Value of Third Party Online Shopping Site

.Objective presentation of multiple stores even with competitive products.
.Can offer unbiased opinions about individual store and/or product with the purpose of establishing shopper confidence.
.Can remove undesirable merchants and/or products easily to maintain quality of shopping site.
.Shoppers feel free to offer comments and feedback about their shopping experiences.
.Can publish critical review papers about certain products and/or merchant (the larger the site the more freedom to do so).

Advice to the Online Shoppers

.Know your online merchants well through objective third party information and references.
.Shop through reputable third party online shopping sites which select and filter to list only reputable merchants.
.Familiarize with merchants' purchasing processes (beware of any process change when move from site to site).
.Only deal with merchants who use secure transaction system involving credit card.
.Be careful with international sites since the laws governing them are very different (trust third party site which has done the filtering and selection).
.Always check terms and conditions (guarantee, currency used and refund policy) carefully before committing purchase.
.Read about merchants and check their quality and/or security certificates if relevant.
.Review third party offered information about merchants, products and comparisons to establish confidence.

Advice to the Online Merchants

.Provide clear and sufficient information so consumers can make an informed choice
.Take reasonable steps to ensure the consumer's choice is informed and intentional (avoid mistakes and misunderstanding)
.Publish privacy statement and protect personal information
Use secure e-commerce transaction system with fair, timely and affordable methods to resolve transaction problems
.Never use spam marketing through email or Internet
Offer third party references about safe use of e-commerce
.Display company logo and information in prominent places (especially company address and contact information)
.Exhibit terms and conditions (guarantee, currency used etc) clearly (do not use unreadable font size and large legal document)

What Are the Disadvantages of Online Shopping (versus Shopping at a Physical Store)?

Lack of touch and feel of merchandise, lack of personal attention from a salesman (*MWS Online Shopping Mart offers ClickCall service to talk to a sales representative which may be a necessity for online shopping), not able to try the merchandise on (especially clothing), lack of close quality examination (physically visiting different stores and examine the same product is assuring but costly in time), more chances to encounter fraud (disappearance of shopping site), more chances for mistakes in ordering the wrong item, slightly higher exposure of credit card security (*This is a controversial point since using CVV2 code with credit card, can be more secure or less chance of fraud.) Verification of credit card owner less rigorous (physically one can ask for other identifications).

What Are the Advantages of Online Shopping(versus Shopping at a Physical Store)?

Convenience, no pressure shopping, savings in time, consistency between advertised price and site price, no driving and parking, sometimes no cost delivery even to third party receiver, information on product comparison easily available, sometimes price comparison available online, third party shopping sites keeping merchants competitive hence offering the best products and prices, 24/7 shopping, ease in merchandise cancellation or return, sometimes tracking of shipping available, large online shopping site offering store comparison and sometimes no taxes.

How to Shop Online with Confidence

E-commerce has come of age, but if you’re like a lot of people, you still get a little squeamish about typing your credit card or social security number into a form on a web site.

The good news is that shopping online is safe—if you exercise caution. This means going online with protection and using only the services that pass your trust test.

Going online with protection means having current anti-virus and firewall software installed on your computer. Anything less and you’re putting yourself at risk. Also, if you have a wireless connection at home—or use one elsewhere—check out this article on wireless safety.

There are several criteria for determining the trustworthiness of a site. The most important of which is the initial sniff test. Because let’s face it: some sites just smell phishy (we’ll get to phishing in a bit). Maybe it’s the cheesy blinking graphics. Maybe it’s because they sell other stuff you don’t want to be associated with. Maybe you can’t quite tell exactly why you don’t trust a site. Go with your gut—it’s pretty savvy.

A more objective (but not necessarily better) criterion is the privacy policy. What does it say? What do they plan on doing with your personal information? Privacy policies are usually somewhat opaque, since they’re written by lawyerly types. But if you can’t cut through a privacy policy’s legalese to find a clear answer to your questions, don’t trust it. It may be totally benign, but you don’t know that. Best bet is to keep moving.

In order to stay safe online, here are some other tips for the taking:

Look for Ss. If the site address has an ‘https://’ in the address, that means it works with your web browser to scramble your information, keeping it safe from any third-party onlookers. If there is just ‘http://,’ any information you give is susceptible to interception. Another ‘s’ to look out for is SSL, which stands for secure socket layer. SSL is a method of securing information, and it’s an industry standard. Look for mention of SSL in the site’s privacy policy or elsewhere.

Choose login and password info carefully. Buying something online usually requires setting up an account with a login name and password. Remember, your password should not be a variation on your name or your pet’s. Or your street or hometown. Pick a password that you will remember but not something that someone could easily guess. Try to use upper and lower case letters, as well as symbols and numbers.

Always pay with a credit card. According to the FTC, by paying with a credit card, your transaction will be protected by the Fair Credit Billing Act. Cash and check payments don’t come with similar protections, leaving you with little recourse if you don’t get what you paid for.

Never give personal information over e-mail. Information sent via e-mail is not encrypted like information entered into a form on a secure web site. If you’re ever asked to give personal information via e-mail, the chances are good that you’re the target of a ‘phishing’ operation, in which a fraudster is pretending to be a trusted company.

Keep meticulous records. If, despite your efforts to be careful, you are the victim of fraud or theft, the paper trail will be invaluable in sorting out the aftermath. Be sure to report any mishaps with the Federal Trade Commission and/or your state’s attorney general.

Look for independent approval. There are some organizations that will vouch for the security and/or trustworthiness of a site. While there are very few standards on the web, organizations like the Better Business Bureau, VeriSign and TrustE have emerged as reliable indicators.

Know who you’re buying from. Do some research before your buy if you’re unfamiliar with the company.

Lastly, since the internet landscape changes so quickly, it’s wise to regularly check in with trusted sources to be sure you’re current in your precautionary steps. The FTC operates an excellent site called On Guard Online, which is updated regularly with articles and video tutorials.

Links:

http://www.ftc.gov/onlineshopping/

http://onguardonline.gov/tutorials/index.html