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One of the worst things about shopping is crowded shopping centres. I also dislike queuing to get the car park and generally just lots of people getting in the way! Luckily nowadays, you can get basically everything online. It can save money and stress. It can also save time. When you know the things that you want to get, online shopping is perfect. It’s fab for when you need to s

end something to someone living far away from you. Do you have family hundreds of miles away? If you order online and then you only need to pay for postage once, if at all. A lot of online stores also include gift wrapping and you can type in a gift note. No need to post a birthday card or present. How easy and simple?

How TO Shop Safely & Securely:

A lot of people can be anxious about online shopping. Nothing in life is 100% safe, but shopping online has been going on for a long time and the proof is in the pudding, so to speak!

You want to be sure though that you are shopping through proper websites. One thing to do is to choose companies that are genuine. Credit card fraud is a big deal to companies, losing them money, so they want to make sure they are preventing it. Big, reputable companies spend a lot of time to ensure a safe and secure shopping experience. Follow these tips and you should have a positive online shopping experience.

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Finding a Reputable Company – The first tip starts before placing your order. Look for things like an address and phone number. Second, there should be an easy to find privacy policy. A reputable website that gets information from customers should have a privacy policy. This tells you how they will use your personal details and what they will do to it to keep it all safe. This should guide to you knowin

g if a site is safe to use or not. If these things weren’t found, I wouldn’t recommend using the website or giving that company your business.

Check for a Voucher Code -There are a lot of voucher code websites that you can use when you shop online. As long as you can find a coupon or deal that is valid, then you can save a lot more than you would shopping in a store. Be sure to have a look what offers there are before you proceed to the checkout. Shop around and you will get a great deal. A good site to use is discountrue as there are deals on there that can save you up to 50% off certain things. So whether you’re shopping at Barnes & Nobel, Bergdorf or Kohl’s, take a look..

Paying by Card – Once you are happy with the company and have found the items you want to buy, you need to check if the site is secure. There are ways to check you are on a secure site, you just need to know what to look for.

The most simple way to identify that a web page is secure is through the URL. It should begin with https://. You know what the ‘s’ means? Secure! This will only be there during the ‘checkout’ stage. There should also be a padlock symbol by the URL too. A point to note is that the whole website may not be ‘secure’ with the htps://. This will only be at the checkout point. Be sure to look for this! Don’t give your business to a website without those features when you are using the checkout.

Using a credit card (or something like PayPal) for online shopping is usually the safest.  Compared to a debit card it is safer as there are more assurances for items that never turn up.

Look at the Return Policy – If you are shopping online, don’t place your order until you have seen and read the policy for returns. What if you want to return the shoes you just bought? Would you have to pay to return it? Will the company pay for the return postage if the items arrive damaged? Would taking the item to the company’s physical shop be allowed? It would be a nightmare to be left out of pocket. It will make the process a bit longer and it is so important to look for the policy. Ignorance isn’t an excuse unfortunately. You don’t want to be out of pocket because the new dress you got that doesn’t fit.

Do you use online shopping much? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments! I have only ever had good experiences, and I would totally recommend it.