number.
5. Remember that there are many legal similarities between online shopping and/or catalog shopping or shopping with a credit card. You have legal rights and you should know them.
6. In case of a problem with an order, notify your credit card company immediately to let them know that the charge is in dispute. You have a time cap within which to file this dispute, usually 60 or 90 days from the date of the charge.
7. Make good use of the sites below to ensure that you are a safe online shopper.
SAFE SHOPPING (created by the American Bar Association)
Main Page | Top 10 Reasons | Bargains, etc. | Rebates | Special Online Stores