Never before have purchases been made online this year, with the advantage of having more choices, sometimes finding lower prices and saving yourself the trouble of going to the mall. Buying online also allows you to send gifts to distant friends and relatives without having to hand them over. The only doubts surrounding the online markets and E-commerce stores are the payment methods, the guarantees that the items are intact when received, that the payment data are not stolen and that the shipment is timely, without delay and safe. . In this short guide to online shopping we see those basic rules to follow to have almost absolute certainty that your purchase is satisfied, as if you were buying at the store.
1) The first important rule to follow is to always, or almost always, pay with Paypal, where possible.
Sites like Ebay, Etsy and many others accept payments via PayPal which has a huge advantage in managing online payments.
Through Paypal, in fact, it is not necessary to share any credit card number or other banking information, you only pay by indicating your email address.
Signing up to Paypal is easy and free, you only need to have a credit card to register once and for all on the website.
If you really want to be safe, you can easily use a PostePay or request a rechargeable Paypal credit card.
In another article, the guide to create a Paypal account to pay and receive payments online .
Paypal also has a protection and guarantee clause whereby, if a product arrives at home ruined or broken or if it does not arrive at all, you can request a refund.
Paypal is owned by Ebay and ensures every payment in the most used online store of used and new goods in the world.
Paypal is not the only online payment service, there are also other secure ones such as, for example, Google Wallet, Amazon and those of other credit cards.
The procedures and precautions to protect purchases made through Paypal are explained on a page of the Paypal site.
2) Purchases made on Amazon, the world's leading online store, are always guaranteed. On Amazon you don't pay with Paypal, but with a credit card which can also be a prepaid. Amazon itself provides the guarantee of shipping and product integrity.
In fact, if you are not satisfied, if you find a broken object or even if it breaks within the warranty period (one year or two years), you can send it back and obtain either a new shipment or a full refund.
Another article explains what to do if an Amazon package doesn't arrive or is missing .
3) Paying with debit cards like PostePay is always safer than paying with a normal credit card. This is because the debit card has a limit given by the recharge made and even if there was a problem with the site in use, there is no risk of losing extra money.
4) Check if the site has a real address and a phone number
When ordering from a site that is not as well known as Amazon, Zalando or Ebay, it is important to check if it is real, i.e. if there is a registered office with address and telephone number. To verify the address, you can search for it on Google Maps by finding it in the Street View view to understand if it really exists or if it is just a fake shack. For the number, it is worthwhile, before buying, to make a phone call and ask those who respond to provide us with an address and the name of the owner.
5) Check online reputation
If there is one thing that online sellers fear, it is negative feedback that if numerous can destroy an online business and the reputation of the owner.
Feedback is always to be checked for Ebay stores and also for others, by searching on Google for the company name and the name of the owner.
6) On many websites that sell products online, a symbol appears with the word TRUSTe .
It is a guarantee that certifies absolute privacy for customers and guarantees safe browsing. Companies can put these logos on their site if they respect a certain set of strict rules and standards. Click on the logos to see if they are real and if they are really authorized to use them.
7) Even if there is no TRUSTe brand, a site remains secure if the connection is encrypted and the site has an https security certificate . To verify it, just look at the internet address of the page where you make the payment and make sure there is "https" or a padlock icon at the end of the address bar.
For more details, it was explained, in another post, what it means to surf with secure connection in https.
If you want to be safer, you can install the best extension of this type on your browser, WOT (see article How to avoid dangerous links and suspicious sites), which shows the judgment, in real time, about a website, not only from the technical safety point of view.
You don't have to be wary of online stores in English because almost all of them also sell in Italy with very low shipping rates.
8) If you are not satisfied with the purchased item, you should be able to return it, but it is not said.
The important thing is to search the e-commerce site for the seller's return clauses . As mentioned above, if even the seller does not provide for returns or exchanges of the goods, Paypal offers purchase protection.
9) Buy only from popular online stores .
This is a rule that can also be waived according to personal experience, but if you want to be absolutely sure, you should do a little research on the internet and check if protests or complaints from other customers appear among the first results of Google certain seller. If the store is famous as Amazon, Etsy or an Ebay seller with close to 100% feedback, you can be absolutely sure. The problem with lesser-known stores is the confidentiality of information that can be purchased by other companies if the store is sold.
10) Looking for the lowest price
A site like Google Shopping gathers the most important online sellers of products.
If you find a much lower price from a semi-unknown store, maybe it's better to be wary.
11) Never pay by clicking on a link in an Email, therefore every e-mail asking for payments or account checks is a scam attempt.
To top it off, it would always be good to read the general online security guide .
