HCDI Trading presents:

The Wiser Buyer’s Online Shopping Guide

Shopping and buying online shouldn’t be a hassle, nor should it ever be a guessing game. 

Whether you’re an internet retail guru or you won’t dare spend a dime in cyberspace, this guide will benefit you.  The purpose of this guide is to empower all consumers with some important tips and key information so that you can shop & buy (or even sell) online with confidence.    After you read this, you’ll find yourself in a position of greater freedom and purchasing power in the online marketplace.

 

The most important thing to consider when shopping online is your security.  While it is true that consumers run the risk of identity theft & fraudulent activities, these risks can be substantially minimized and even eliminated completely when you take the appropriate actions.  Once you overcome these types of doubts associated with online shopping, you’ll find that it’s actually a quite pleasant – and very convenient – buying method.

Go ahead and search for the stuff you’re shopping for.  Use Google or another favorite search engine to locate merchants from whom you can purchase your desired goods.  Compare prices, shipping costs, special promotions and brand names amongst the sites you find. 

 

But as you do your shopping, before you commit to any purchase or give ANY of your personal information to anyone online, you’ll want to refer to a checklist.

 

Your online shopping checklist should include all of the following criteria listed below.  This list will help you determine whether you should buy from an online seller or if you’re better off clicking away as fast as you can.   The merchants you want to buy from should fulfill a majority (if not all) of these items on the checklist: 

 

___Merchant has Descriptive Ads

___Phone number available, easily accessible on Merchant Website

___There are Real Live people on the other end when you call the Merchant

___Merchant offers a Return Policy and Warranties

___Website uses a Secure Server

___ PayPal is the Merchant’s payment processing method of choice

___ Privacy and Security policies firmly in place and available to print

___ Merchant Website links to or displays consumer reviews

___ Merchant encourages customers to submit feedback and review the company

___ Website is listed in major Search Engines (Google.com, etc)

___ No Pop-Up windows, Redirects or Auto Downloads occur on the Website

___ No Unsolicited Email Spam is received from the Merchant

___ Plenty of Contact Information available on the

___ Merchant exhibits a Willingness to settle disputes, should they arise

___ Product Information is easily available, nothing seems “hidden”.

This checklist is the concise “at-a-glance” reference, but it’s best to consider the details behind each crucial point on the list (see below):

 

Merchant Has Descriptive Ads

When you’re buying products “sight unseen” and unable to actually handle the items before purchase, it is ultimately important to get the best possible idea (whether through pictures, descriptions or video) of the product being sold by an online merchant.  The burden falls upon the merchant in this case.  A reputable online retailer can usually be noted by the extensively descriptive ads on the website, as detailed as possible with various forms of media used to exhibit the products.  Avoid any online store with shoddy, vague or incomplete advertisements.  Always demand a high level of detail in the ads you choose to patronize when shopping online

 

Phone number available, easily accessible on Merchant Website

If you’ve shopped online before, or you surf the internet frequently, you may have noticed that one of the simplest forms of contact information (telephone numbers) can sometimes be nearly impossible to locate on some websites.  It’s not an uncommon trait, but a red flag nonetheless.  Websites with telephone numbers highly visible and messages that encourage visitors to call them are typically far more desirable than those who hide their digits in the smallest font possible at the bottom of one obscure page within their site.  Open lines of communication are always a good thing for a buyer.  Trust the websites who still recognize the value of a good old fashioned phone call.

 

There are Real Live people on the other end when you call the Merchant

BUT, what good is a phone number if all you can ever reach is a voice recording?  Many companies and institutions will handle high call volume by routing callers through queues, voicemail systems and various departments.  Some automated systems are built well and do make things easier for the merchant and the caller.  But the best thing you can hope to hear when you call an online merchant is a real live human voice on the other end.  If two companies were vying for your business, and the only difference between them was that one of them used recordings while the other had live employees answering the phone…which one would you buy from?  Again, go with the sites that exhibit an open line of communication.

 

Merchant offers a Return Policy and Warranties

It’s really quite simple.  You’re already buying somewhat “blindly” over the internet.  The best way any merchant can put its customers at ease is by offering solid return / refund policies and warranties on everything they sell.  It takes the risk out of buying online and shows credit to the merchant who stands behind its products with a guarantee.  So, the rule of thumb should always be – never buy online from anyone without a return or refund policy except under special circumstances…such as if perhaps your desired wares happen to only be sold by a certain merchant who, as it happens, just won’t offer returns. 

 

Website uses a Secure Server

In addition to protecting your own privacy and personal information, the merchants you visit should also be concerned with security.  Any online store that is handling money, customer records and personal information electronically needs to be running a secure server.  If they aren’t, don’t even give them a second click.  After all, if they aren’t concerned with their own protection OR other visitors’ security…what makes you think they care about yours?

 

PayPal is the Merchant’s payment processing method of choice

There is a good chance, even if you rarely shop online, that you have heard of “PayPal”.  It is a highly secured, closely monitored system that handles monetary transactions online.  Because of its ease of use, remarkable safety and security measures and compatibility, PayPal is the service of choice for the majority of online businesses and consumers.  It’s also one of those things that, when it’s NOT being offered on a website, should raise an alarm for you.  Pick online stores who offer and/or prefer PayPal.  

 

Privacy and Security policies firmly in place and available to print

Before venturing too far into a web store’s pages, it might be a good idea to check out their privacy policies and see what sort of security they offer their customers.  You should be able to access such policies and it should be relatively easy to print them out.  If not, then it might indicate a problem.  The absence of privacy policies and security measures on a website will usually indicate one of two things: Either they don’t really care about your privacy or security….or there’s an undesirable reason why they’ve omitted such standards from their site.  Stick with sellers who openly affirm your safety.

 

 Merchant Website links to or displays consumer reviews, encourages customers to submit feedback and review the company

Probably the most powerful tools available to consumers online are Reviews, Ratings and Feedback.  Wise merchants recognize the importance of positive feedback, especially in forums such as eBay.  Therefore, a good online retailer will constantly strive to please its customers and generate a positive reputation.  Good retailers will also display or link to their review articles and encourage new customers to write their own.  A merchant who downplays information about their reputation or discourages feedback should be avoided.

 

Website is listed in major Search Engines (Google.com, etc)

Online shopping is made easier by powerful search engines such as Google.  Fortunately, we as consumers can somewhat rely on sites like Google to steer us in the right direction when shopping.  You typically shouldn’t visit websites that don’t readily appear on Google search results.  The search tools used by Google and other similar sites use complex  programs to “weed out” sites that may do more harm than good.  In most cases, websites that rank relatively high on Google are a pretty safe bet.  Those that don’t show up at all should probably be avoided.

 

No Pop-Up windows, Redirects or Auto Downloads occur on the Website

Not only are these things excruciatingly annoying, they are also a quick signpost to go right back out of the website.  If you want the easy, safe, pleasant shopping experience you deserve while perusing the net, you will agree that sites who flood your screen with Pop-Ups, initiate auto-downloads or send you through odd Redirects are a deal-breaker.  Not only can these things create a hassle, they can be potentially dangerous – ranging in consequence from your computer crashing to identity theft.  Patronize websites who offers a safe, easy browsing experience without these menaces.

 

No Unsolicited Email Spam is received from the Merchant

If you give your email address to an online merchant, then it is reasonable to expect occasional emails from them. This is especially true if you signed up to receive promotional information from their website via email.  However, finding a ton of junk mail in your inbox from sites you’ve never visited should indicate one thing: You should continue to never visit them.  Go a step further and unsubscribe from their mailers.  A good merchant will attract rather than promote. Steer clear of sites spamming your email box with unsolicited junk.

 

Plenty of Contact Information available on the site

I can’t stress enough the importance of open communication lines available on a merchant’s website.  The more contact information you have at your disposal, the better.  Any worthwhile online seller will openly display contact information.  They should provide email addresses, physical address, telephone numbers (with extensions, if necessary) and the names and/or titles of customer contacts within their company.  A good merchant doesn’t necessarily need ALL of that information to serve its customers well. But the key is: Contact info should be relatively plentiful and easy to find. If not, beware.

 

Merchant exhibits a Willingness to settle disputes, should they arise

For any retailer that has ever opened a shop, it is almost always inevitable that a dispute will arise at some point in time.  In an online forum, it is equally likely (if not more so) that buyers and sellers may not agree on something.  Wise merchants know that they need  to comfort their customers by exhibiting that they will be flexible and attentive to customer disputes.  Wise buyers know to avoid stubborn retailers without any proactive planning toward the resolution of potential problems.

 

Product Information is easily available, nothing seems “hidden”.

Whether you’re shopping online for something specific, or you’re just browsing, you should lean toward those merchants with a good deal of readily-available product information.  Advertisements and links should be concise, simple to follow and thorough in description.  A healthy product line with lots of information usually also means you’re looking at a pretty healthy business. If you ever get the feeling that a web merchant may be omitting something or you can’t find enough real info on their site, just keep surfing for a more legitimate enterprise. 

 

 

How Does HCDI Trading stack up on the checklist?

BUYING GUIDE CHECKLIST
Descriptive Advertisements	a	See Product Specs, Images and Full Descriptions on all our Ads
Phone Number Available	a	Telephone number shown on Website Header and on Ads
Live People Answering Calls	a	Friendly, knowledgeable people answering calls - never a machine
Return Policy & Warranties	a	30 Day Risk Free Guarantee and Product Warranties Available
Secure Servers	a	Secure Servers in use for the protection and privacy of our patrons
PayPal Available	a	We gladly accept financial transactions using PayPal
Privacy and Security Policies	a	Privacy Policy & Terms of Service Links, BuySafe & BBB Seals
Reviews Displayed & Encouraged	a	eBay feedback score of over 12600 - ResellerRatings.com Member
Listed in Google & Other Search Engines	a	Our products are proudly represented prominently on Google & others
No Popups, Redirects or Autodownloads	a	You won't find these uninvited hassles on hcditrading.com
No unsolicited email spam	a	You will only receive requested emails from us and important order info
Plenty of Contact Information	a	Easily located contact info. We invite customers to call, mail or email us
Willingness to Settle Disputes	a	While disputes rarely arise, we take every step possible to resolve them
Product information readily available	a	With our descriptive ads, knowledgeable sales associates, technical support and plenty of online guides, we keep you well informed