I know shopping online can be a bit scary to some people. There are a lot more risks than buying something from a physical store because you only have a profile and pictures to go from. However, if you can get it right, online shopping can be pretty easy and convenient, it opens up a a much bigger variety to what you can buy and if you know what to look out for you can feel a lot more confident in what you purchase.
Here are 11 simple tips that are good to practice when deciding if something is safe to buy:
1. Research. This is probably the most important thing you can do and is linked to all the other points. If you find a product you are unsure about research its name and brand. ALWAYS research the name of the store, the brand, the product itself. Use google, tumblr, blogger, facebook etc to find the store and search for information.
2. Reviews. In your research you should look for reviews. These are a good indicator of how trustworthy a shop is and the quality of their products. Multiple reviews would be best as one bad review should not reflect the entire reliability of the shop or the product. It may have just been a one off mistake or honest miss in quality control.
3. Price. The price of the product is an indicator of the quality. If you buy, for example, a belted dress for $10. It sure looks cute, but don't be disappointed if when you get it it has lose threads, poor stitching or has the probability it will fall apart quickly. It annoys me to no end when I see people reviewing a product negatively for these reasons and they don't acknowledge the price of the item. You can't expect top quality for virtually nothing.
4. Feedback. Some marketplace sites have a feedback system be it written reviews or ratings. Etsy, ebay, amazon, even taobao have feedback systems. High ratings for a high amount of sales is good. Low rating for any number of sales is bad. If it is based on written feedback read the customers comments and get a generalised idea of how reliable the store and product is.
5. Sales. Again number of sales is important. Especially for places like storenvy which do not have a rating system. The higher the number of sales you can assume the more reliable they are and the likely you will be able to find a review or information from past customers.
6. Sizing. Always check your size. Don't go off generalised/standardised sizes, go off measurements and compare them to your own measurements. If there are no measurements offered you can always ask for them.
7. Communication. Don't ever hesitate to ask the seller questions. They should get back to you fairly quickly, if they are not quick they will usually excuse themselves. If you have already bought the item you can ask for updates on the purchase, most will do that themselves, but if you are ever worried just let them know your problem or request help from them, you are within your right to do so.
8. Payment. Paypal is probably the most secure and safe method of payment. I personally prefer to use it, if the site does not accept paypal I find that a deterrent to shopping there. Paypal makes it really easy to keep in contact with the seller and you are much more likely to get your money back if anything goes wrong, so long as you open your dispute within 45 days of paying.
9. Materials. Materials can tell you a lot of things about the product. How sturdy it is, how comfortable it would be to use/wear, if it is toxic, if you are paying too much for it. Cheap fabrics can make you sweat, they can damage easily, it is a good thing to keep in mind if you are paying a lot of money for something made out of polyester. Or if you are buying something that actually has harmful ingredients.
10. Photos. Photo quality is a good indicator of if you might be about to get ripped off. If the photo is of low resolution it is most likely a picture that had been copied from the internet many times. If it is a crisp clean photo then it is more likely to be an exclusive picture to that store. If it has a watermark or signature, that does not belong to the store selling it, it may be a replica or the seller may have permission to use the images. It is more reassuring if there is a photo credit in the description. This is not always the case, taobao resellers will often use the same image because they are being supplied from the same place and taobao images often have a watermark or logo with the shop number. If it looks like an image of a well know brand at a much lower price then the item is most likely a replica.
11. Policies. Sellers and buyers should be aware of their shop policies. When someone buys from a seller it is like entering an agreement for both parties. Be aware as a seller that you must be true to whatever policies you have given and as customers read them so you know what you are agreeing to when you buy the item and what to do if you need to make a return or exchange.
There are exclusions to these points but these are things you should always look for if you are unsure about something. Alway go with your gut, if you have done your best research and you are still unsure don't buy it. If you are happy to risk it then give it a shot and you can always fall back on paypal disputes and claims.
I hope this will help you!
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