Buying online can be very pleasant but you have to exercise common sense and some good tricks to get ahead. Internet shopping should start here. This guide was created to help you enjoy the online shopping experience; You can even earn some cash and get some saving tips too:
1. Use the Contact Us button – ALWAYS!
If you are interested in purchasing a product or service online, first contact the site using the “Contact Us” button. If you don’t get a response within 24-48 business hours, be very careful doing business with that site. Even for well-known sites, you still need to see how their customer service is, so don’t skip this step. Being great does not necessarily mean good customer service. The answer should not be automatic, advising you to consult the frequently asked questions of the site to obtain your answer. The trick is to make your query need to be answered by a REAL person. I’ve developed the mindset that “if they don’t respond to my inquiry within 24-48 hours,” I won’t buy!
two. Join your affiliate program
If you have a website and want to buy anything online, first check if the site you plan to buy from offers an affiliate program. If they do, it gives you the perfect opportunity to see how they will treat you and anyone you refer in the future. Joining the affiliate program offers a triple opportunity:
First: PRE-SALE Customer Service Tests. This is another way to test customer service by applying for the affiliate program. If you receive a friendly response within 24-48 business hours and feel comfortable with the site, proceed to join their affiliate program. Then buy the item you set out to buy in the first place, BUT from YOUR link on YOUR site.
Second: You get paid to shop and that’s just a sweet bonus! You will usually receive a percentage of your own purchase or a fixed amount of $. Check how long it takes for your cookies to expire. The longer, of course, the better: the best are cookies that never expire. If you have a busy site, you may be able to market the product and earn a large commission before your cookie expires.
Third: POST-SALE Customer Service Tests. You are now in the position of a customer of this site as well as an affiliate. As a customer, you can assess: was the service and item as advertised? Was the service friendly? Did the product arrive on time? Was the quality as advertised? Was there a thank you email for the purchase? Did you receive an electronic receipt? Was there follow-up contact to ask about delivery, etc.? As an affiliate: Was the commission credited to your affiliate account within the time stated in your affiliate agreement? If you get all the answers right, you can now proceed to confidently market that product on your site because it is now your own living, credible testimonial.
3. CHARGE IT WITH CONFIDENCE
Many first-time online shoppers are wary of showing their credit card to charge it, and they have every reason to be. Countless stories about online credit card fraud abound. Be careful, exercise common sense. Credit card companies are also very vigilant and proactive in protecting their customers, but that shouldn’t stop you from indulging in your own due diligence. Follow these tips and you will minimize your risk.
has. First get a credit card that you use exclusively for online purchases.
b. Keep the limit $500 or less.
cons Only buy from sites that look like real people behind it ie misspellings, outdated content eg salon trade show advertising for 2006 in 2008 is dead as unmanned sites.
d. Beware of squatter sites: sites that aren’t really involved in retail, but do host a lot of retail links.
me. Your first line of defense if you are unsure is to use the “Contact Us” link if there is none, leave immediately.
Four. ORGANIZE ORGANIZE ORGANIZE
When you shop online, you’ll no doubt receive a lot of email contacts from the sites you do business with. Before long your email inbox will be filled with these emails. These are important emails, please do not delete them. Here’s what I recommend: Create a folder in your email program for EACH company you do business with, and STORE all your contacts with you in their respective folder. In this way, everything you receive, such as service guarantee, guarantee, promised commission, receipts, contract terms, etc., can be easily and quickly accessed in case a dispute arises later.
This trick is especially good if you were given passwords and a username to log into a site a while back and now you need it. Yes, most if not all sites have a password/username recovery process, but why wait for their answer if all you need to do is check your own folder? This tip is also good for correspondence from lawyers, school teachers, etc. If it is important to file it.
This tip recently helped me when I had to retrieve information from an electronic receipt I received from David Notestine of http://www.cyber-robotics.com last April. I was able to locate the receipt and contacted the company to take advantage of the service I purchased back then. This is also a company I contacted prior to the sale and got a personal response within 24 hours. I bought and also joined your affiliate program. Look how I practice what I preach!
5. DON’T GIVE TOO MUCH
There are many legitimate sites in the cyberspace that are very reputable and would never try to scam you so they would appreciate an article like this. They can even post on their sites for their clients. However, there are so many sites that are set up to do the exact opposite. These are the ones this advice is meant to warn you about. If you are asked to provide your Social Security Number (US) or Social Security Number (Canada), you may want to reconsider doing so. I have had the experience of signing up for work from home programs that promise great wealth working from home completing surveys, some office stuff, etc., but you have to provide Social Security information for yourself and your family members, etc. to be paid. I did! Luckily nothing happened to my identity to my knowledge unless there is a Desemal Thomas in the US that is STILL not affecting my identity here in Canada. This happened back in my internet newbie days when I trusted everyone. Unless you want a clone of yourself – Rule of thumb – LESS is MORE. No social security numbers, no full date of birth, no bank account information, provide only what makes sense. Less information = more protection.
6. THERE IS NO FORMULA TO GET RICH!
Stay away from temptation – (speaking from experience). Temptation can put a BIG hole in your credit card. If these people who promote the rich life on the beachfront, the yacht, the 5 star vacation had the formula to get rich overnight, why would they want to share it with you, a complete stranger? It would be so guarded by these people that you would have a better chance of getting some of the royal jewels of Fort Knox than sharing them with you. Don’t be fooled by fabricated testimonials. Do you know any of these people who appear there? Do you know anyone who knows someone prominent there? What proof do you have that it’s real? Follow your instinct? Beware!
7. LET EQUIFAX/ TRANS UNION BE YOUR FRIENDS!
If you have paid attention to all the tips provided above and still have a feeling that something is not right after you have made a purchase.
has. Contact your credit card provider IMMEDIATELY – ask them not to accept payment and you MUST NOT accept the good or service. You can’t have it both ways.
b. Check your credit report for unusual activity and dispute any item on your credit report that you did not authorize.
Cons Make it a regular habit to check your credit report: Some credit card companies offer a credit monitoring service.
8. YOU CAN EARN MONEY while SHOPPING ONLINE
Despite tip #6, you CAN make money online. I’m not selling you any software – NO! Is that how it works.
The premise is: If you have purchased products and services online and are happy with them, you may want to share them with others. Why not make some money doing it? There are people who make a good sum of money online doing just that. Sell as a broker/woman! That’s what affiliate/reseller programs are all about. You are marketing someone else’s products or services. Instead of the vacuum cleaner salesman going door to door in the old days, the vacuum cleaner salesman now simply sets up a site and calls himself a “RESeller” and goes to work driving traffic to his site and buying the vacuums from him.
Or Mr. Vacuum Cleaner Salesman puts up a banner on his vacuum cleaner manufacturer’s site and gets paid for REFERRING customers to buy vacuum cleaners directly from the manufacturer. Find a decent set of affiliate programs from sites like Commission Junction, Share a Sale, Clickbank, and more.
The key is that you have to generate TRAFFIC to sell! That’s all straight and simple. If your website is not even ranked in Google, the chances of a customer finding you online through the search engine are very slim. Most people start with a regular site with a core product or service and once they build credibility and a decent sized customer base, they introduce these complementary services and products. It will take time, but if you stay consistent, you can make money online and increase your internet enjoyment.
9. DO NOT BE AFRAID
Don’t be afraid to shop online, it’s a fun place. Do your research, compare, read unsolicited customer reviews, and then buy. Some sites have customer reviews that you know are real because their content is so raw and both good and bad reviews are posted. Trust me, you’ll know if it rings true. Exercise common sense and shop happy – it can be fun.
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