Since the pandemic struck, online activities have dramatically increased. People are now discouraged by the government to go out. Social activities in the city of London and other major cities in Europe and all across the globe have gone done and everyone resorted to doing their daily activities online – including shopping.
Technology has made parenting easier, especially in planning and purchasing goods for the family. Today, it is easier to order small groceries instead of driving for miles to buy only a few items, spending money for gasoline in the process.
However, as convenient as it may sound, online shopping has its dangers too. To maximize your benefits as an online shopper, you should look out for the telltale signs whether you are having a good deal, or becoming a victim of a scam.
Here are what moms (and dads) need to know when online shopping:
1. Check if your sellers are legitimate. It’s a rule of thumb. The easiest way to know if the seller is legitimate is to check their URL. Most legitimate sites have their URL’s ending in .com. Also, there are indicators in your internet browser that tell whether the website is secure or not.
You also need to verify the website’s email address and contact numbers and make sure that both of them are working in case there is a need to contact them for follow-ups.
2. Read the reviews. The product descriptions might be too convincing that you’d want to order the item right away. However, the truth lies in the testimonies of those who have bought it previously, and not how the sellers present their product with flowery words.
Check both the positive and the negative ratings, and make sure you also catch testimonies that can describe how customer friendly the seller is for after-sales transactions.
3. Compare the retailers. This way you get to know the best deals. The retailers do not differ much on what they sell. What they differ is how they sell it and for how much. You might get a good item review from one online store, but you can get the same item from another online store for a cheaper price. Check which sellers would give you the most benefits before jumping into clicking the checkout right away.
4. Research! Product descriptions are designed to attract you to buy the item – in such a way that they are not giving you false advertisement, but they appeal to your emotions instead of making your logical mind work. Researching can help you work around the dilemma of whether or not it would be best to buy it from this specific online shop, right now, and for this much.
5. Use “add to cart” to your future advantage. Adding items to your cart without purchasing it triggers a notification to the sellers’ end to remind them to remind you of an item in your cart. And oftentimes, when they notify of such, they would include special promos and discounts at that given moment. It would make a difference to buy the item at a discounted price than buying it at its actual price just because you did not have any promos to take advantage of.
6. Read that fine print. Especially for items that sound too good to be true. You need to scrutinize the product more, as well as the seller and its online store. The expiration dates, shipping fees, and possible hidden charges are the pieces of information that are mostly overlooked, and before you know it, you are already suffering from buyer’s remorse.