almostaugust

Do you buy stuff online? Had any bad experiences?

I know its 2005 and all but i still dont feel entirely comfortable doing this, please, put my mind at ease. August.

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BalloonKnots

I buy stuff online all the time. You can usually find things cheaper online and plus you can save on taxes at most sites. And you can't beat the convenience of shopping in your jammies!

Had one bad experience though. I tried to save money and went with the cheapest site for some home theatre equipment. Let's just say I'm never doing that again! If you're going to make a big purchase online, just make sure it's from a reputable site.

Anexkahn

yeah reputable sites are the way to go, and most of the time they are still cheaper than retail while maybe not the very lowest, but shopping at a reputable place is worth a bit more for less potential hassle.

Depending on what your buying -- namely electronics, watch out for refurbished stuff. Ususally its marked as such, but sometimes its in the fine print and not real obvious. If the price is too good to be true, do a little checking.

Put your purchases on a reputable credit card and you are assured some forms of buyer protection, whether it be a reversal of payment or outright insurance on purchases depending on your cardholder agreement.

If you're worried about security of your credit cards, most sites are fairly well regulated as far as creditcard processing and usually the data is submitted directly to their merchant processor and the actual company never even sees your account numbers. Higher probability some jackass would fish a reciept our copy down your number at a retail store than having it compromised by a reputable online seller.

ratbastid

Yes, I shop online, but even more importantly, I own my own company building e-commerce websites. I can tell you, there's nothing that an e-commerce merchant has a closer eye on than the privacy and security of customer data. Nothing will shut down a site and close a business faster than a privacy breach--at least, businesses the size I work with.

My standard practice in handling the most sensitive of your data--your credit card information and your password on the site--is to either never store it, or never store it unencrypted.

When you give a site I've build your CC info, it goes straight to the bank. We get back a "authorized' or "declined" and that's what we store. The site doesn't record or store your financial info in anyway. That means that when you log into the site later, we can't just magically already know your payment info, but I think that's a very fair trade-off for your security.

I keep passwords encrypted--so, you type in your password, I encrypt what you give me, and compare that to the encrypted password I have stored. That way even if data were to somehow find its way out of my database, nobody could come to the site and pretend to be you. Nothing revolutionary there--it's how Unix passwords have worked since the '70s, but it's still something average users don't realize.

Now, there's the concern about fraudulent businesses out there who will take your money and provide lesser or no product. I can't say much about that, because I know that such things do happen. Stick with more reputable companies, or check the Better Business Bureau online if you have any concerns.

Redlemon

I have had only one half-bad experience out of many many purchases. I ordered something through a Yahoo storefront, and received the confirmation from Yahoo that the order had been placed. However, the store itself (along with their physical store) had gone out of business, and I never received any sort of notification from them. I eventually had to contact Yahoo to let them know that the store was closed and therefore their website should be shut down. The order never reached my credit card.

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soma

I buy online once in a while. Mostly books and computer related stuff (the online markdowns for these items are usually worth the shipping wait and price). I did have one bad experience, but that was eBay and I did get my money back. The only thing lost was my time.

Although I do buy a lot online, I usually only use Paypal to buy stuff. That makes me feel a bit more safe because I only have to give my bank account number to one website.

Happy and safe shopping

cellophanedeity

I just bought my first thing with my new credit card!

My love has bought us T-shirts from the company before, and it's fairly reputable as far as online T-shirt companies go.

I'm excited and nervous. Hopefully it goes well.

almostaugust

Thanks everyone. Some great advice here. I checked the company's details online thanks to ratbastid. It wasnt conclusive, though i decided to go with my instincts and make the purchase. Like Cellophanediety, it is T-shirts!!!!!! Ive bought two napolean dynamite shirts for my girlfriend. They have a picture of a liger on the front. The caption reads- 'The Liger, bred for its skills and magic'.
Thanks again. August.

__________________
'And it's been a long December and there's reason to believe
Maybe this year will be better than the last
I can't remember all the times I tried to tell my myself
To hold on to these moments as they pass'

superiorrain

I buy all my cds, dvds and books online now. So much better than having the stress of heading down to the shops with about a million people getting in your way. I even bought two computers online and a few other electricals. As yet i've saved money never had any problems and will continue buying online forever. Plus if you use a credit card they often have their own built in protection, so if your card gets missed used by someone other than you the credit card people won't leave you in the shit, at least they shouldn't.

Always ask friends and other people about a website if you don't know too much about it. That way you can see if they're known and if they're known then usually it means they are ok to deal with.

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blahblah454

I am a ebay hound. I spend way more money than is healthy on ebay. But I get all my dvd's and cd's off of ebay. Its also great because you never have to leave your house to buy them and you can shop in your undies if you really want. Just make sure you take into account shipping prices when you buy online. Lots of people think they are getting good deals then end up being bent over by the shipping prices. So research lots when buying online and you should be fine.

frought

Buying goods over the internet is great, IMO, if you deal with reputable sites. I estimate I've bought over 30 items from reputable sites. including books, cds, bike bits, shoes and clothing without any hassle.

I think charging things to some of the large credit card companies provides some protection from unscrupulous vendors? You might want to check this out if you're worried.

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MiSo

buying online is one of the best things you can do.
you'll save ALOT of money.

right now, i'm planning on purchasing a 50' inch sony wega online. i'll be saving atleast 4 hundred vs. if i'd buy it from somewhere like bestbuy/circuit city.

merkerguitars

I purchase online ALOT and most of it is ebay related. And usually its really oddball stuff you just can't go to a store and get. My parents do alot of online shopping too. One of my friends parents refuse to buy any little item on the net. They are usually worried about fraud and someone stealing their bank info.

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todd

I know this thread is a few days stale, but I wanted to add my $.02

Research. Research your item and find what store sells it the cheapest, and what store is the most reputable. In my opinion, reputable site takes higher priority over cheaper price. If an item is $60 on a low grade site, and $75 on a very reputable looking site that accepts many payment methods, then you should definitly pay the extra $15 for the better site.

Also you should sign up for a PayPal account, and find sites that accept PayPal. I won't buy from a 3rd party site unless I can use PayPal. On larger sites like bestbuy.com or amazon.com or something like that, I don't mind using credit card directly, but on 3rd party sites or lesser known sites one of my requirements is that they accept PayPal.

I use ebay for 90% of my online purchases. Pretty much everything I'd want to buy is available on ebay for a much cheaper price, and is usually even new and unopened. ebay is becoming just as much as a normal store as it is a used stuff store. Theres pretty much zero chance of getting hit by fraud if you read the description thuroughly and buy from a seller with a good feedback score. If something goofy does happen, all you have to do is contact ebay or give the person bad feedback and it will get sorted out. I highly recomend ebay+PayPal for your #1 online source.

spindles

I've bought heaps of things online for quite a few years. I have only one rule - only use Amex online, as my visa is linked to my savings account - I feel slightly safer using Amex from a protection stand point.

I've bought books, CDs, computer games, DVDs, computer bits (hard drives, printers etc.) and software without any problems. Also when you are using shareware or try before you buy software, it is easiest to register and pay online - done this heaps.

If you are particularly wanting to find places to buy (as has been said above) ask for advice in places like this.

Also - for us Aussies, buying from overseas is definitely good from a price perspective. You can find sites from Thailand etc. that sell software (not pirated) very cheaply because of the market they are in.

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