Online Shopping the Easy Way

Online Shopping the Easy WayAlmost everything you can buy in local stores can be bought…

Online Shopping the Easy Way

Almost everything you can buy in local stores can be bought in online shops. Price comparison sites find the cheapest merchants for you. But can you trust them? A lot of people have fallen for online scams. They have ordered the goods, paid for them, but unfortunately they never arrived.

Shop owners who want to distance themselves from the great mass of online retailers are trying to show off their quality by using quality certificates.

Particularly extensive testing criteria can be found at Trusted Stores. A total of about a hundred points are put under the microscope: credit, security, price transparency, reporting requirements, customer service and privacy policy. In addition, a free buyer protection with money-back guarantee is offered. This applies even if the dealer becomes insolvent. Trusted Shops has already certified over 8000 online retailers.

“Seals of approval are not to be confused with street signs, which are responsible for traffic safety,” warns IT consultant and former hacker Gunnar Porada. Also, not all are equally good seals. Some already awarded a certificate that encrypts the data sent, what should be a matter of course for all investors. A label alone does not guarantee a good quality of the online shop.

Pay securely on the Internet

When you pay, the Internet, buyers are often uncertain. Which way is the best, so that the goods actually arrive? Is the data that I provide on the Internet protected, especially from bank account and credit card numbers? “The safest for the customer is to when you can pay by invoice. But most traders try to cash in advance”, criticized the independent IT consultant Sebastian Schreiber of the preferences of online dealer for paying. Alternatively you can give the dealer a debit. A direct debit can be revoked for six weeks without any problems. COD is an additional, but expensive way for ordering. The advantage is you only pay when you hold the goods in your hands. The credit card also provides good protection. The money can be retrieved easily when something went wrong.

Known payment systems

PayPal: Buyer and seller must be sign before the first transaction and register on the website of PayPal, a subsidiary of eBay. There are credit card or account data is stored. For buyers and sellers to remain anonymous. Payment is on the seller’s account. He must also pay a commission for the service line. eBay advertises a suitable buyer protection: “If the goods are faulty, damaged, PayPal refunded the buyer the money back,” says Alexander Lengen, spokesman for PayPal.

Google Checkout: Another safe payment system offered by Google.

The good old credit card

Experts recommend paying online by credit card. It’s one of the most widely used payment systems. Although the data must be sent online, often for security is the three digit security code can also queried. If errors occur, payment may be reversed at any time, when the goods do not arrive or the Internet retailer is insolvent. Many banks release their clients from liability, even if the card was misused and could not be locked in time, says a VISA company spokeswoman. Gross negligence is excluded, which means the card was not carefully preserved the secrecy of the PIN has been breached or the obligation to report loss of card has not complied with immediately.

When shopping online credit card companies like VISA and MasterCard offer a special password protection. The password is only exchanged between the card holder and his bank. Meanwhile, some 20,000 dealers offer their customers this option.

Tips for online shopping

– Be careful when choosing the online retailer to its reputations.

– Buy only from trusted Internet shop

– Use tested seal of approval.

– Read the terms and conditions. These indicate the seriousness: Are they easy to find, easy to understand and limit your rights in any way they improperly?

– Are shipping or other incidental costs clearly identified? Obtain sufficient information to exchange or return? Is a legal notice on the page and align it with the data match elsewhere given contact? It is also helpful to test in advance whether the shop responds to e-mail inquiries.

– Ensure a high level Encryption: Sensitive data should only be transferred from the dealer with an SSL (Secure Socket Layer) encryption. You recognize this by looking at the address. The Internet address begins with https if it uses SSL for encryption. Or choose other ordering options (telephone, fax) if no encryption is offered.

– Check your credit card statement regularly and you immediately contradict to the card-issuing bank, if something is wrong.