Risks with Online Shopping
Giving your money to an unknown merchant somewhere in the world certainly does sound risky.
There are many ways to manage the process safely to ensure you get what you want and with minimal financial risk.
Some suggestions to reduce risk are made at the bottom of this page.
The very important one though must be repeated again and again:
If it looks too good to be true it is probably a scam!
Why Shop Online?
Certainly you can save time in travel to shops, you can access products from all around the world.
Online shopping has also made it easier for the niche or artisan producer to reach global markets so there are many more interesting products to see.
There are a huge range of products and services available from many businesses.
The diagram below shows a summary of the Where, What and How of Online purchasing.
One of the other great benefits to the purchaser when shopping online is the ability to comparison shop before purchase.
How Does it Work?
The internet provides an opportunity for shopping information to be on a website.
Just like any other website a shopping site is on a computer (webserver) located anywhere in the world.
Your internet connection can take you to these sites to allow you to see what is available and the prices.
Be aware that this also means that prices may be in the local currency so take care to notice if it is in AUD, USD, EUR, GBP or other currency.
Research
- Search for the type of product you want. (Use a search engine in a browser)
- Compare performance of suitable products
- Check for reviews of products you might buy for good and bad experiences
- Search again for your preferred product to get best total price (cost + delivery)
Products here can be goods, services, software, tickets, spare parts…
Purchasing
Once the product or service is identified you can move on to purchasing.
Purchasing could be from a 'real' shop even though the research has been done online.
Often though even 'real' shops have online services so you can make your purchase online too.
- Decide on the preferred online shop
- Check reviews of the online shop if not used before
- Be careful to check if warranties are for Australia
- Usually you need to create an account or use a 'guest' account if not purchased before
- Consider what delivery method will suit you:
- Deliver to door / mail
- Deliver to door with insurance
- Pick up at a retail store
- Pay with a credit card, bank transfer or online payment like Paypal
- Print a copy of your order or check it has been sent to your email (proof of payment)
- Note the likely delivery date in cases where signature is required on delivery
- Ensure that a safe location is available if you opt to have items left at the door
Watch out for these concerns!
- Don’t shop with websites that do not have https:// in their web address (this is a secure lock)
- Check your Cart to make sure you have the correct items and number of items
- Don’t make purchases that seem too good to be true
- Be careful with ‘grey’ importers, good price(?) but no local warranty
- Don’t save your credit card details ‘for next time’ on a website unless you really trust the merchant and you know you will come back
- Don’t load software from uncertain sources. Use app stores if possible
- Don’t forget that you can still get a refund if goods are damaged or defective from reputable merchants
- Don’t forget to check your bank statements to confirm correct payments
- Don’t forget to check Scamwatch (click here)
Subscriptions and Ongoing Purchasing
There are many items and services that are offered as ongoing subscriptions or regular purchases.
Software (apps) are often provided on a subscription basis, magazine subscriptions, drugs and supplements are frequently set up as regular purchases and so on.
Be wary of these as there are many risks:
Subscriptions can be cancelled but many need to be cancelled more than a month in advance if they are annual subscriptions. There are often 'administration' requirements that need you to stop payment well before the renewal date so do not leave it until near payment time.
Many subscriptions can also be reset immediately after first purchase to a single payment and renewal 'on demand' so that you can decide after 12 months if you wish to continue.
Many businesses make it harder than necessary to cancel so that they get a few extra monthly payments before they will stop payment.
If you have any doubts that you will continue then look at the cancellation policy AND procedure before you commit.
Here are some of the terms used in online shopping explained in simple language.
Click to download