Internet Safety Shopping
FAQ
Question: Is it safe to purchase
goods online?
Response: Purchasing products or services online
is safe, but only as safe as the company you're dealing
with. For instance, buying products online from
CompUSA, is more secure then buying them from Joe's
discount computer products. I use the example only
because of the familiarity with CompUSA. If there is
a mom & pop shop that you know about and have had a
good experience with them, they might very well be more
reliable than COMPUSA.
Question: What are the most reliable companies out
there?
Response: Your best bet for reliability when
purchasing items is to stick with well-known big companies
such as Amazon.com
and the like, or sites with big name stores backing them
up such as Wal-Mart.com
or Barnes and
Noble.
Question: What if a small company sells something
that no one else offers and I want to buy it from them?
Response: Ask your friends and family if they have had
any experience with the company. Try contacting them and
see if they respond to you in a professional and timely manner.
Take notice of the quality of their website. The better it
looks, the more likely that they will back it up with good
service.
Question: How do I verify the legitimacy of a
business before I purchase their product or service
on-line?
Response: First and foremost, make sure the
company is still in business. there are websites
that are still up and the company has been defunct for
some time. For all businesses whether online or
not, you should get information from the Better Business
Bureau before spending any money. Click
here to pull up information about a company.
Make sure you can contact the company outside of their
e-mail address. If their web address and phone
number is not on the site, that should raise a red flag.
NOTE: You can also check for
contact information from a WHOIS server by searching on
the website address. Click
here to start a search. Example: Enter
surferbeware.com.
Question: Is there a list of business that have
an honorable track record?
Response: The Better Business Bureau has a list
of company's in your area that have registered with
them. It would be a good idea to purchase from these
companies. Unfortunately, I do not know of any list
of "safe" companies which have been compiled on
the web. If anyone has a link to such a list please
submit it to us by clicking contact
me. Also, we are starting to compile such a
list, so if you have had a good experience with a company
over the Internet please submit the companies name and web
address via on contact
me
page.
Question: What do I do if I have complaints?
Response: First try to resolve things with the
company. If that is unsuccessful then report them to
the Better
Business Bureau. You can also file a Consumer
Protection Report to the FTC
(Federal Trade Commission) as well as get the Attorney
General's Office where the business is located
involved. If you have an unresolved issue with any
company I would use all three as a last result. Your
last communication with the company should inform them
that unless it is resolved you will be filing complaints
with all three offices.
NOTE: The Internet has had a
great rise in individual sales of products. The
above methods will work against "legitimate"
company's. Individuals should be taken to court.
Question: Is there software available that
provides online software protection?
Response: Although I have not used it, there is
a product called Securo
on the market. The software is free and maybe what
you are looking for.
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