The industry of buying and selling goods online has exploded in the past 3 years. E-commerce is the new buzzword in most corporations. More and more people feel completely comfortable buying all kinds of goods online, from sweaters to cars to insurance! How do they know that they won't be ripped off? Is buying online safe? Or is it just a new way to get scammed?

In this article you'll find out:

• If buying online is safe
• What to look out for when purchasing online
• Tips on how to protect yourself

The Faceless Store Clerk

In the olden days (about three years ago), you would actually have to GO to a store to buy something! How retro! Today, you pop onto the Internet and purchase online. The drawback is that you don't really know who is on the other side of the transaction.

In the olden days, you could pretty much tell if you were buying in a disreputable store. You could see if the proprietor of the store had beady eyes and a long curly mustache. Maybe the dead giveaway was the way he cackled when he took your hard-earned money. At the very least, you could see and touch the product you were buying.

Today, you are blindly giving away your credit card number over the Internet. A faceless person on the other end is processing your order. What if you get something other than what you paid for? Or even worse, nothing at all? What do you do then?

Or what if some hacker on the Internet has captured your credit card number and is off buying ludicrously expensive Star Wars action figures with your money on EBay? No matter how safe online shopping is, you still need to protect your finances.

Enough of this chatter. Is it SAFE?

Yes. Provided you take the proper steps outlined below.

1) Always use an Internet-friendly credit card

Most credit cards allow you to dispute the charges you put on them. Therefore, if someone steals your card number, you will not be responsible for those charges. Contact your credit card company and make sure that your card works this way. There are some cards that make YOU responsible for any unknown charges. Don't use these online!

Some credit cards go so far as to guarantee your online shopping. This means that they will instantly remove any charges you feel were caused by your number being stolen from the Internet. This offer of extra protection may save you someday.

And of course, never ever issue a check or give out your bank account number. That's a recipe for disaster.

2) Know your merchant!

If you are buying from "Larry's House of Insurance" or "Acme Computers", then you are bound to get ripped off. Know your merchant! It's ALWAYS safer to buy from a large corporation that you know and trust, i.e. The Gap or J. Crew or Gateway Computers or Amazon.com. You may pay more, but you know that you will receive quality goods.

Lesser known stores offer great deals, and you should not avoid them altogether. I often buy computer hardware from small stores, but it is integral to make sure that they are reliable. How?

a) See if there is a contact phone number for the store. If there is, call it and verify that it works. If it doesn't, or they do not post a customer service phone number, don't buy from them! You should always make sure that they have a VALID contact number in case you have problems with your order.

b) They should own their own domain name. This means that if you are buying from "UltraValueStore", their web site should be at "www.ultravaluestore.com". If it's not, or their web page is hosted by a free web page service like GeoCities or Yahoo, then you should not buy from them. They might very well be a fly-by-night operation. Setting up a domain name like www.ultravaluestore.com is like setting up a real storefront. Setting up a web page on a free service is like setting up a table with "Rolex" watches on a city street corner.

c) Check the Better Business Bureau Online. They post valuable information on which businesses are to be trusted, and which businesses are to be avolded.

d) Look at the quality of the site. A nice web site shows that these merchants care about appearance and have taken the time and effort to create a nice decor. A horrible, amateurish looking web site is your first clue that this is a fly-by-night operation.

3) Use a Secure Transaction

There are two types of web pages: secure and unsecure. Most fall into the unsecure category (like this one). However, a secure web page ensures that all information passed between your computer and the server that is handling your transaction is encrypted with a code that is impossible to crack.

You can tell whether you are looking at a secure page by the address (URL). For instance, near the top of the screen you will see that the address for this page is
"http://www.help2go.com/BestoftheNet/BuyingOnline.cfm"
If this page were on a secure, encrypted connection, the first part would read https:// instead of http:// -- the extra "s" stands for secure.

Another way to tell is by the lock or key icon in your web browser. Internet Explorer and Netscape Communicator show an image of a closed lock when you are on a secure page. Earlier versions showed an image of a key. If the key or lock appears closed, then your information is safe.

The important thing to remember is that you should never type your credit card number on a web page that is not secure. I prefer to glance up at the address of the page and make sure that it starts with https://. If you go against this advice, then your credit card number can easily be stolen by computer hackers.

Conclusion

I LOVE to buy online. I find it to be fast and convenient. Moreover, I have never had a problem, because I always followed the above advice. I have friends who were scammed by fly-by-night merchants, which is why I only buy from companies I know and trust. I highly recommend that you do the same.