|
The e-lessons of Holiday
'99 --
avoiding online shopping snafus
By Robbie
Woliver • Bankrate.com
 Dan
Odette, vice president of marketing for Excite@Home E-Business Services
(formerly iMall) looked back at the year-end online shop-a-thon
from Mom-and-Pop Web sites to giant etailers. He says these are
the main lessons learned:
- Look for shoppers guarantee. Make
sure any company you buy from offers you the ability to collect
your liability if your credit card is misused. The Shoppers Guarantee
should alleviate all worries. "Security is really no issue, however,"
says Odette, "online security was much safer [this season] than
in a restaurant."
- Posted privacy policy. Look at prospective
sites to see if they have their policy available online. This
will tell you how personal data will be used and in what ways,
e.g., Will they do anything beyond processing your data?
- Secured technology. Make sure when
ordering online, the sites' pages are using the secure SSL technology.
A little lock icon will appear ensuring that your order will be
encrypted.
- Check default shipping policy. For
most companies items are mailed "standard ground." You might want
to upgrade it. Even minor upgrades don't raise the cost much and
improve the delivery date.
- Use e-mail. Don't be shy about trying
to send e-mail to the merchant if you have any questions. Customers
need to be in touch with the merchants.
- Virtual shopping cart. Take more advantage
of the virtual shopping cart. Throw everything you're thinking
about buying in the cart -- it doesn't mean you bought it or even
that you have to buy it. But by adding the item to your cart you
are told what the shipping costs will be. Remember, you don't
buy anything until you check out.
- Be careful of photos of merchandise.
While it might be helpful to see photos of products you're thinking
of buying, be careful of things such as color. The color you see
on the PC may not be exact.
- Check stock. Make sure the company
is well-stocked when it comes to your item or you might be waiting
a while longer than you expected for delivery.
Robbie Woliver
is a freelance writer based in New York
To comment on this story, please e-mail the Bankrate.com
editors
-- Posted: Jan. 4, 2000
|
