The stores are open! The best part about shopping on the Internet is that it’s open 24/7. That means I can shop when it’s convenient for me, even if that’s 1:00 in the morning, and I can do it in my pajamas. That’s good too. I also don’t waste gas, have to look for parking or stand in line. All good. There are many reputable vendors. Competition has increased so much that, to get my business, many offer free shipping. All very good . . . but is it safe?

As with so many things, we can surrendar to paranoia, or we can use a little caution and experience the benefits. Every day, people offer suggestions to improve the online shopping experience. I’m doing that now and also soliciting your good suggestions. The FTC has a number of consumer tips for online shoppers. I do a few additional things that make me feel safer shopping online:

• Above all, I never send credit card information by email. Even if the email is encrypted (which I think will soon become the norm), people’s habits are to leave email programs open, unattended and easily visible to others.
• On a vendor’s web site, I don’t enter payment information, unless I know I’m on a secured site. Being on a secured site, means the page is set to encrypt your information before it’s sent through the Internet. An icon will appear on your web browser to confirm you’ve arrived at a secured page. The different browsers use slightly different means of letting you know, but it’s usually a padlock icon. On Firefox, it appears both in the address bar at the top and on the status bar at the bottom; on Internet Explorer, the icon appears on the status bar at the bottom right; Netscape uses an open padlock for unsecured web pages and a closed padlock for secure pages, also placed on the status bar at the bottom right. I’m not sure about other browsers, like Opera or Safari. Maybe users of those browsers could chime in. Not all the pages on a particular web site are encrypted. Product pages won’t generally be encrypted. You just want to confirm that the page requiring you to put in payment information is secure.
• I don’t use a bank debit card, ever. Even if your bank protects against online fraud and unauthorized charges, why risk the account you pay your bills from? You’ll start bouncing checks if someone empties your account. Then, your utilities get cut off . . . no phone, no power, no internet. Terrible! Why risk it?
• I designate one or, at most, two cards for online shopping. I prefer to use my charge card for personal purchases and my business credit card for business purchases. It’s easier to keep tabs of my purchases this way, especially during the holidays when I shop the most. It also reduces the credit card information I put out there for vendors.
• I keep my email confirmations or receipts and then compare them to my statement to confirm my purchases. I’ll check my account online if I have that option so that I don’t have to wait for the paper statement.
• I try to do most of my online business with vendors I’ve had good experiences with for years: the top two being Amazon.Com for gifts and software, and Directron.Com for computer hardware and case modding.
• If I want to do business with vendors I’m not as familiar with, I’ll usually select the one that accepts Paypal because that means I don’t have to give my credit card information to an unknown business. That makes me more comfortable.
• On using Paypal, here’s one additional guideline. They require you get verified (add bank account information) in order to lift the spending limits imposed on unverified Paypal members. When you make a purchase after you’re verified, the system does default to your bank account as the first option payment so you always want to be sure to select the option for the credit card you want debited (unless you want the payment to come from your account.) When I needed to get verified for a big purchase I made a long time ago, I used a separate savings account, rather than my checking for the same reason I don’t use bank debit cards. I don’t want to ever use the account I pay my bills from.
• I try to be familiar with the vendors’ return policies in case an item arrives broken or is not what I ordered or need. I’ve seldom had to return anything; mostly it’s because I found I needed a different type of product. Amazon in particular has a good return policy which is simple to follow. Some other vendors do require a restocking fee. Almost always, you’ll pay the return shipping. I think Amazon and others will credit the return shipping if it’s their mistake. I don’t recall right now. Returns aren’t a big issue for me. If they are for you, by all means, know your vendor’s policy before you buy. This isn’t really a credit safety issue, but will ultimately help you achieve a more positive overall shopping experience.

That’s it for now on the caveats to online purchasing, except for one more word of caution. If you’re addicted to shopping, I understand it as an illness and I’m sorry in advance for this blog’s apparent encouragement. I actually see shopping as a necessary evil, that’s time consuming and potentially debt building. I prefer to do it online because I’m offered a time-saving method and better opportunities for comparative shopping, a quicker way to find what I’m looking for, and online reviews to guide my purchases. I don’t carry credit card debt and don’t encourage that at all. I’ve had debt and know all too well how easily it is to fall into it (whether it’s due to health problems, momentary needs or overindulgence). I don’t really encourage people to buy what they don’t need.

That said, if you absolutely can’t overcome the overwhelming desire to buy something, you could try the American Red Cross, Children International or a similar organization and purchase someone a few opportunities your money can bring them. I know the return policy on this type of purchase is top of the line. Some people shop to feel better and that may provide the satisfaction needed. That’s a good thing too.

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 22nd, 2006 at 3:50 pm and is filed under Shopping Online. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.