How to go about Online Shopping - For newbies

by: Paromita Chowdhury
How to go about online shopping:The idea of online shopping has created a major interest in net users. It is simply buying and paying through internet anytime anywhere. You can purchase almost anything online and need not bother anyone. You can purchase clothes, cars, computers, groceries, books, machineries etc. along with real estates. Generally, the transactions are done through credit cards only. However, there are some sites, which offer cash on delivery. Though online shopping is easier and cheaper as they often offer discounts, yet you could be in trouble at times. Have you ever thought of choosing a secured and safe site for your shopping?Are you sure your transaction is safe?Let us think about certain facts before going for online shopping:Are you using a secure browser?The browser you are using should abide by the industry security standards. There are Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and Secure Electronic Transaction (SET). These systems encrypt the purchase information you send over the net. Safe sites show the symbol of an unbroken key, a picture of a closed lock or a web address started with https://. Along with that, most of the browsers also display a warning message before you click to send any information to a site. Go for Certificate check:It is also easy to verify a secure site with a “certificate”. Presently Verisign,Inc. is a provider of Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). This company has formed long-term partnerships with a large no. of other companies. You can check out www.verisign.com for further information.Do not reveal your very personal information unless required:Always try not to send your password anywhere if you do not know the receiver. It’s even secured to use a combination of numbers, letters and symbols in your password instead of using birth dates, phone numbers etc.Always pay with a credit card or charge card:Online shopping is done by credit card or charge card in order to make the procedure easy. If you pay with a credit card or charge card, your transaction will be protected by the Fair Credit Building Act. According to the law, consumers have every right to dispute the charges against certain situations. It is always better to invest small amount while buying online for the first time. Try them a couple of times and then go for more investments. Using one card only for online shopping will make your life much comfortable. Do not forget to keep hard copies of your purchase order and confirmation number.Think twice before filling up a form online:In maximum websites, you need to register yourself in order to buy things. This form is sometimes very risky as with just a click of your mouse all your information could be sent to anywhere. If you are sending any private information then it’s better to think twice. Generally the sites want to know whether you are new to online shopping or what kind of products you are interested in etc. but sometime they ask for your e-mail id, password, mailing address and phone number. Ask yourself before pouring out all such information:1)Are they at all required?2)Should I trust the owners of the site?3)What about the site’s privacy policy?4)Is it a secure site at all?5)What my friends/ relatives/ colleagues feel about this site?After giving yourself proper and satisfactory replies, you can go forward.Even after having a through knowledge about the site, if unfortunately you come across some problems there are agencies, which could help you.1)The Publication Analyzing Internet Information (PM 1789b)2)Federal Trade Commission at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/menu-internet.htm.3)National Fraud Information Center at http://www.fraud.org.4)Call for Action, Inc. at http://www.callforaction.org/5)Consumer Information Center at http://www.pueble.gsa.gov/Shopping online is definitely enjoyable and interesting. Your online shops are open for 24 hours a day under any circumstances. It gives you the pleasure and comfort to buy with just a few clicks on your mouse. You can go for research before buying a product, such as can check out the price range, utility, others’ opinion and many more things. As everything has its good and bad sides, online shopping is not an exceptional case. Sometime you might have to pay more as the price includes shipping charges and other delivery options. Even it takes time to open up pages where you could be able to see the products. Along with all the pros and cons, online shopping is just “in”. Maximum people prefer getting things delivered at their doorstep even if they have to pay more. However, before ordering anything online, think and try these out. If you feel you are secured, go ahead and happy shopping!