Shopping
How to shop online smartly
Disclaimer: This content is provided for educational and entertainment purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. We do not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information presented. We are not liable for any actions taken based on this content. For specific issues or decisions, we recommend seeking professional advice. This content is not promoted on social media.
As coronavirus has made people sit at home, many are making use of this time to search the products online and spending time in online shopping. So we thought it is a good time to give you some tips to shop smarter online.
Are you making sure you are following the expert tips to shop online? Are you making sure you are giving your details to the trustworthy website? Are they Australia or international? What’s their return policy if the product is faulty? Did you make all these checks when you bought stuff online. In this article, we will look into things you can go through before trusting a website to buy.
We may miss a few things as it is not a complete guide but should cover most of the important things you need to be careful when you go online for shopping.
At Urbane Man, we take our customers safety very seriously. We use SSL layer to protect our website aka https website security, secure PayPal payment methods (one of the highest safety standard for paying online), we have the policy to cover the customer if the product is faulty in the rare occasion by refunding them a full amount no questions asked. We are an Australian owned and managed online store. We also maintain the safety of the website at WordPress level and server level. We have full support service available so if you have any trouble or questions then you can call or email any time. However, not every website take care of all these safety measures.
Some of the safety and other factors you need to consider when buying online are:
Check GST: Prior to 1 July 2018, overseas online retailers weren’t required to pay GST (Goods and Services Tax) on purchases below $1,000. However, following the new legislation after this date, international retailers are now required to pay GST even on lower value items. This could see your cart’s total rise at the checkout when shopping with retailers operating outside Australia.
Compare Prices: You can compare the price of a product with other retailers selling the same product. Usually, some won’t bother for a dollar or two difference but if it is more than $10 difference then it is certainly worth considering the cheaper option unless you are a die-hard fan of that online store. Having said that, if only a tiny difference then you can stick to your favourite place of shopping.
Check shipping fee: Most online stores only charge for the shipping fee that matches with Australian post amount and do not try to make money there. However, some try to make money even in shipping by charging extra. Australian standard shipping is $8.95 and anything more than $10 for normal shipping should be reconsidered. Also, be careful of the “FREE product just pay for shipping” tricks. Such sellers try to sell super cheap stuff as free but make money in the shipping fee.
Return Policy: Not everyone will give you returns. Not everyone will make it easy for you to return the item. Some may give you refund but make you go through a lot of steps so you give up. So read their return policy.
Use Coupons & Negotiation: Plenty of websites especially those who sell online tools, software, online services, courses etc have coupons. All you need to do is ask them. Also, negotiating is not a bad idea if the price is high of course. Some online software on cloud technology has very less cost per head as the tool or software is already made. The maintenance cost remains almost the same regardless of the number of users. This allows them to give discounts to users when someone asks for it.
How to Stay Safe Online
- Don’t shop using public wifi. When sitting in a library or using council wifi or any other public wifi then it is best not to shop online.
- Avoid too good to be true deals. Go in detail before you pay them
- Use a strong password when you make accounts on online stores
- See if the site is using a safe payment method like PayPal. Don’t just give your credit card details in a manual form on the site.
- Avoid unusual payment methods. If a retailer is asking for up-front payment via money order or wire transfer, there’s a good chance that something fishy is going on and to stay safe you should get out of there and blacklist the provider.
Urbane Man
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