Are you shopping at a trustworthy online store?

What do you know about the online store you are dealing with?

You can eliminate the risks in shopping online by shopping with online stores that you or someone you know already shopped with before. How long has this store been on business online? If the company is unfamiliar or unknown, do your homework before buying their products. If you decide however, to buy something anyway, start out with an inexpensive order to learn if the company is trustworthy.

Indicators of reliable online companies :

1. They publish their physical business address and at least one phone number, either customer service or an order line. These are usually found in their "About Us" or "Company Info" pages.
2. Call the phone number to make sure that it is a legitimate working number. Ask how the merchant handles returned merchandise and complaints. Find out if it offers full refunds or only store credits. Ask questions . Find aswers.
3. You can also research a company in Internet yellow pages or local searches provided by most major Search Engines like Yahoo, Google and MSN. Perhaps friends or family members who live in the city listed can verify the validity of the company. Remember, anyone can create a web site.

I hope you'lll practice what you have just read. It takes some practice to shop safely! Go shop and shop happy!

Source: www.privacyrights.org

How can you tell if a web site is secure?

• On line shopping advisories always advise the online shopper to shop only from secure websites. But how can you tell if a web site is secure?
  
  Today's safe shopping lesson for the day from this shopkeeper is how to spot a secure web e-commerce site. Our readings from realiable e-commerce gurus, the likes of Privacy Rights Clearinghouse gave us the following information on the subject.
  
  A secure e-commerce site uses encryption technology to transfer information from your computer to the online merchant's computer. Encryption scrambles the information you send, such as your credit card number, in order to prevent computer hackers from obtaining it en route. The only people who can unscramble the code are those with legitimate access privileges.
  
  You can tell when you are dealing with a secure web site in several ways :
• First, if you look at the top of your screen where the web site address is displayed, you should see https://. The "s" that is displayed after "http" indicates that web site is secure. Often, you do not see the "s" until you actually move to the order page on the web site.
• Another way to determine if a web site is secure is to look for a closed padlock displayed at the bottom of your screen. If that lock is open, you should assume it is not a secure site.
• The third symbol that indicates you are on a secure site is an unbroken key.
  
  Of course, transmitting your data over secure channels is of little value to you if the merchant stores the data unscrambled. You should try to find out if the merchant stores the data in encrypted form. If a hacker is able to intrude, it cannot obtain your credit data and other personal information. Be sure to read the merchant's privacy and security policies to learn how it safeguards your personal data on its computers. And that will be the next lesson in our mission to help you shop on line safely.
  
  Bye for now, and I will see you next time. Should you have questions, just post an inquiry and I will try to get back to you as fast as I can. Ta ta!

Safe Online Shopping

While online shopping is a breeze because the factors that typically makes shopping at the mall difficult and physically strenuous are absent, i.e. lack of parking, walking from store to store, traffic congestion inside the mall, carrying and transporting your shopped goods, too many distractions . . . online shopping has its own litany of pains:

• A customer may not receive the ordered items or the received items mat be different from how these items were described.
• Ordered items may arrive late or past beyond the estimated time of arrival.
• E-mail addresses or telephone numbers may be sold to third parties.
• Personal or financial information may be compromised.
• Proliferation of e-mail scams from "phishers" who cloak their messages with the personality of trusted and honest retailers or legitimate institutions.

What can the online shopper do to protect himself/herself from becoming a victim of online predators?

This blogger and shopkeeper of a little online shop will discuss in parts the things an online shopper must remember when shopping online. These guidelines I have compiled from research and readings from legitimate sources and authorities on safe and legal trading practices in cyberspace. By giving you information and tips on safe e-shopping, I hope to be able to contribute to the number of confident online shoppers, thus contributing to the growth of small online retailers and business operators like myself. I believe like so many others, that online shopping's share of unpleasantness (if I may call it that) is still outweighed by the pains of shopping at the mall.

So, my dear readers, whereever you are. . . watch for these little tips on safe online shopping . . . coming in parts to Shoppers' Blog.