Online shopping is a booming industry today with many people becoming busy to go and shop personally and with the increased number of discounts and attractive offers which are being offered to their customers by the Online shopping portals people are more and more attracted to Online Shopping. Where there is good there is bad right behind it and this is same in terms of Online shopping as well as we need to be careful about disclosing our Payment details and make sure that we are entering out details in the right place and not putting it in the wrong hands.
So let us see what tips you should be following to make sure that you have a safe and productive Online shopping experience.
Check for Secure Gateways of Payment
Making sure that where you are going to enter and pay for the product is secure or not is the first and foremost thing to look out for, to do that you need to look at certain things in the browser and the URL from which your payment gateway is being routed. Check if the URL contains http:// or https:// and the later “s” suggests Secure URL and the non secure ones have only http:// before their URL. After you have done this basic thing look for a Padlock icon on your Browser let it be any like chrome, Firefox, explorer, opera etc, you will surely be getting this icon if the payment gateway is secure.
Never send your Payment or Card details through Email
Pay through secure gateways and never trust or send your card and payment details through email or reply to any such mails which ask for your payment details. Your card number and details are static and they cannot be changed so once they are in their hands you can only block your card to save your money.
Use Credit Card over Debit Card for Online Shopping
Use of Debit card is a very easy process and you can be sure that only the money you have in your account will be used which is not on credit but the use of debit cards gives you much less protection as compared to the use of Credit Card for online shopping, let me explain why.
Many Credit Card companies give you Fraud Liability and with some very low numbers as well. With credit Card payments you can easily put hold on your payments until the investigation is completed which cannot be done in case of Debit Card. There is some respite for Debit card users too but you should report or notify your respective bank about the fraud within 48 hours of the transaction to get the benefit. Many banking companies are now providing onetime credit card numbers which will be expiring after one transaction and only you and your bank will know about the number given and to which account it is linked to. So it is better to use Credit Card over Debit Card for online transactions.
Look out for Shipping Fees and Returning Fees
The price of the product you will see in your Online shopping portal will be the base price of the product and the additional charges like Shipping, Tax and in case you are returning the product you will be charged more and these should be seen and calculated beforehand. As some shopping portals give free shipping and some have free return policy which we should always look out for before ordering something. The Shipping fees can vary according to the weight of the product and also the location, so always be on the lookout for better deals as all you having to do is search online and shift form one browser to another and not go from one store to store like you do while shopping.
Search for the Best Deal and Coupons
Online shopping is the best in terms of searching and getting the best deals and coupons for the product you are planning to buy. There are numerous Shopping sites online at the moment and all of them are competing against each other to give you the best price and best deal.
So all we have to do is search for the product you want to buy online using Google or any other search engine of your liking. If you are planning to buy Galaxy S5 all you have to do is go to Google and Search for “Galaxy S5 price” and you will be getting hoards of results letting you finalize on the best deal. Apart from this your online shopping portals will also give you Discount coupons on all occasions all you have to do is search for the coupon and use it cleverly. You can get anywhere from 5% to 40% discount using coupons depending on the type of product and the occasion. BlackFriday, CryberMonday these are some of the days which will give you the best discounts and there are many sites named likewise to give you discounts.
Plan your Purchase in case of Gifts
If you are planning to gift something to someone on their birthday or any special occasion you have to plan your purchase accordingly. As many shopping sites will deliver your purchase in a certain period or time and you will not be knowing the exact time when your product will be delivered, there are some companies like Amazon etc which are promising a 1 day delivery which is a great offer and you might be needing to pay some extra cash for the particular product depending on your requirement.
There are some other good stores too, just like olx.com.bd which is a good platform for the buyers and sellers to come together and the buyer can go verify the products directly at the seller’s place if they wish to buy anything.
Do keep these in mind and have a great and profitable Shopping Experience from the comfort of your house avoiding the traffic jams, roaming around malls and shops to get the best deals etc.