Shopping Tips

With the increasing popularity of online shopping has come a variety of new opportunities for online shoppers. The wide variety of options available to online shoppers makes shopping for all types of products incredibly convenient. Consumers can now purchase everything from groceries to clothing and electronics and appliances to automobiles. Even items such as jewelry and rare collectibles can be purchased online. With so many online shopping opportunities available, consumers might be confused about which options are the best for them. This article will discuss some of the online shopping venues including traditional stores offering online shopping, online retailers who operate exclusively on the Internet and auction websites.

Traditional Stores Offering Online Shopping

Many of the traditional stores shoppers patronize on a daily basis also have an online presence. This includes retailers of all types of products such as grocery stores selling food and convenience items, popular clothing retailers, retailers of electronics and appliance and general merchandise stores offering a wide array of products for consumer purchase. Examples of these types of stores include Albertson’s, Nordstrom’s, Best Buy and Target. Most of these stores offer all of the items available in the traditional store as well as items which are available exclusively at the online store.

While the obvious advantage of shopping at a traditional store is the ability to see, try on, test or otherwise examine the products before making the purchase there are also obvious advantages to shopping at the online versions of these same stores. As previously mentioned, there are often items offered for sale which are exclusive to the online store. This gives the consumer a greater selection of products from which to choose. Another obvious advantage is the convenience shopping online offers to consumers. Online stores are open 24 hours a day and seven days a week which gives the online shopper the flexibility to do his shopping when it is convenient for him. It also eliminates the time required to travel to a store. Still another advantage of shopping in online stores over traditional stores is consumers can patronize online stores which do not have a traditional store located near their residence.

Online Retailers who Operate Exclusively on the Internet

There are also online retailers who operate exclusively on the Internet and do not have a traditional store where shoppers can examine the products available for sale. Here consumers will have to rely on images and product descriptions to select products. However, there are some advantages to patronizing these retailers. One advantage is the prices are often favorable. This is because operating an online store is considerably less expensive than operating a traditional store. This is because there is no need to own or lease a large retail space. The owners of the online store only have to have a facility large enough to store their inventory and an office space large enough to operate the online store. Some online retailers do not even have a storage facility because they have items shipped from the consumer directly from the distributor. This cost savings enables the online retailer to pass along considerable savings to the consumer.

Auction Websites

Still another option available to online shoppers is the ability to shop at auction websites. This is a different type of shopping experience because although consumers can browse through available items and read product descriptions the shopper is not guaranteed to be able to purchase an item unless they win the auction. Some auction websites do allow sellers to place items for sale instead of up for bid but the vast majority of items available on these websites are available via the auction process. Again there are certain advantages to this type of online shopping. One obvious advantage is the consumer can set a price they are willing to pay for a particular item and do not have to exceed this price. Additionally, they may win the auction with this price resulting in a considerable cost savings. Another advantage to online auction websites is consumers can often find rare items which are hard to find at these websites.

The ability to find product reviews before online shopping is very useful for online shoppers. These reviews can be very helpful for consumers who are trying to decide whether or not to purchase a particular product or attempting to compare to similar products. Based on these product reviews the consumer may make a more informed decision about which products to purchase and which ones to avoid. However, there are different types of reviews available and some product reviews are more useful than others. This article will discuss product reviews which can be found directly on the online retailer’s website as well as product reviews which can be found on websites dedicated to compiling product reviews.

Reviews on the Online Retailers Website

Many online retailers provide reviews of products they offer for sale directly on their own website. These reviews typically fall into two categories and include consumer product reviews and product reviews offered in terms for compensation. Consumers who are using these reviews to gather information about a product should proceed with caution to ensure they understand what type of reviews are being offered on the website.

Consumer reviews are typically the best resource for consumers who want to learn more about a product. This includes reviews which come from others who have purchased and used the product in question. These reviews are usually completely candid and offer great insight into the form and functionality of the product. Online shoppers who find the majority of consumers are satisfied with a particular product may be reassured they have selected a high quality product. Conversely online shoppers how consistently find negative reviews of a particular product may wish to consider purchasing a different item.

Online retailers also sometimes feature reviews on their website from reviewers who have been compensated to provide a review. When a retailer compensates an individual to make a review it is usually necessary to divulge this information because the review may tend to rate the product more favorably than they would if they were not compensated to do so.

Websites Provided for Consumers to Review Products

There are also websites available which are dedicated to compiling product reviews. This includes websites such as epinions.com. Here consumers can browse through a variety of products to find additional information in the form of product reviews for products they are considering purchasing. The reviews they find may be incredibly detailed and useful or they may be brief and provide very little useful information. Consumers are advised to consider these opinions carefully especially when there are a large number of reviews available which seem to be in agreement regarding the quality of the product. However, when there are only a few reviews available it can be much more difficult for the consumer to formulate his own opinion of the product based on these reviews posted on the website. Consumers are also advised to ignore reviews which vary significantly from the majority of the other review posted. These reviews may be mistakenly referring to the wrong product or may demonstrate an anomaly. For example if the majority of reviews are overwhelmingly positive but one or two reviews are negative it is generally acceptable to ignore the negative reviews as long as the company selling the product is reputable and there are enough positive reviews available to convince the shopper the product is worthwhile.

For many online shoppers the ability to find rare items is one of the many appeals of online shopping. Online shopping may offer other benefits such as convenience but when it comes to hard to find collectibles online shopping can result in a tremendous time savings for the savvy online shopper. This is a direct result of the online shopper being able to visit websites of a variety of different retailers in a relatively short period of time. Without this ability the search for a specific item could not only take significantly longer but may result in the shopper never finding the item he seeks. However, although online shopping can be an excellent option for shoppers seeking rare items, it can be more difficult to verify the authenticity of these items when they are purchased online.

The Ability to Shop around the World

The ability to shop retailers located around the world is one of the primary reasons why online shoppers seeking rare items often turn to online shopping. This is important because these rare items may not be readily available in the shopper’s vicinity. However, retailers on the other side of the country or even the other side of the world may have access to these items. Obviously traveling to these distant locations to purchase an item is not always feasible but when these items are offered for sale online the buyer can purchase hard to find items from retailers anywhere in the world.

Whether a shopper is looking for an expensive one of a kind item or an item which has a great deal of sentimental value and very little financial value, traveling around the world to find this item would be time consuming and expensive. However, when this trip around the world is taken virtually by visiting online retailers around the world the shopping excursions take relatively little time and are very inexpensive. Furthermore the ability to shop online greatly increases the possibility that the shopper will be successful in his search for a particular item.

Verifying the Authenticity of Items Purchased Online

Although online shopping may be a wonderful opportunity for shoppers seeking rare items, there are some aspects of purchasing these items which are more difficult when the shopping is done online. Specifically the ability to verify the authenticity of the item is more difficult online than it is when shopping in traditional stores. This is because the buyer does not have the opportunity to carefully examine the item in person to ensure it is authentic. The authenticity of items purchased for sentimental value may not be very important because the buyer may simply be looking for an item which symbolizes a fond memory for them. However, when items are purchased as part of a collection or for the purpose of reselling the item, verifying the authenticity is critical.

Online shoppers who are concerned about verifying the authenticity of an item should ask the online retailers for any additional photos or information which will assist the buyer in verifying the authenticity of the item. If the seller is unable to provide sufficient information for the buyer to verify whether or not the product is authentic the buyer will have to decide whether or not they still want to make the purchase.

Whether or not online shopping is secure is one question which gets asked over and over again by those who are considering making a purchase online. Unfortunately there is no simple answer to this question which will apply to all online shopping situations. However, there is a list of questions which online shoppers can ask to assist them in determining whether or not it is safe to purchase the item they are seeking online. A few of these questions deal with the online retailer’s reputation, the security of the server and the return policy offered on the items. This article will discuss some of these questions in an effort to help readers make informed decisions regarding online shopping.

Is the Online Retailer Reputable?

Determining whether or not an online retailer is reputable should be the first step shoppers take before deciding whether or not to make a purchase online from a particular online retailer. This is important because shoppers are much more likely to be satisfied with purchased from a reputable breeder than they are to be satisfied when the purchase is made from an online retailer with a less than favorable reputation.

There are a few methods shoppers can use to verify the reputation of the online retailer. Consulting the Better Business Bureau is just one of these methods which can be very beneficial to the shopper. Here the shopper can find information regarding previous complaints against the online retailer and can use this information to determine whether or not the retailer has a reputation for dealing fairly with customers. Online retailers who have been in business for a few years and do not have any complaints against them or have very few complaints against them can generally be trusted while shoppers should be wary of consumers who have many unresolved complaints against them or who have only been in business for a short period of time.

Is the Server Secure?

The security of the server used to complete the online purchase should also be questioned by online shoppers. This is a valid concern because identity theft can cause a tremendous amount of problems for the shopper. However, there is a very simple way in which an online shopper can determine whether or not the website is secure. Whenever submitting sensitive data such as credit card information the shopper should carefully examine the web address. A secure website will have a prefix of https:// while an unsecured website will have a prefix of http://. If the website is not secure the online shopper should consider making the purchase by calling customer service instead of submitting the information via the unsecured website where it can be vulnerable to being intercepted.

What is the Return Policy?

Carefully reviewing the return policy of an online retailer can also give the shopper a good indication of whether or not the seller is reputable. In general the return policies offered by online retailers should be very similar in nature to the return policies offered by traditional retailers with the exception of special provisions for handling the shipping of the product back to the retailer. Return policies which are unusually restrictive should be considered suspect by the shopper and may indicate a need for the shopper to do some additional research before deciding whether or not to patronize a particular online retailer.

Online shoppers often need to deal with customer service representatives from the online retailer they choose to patronize. From making purchases to dealing with problems with the order a customer service representative can be a great deal of assistance to online shoppers. This article will focus on some of the common interactions online shoppers have with a customer service representative. Some of these interactions include making a purchase, asking questions about products and making a complaint about an item purchased. This article will also discuss some of the common methods for contacting customer service including telephone, email and online forms.

Contacting Customer Service Representative to Make a Purchase

One of the most common interactions between online shoppers and online retailers is the process of making a purchase. Although many online retailers offer shoppers the ability to make their purchases directly through a website, most of these retailers also offer the opportunity for the customers to make the purchase by calling a customer service representative. Online shoppers may prefer this method for a number of different reasons. Some online shoppers may have apprehensions about the security of the website while others may simply have a personal preference for placing the order online as opposed to through a website. Regardless of the reason for contacting customer service to make an online purchase, the buyer will likely find this interaction to be quite simple as long as he has all of the necessary information on hand. This included information such as the product number and his billing information.

Contacting Customer Service with Inquiries

Another reason why online shoppers often contact a customer service representative agent from an online retailer is to ask questions about the products offered by the retailer. Consumers may have questions because the website does not provide enough information about the product. Even online retailers who offer very detailed product descriptions may omit details which are important to a particular consumer. In these cases the online shopper can contact customer service to have these questions answered. These questions may pertain to the product or other factors such as the shipping policies or return policies. Regardless of the subject of the question the customer service representative should either be able to answer the question or should be able to find an answer for the consumer.

Contacting Customer Service with a Complaint

Contacting a customer service agent with a complaint about a product purchased online is definitely one of the most difficult and stressful interactions an online shopper can have with a customer service agent. However, there are occasionally situations in which these interactions are necessary. When these situations arise it is important for the consumer to ensure he has all of the necessary information available when contacting customer service. This will include information such as the order number and the billing information. The order number is important because it will allow the customer service agent to verify items such as the item which was purchased and the date of the purchase. With this information the customer service can provide information about the options available to the consumer such as a refund or an exchange.

Methods of Contacting Customer Service

Online shoppers who wish to speak to a customer service agent from an online retailer typically have a few options available to them. The most popular option is the ability to contact an agent via telephone. Most online retailers provide a phone number for reaching customer service on the receipt as well as on the website. However, the telephone is not the only way in which online shoppers can contact customer service. Email is another popular option consumers can use to reach a customer service agent. Most online retailers offer the option of emailing customer service to make inquiries or complaints. Some retailers even provide online forms which make it easy for consumers to reach a customer service agent. These forms typically enable the consumer to provide his own contact information as well as the reason for contacting customer service. A customer service agent will then investigate the inquiry or complaint and respond to the customer either via telephone or email.