Online Christmas shopping – Easy and relaxed, but be careful

Many feel reluctant to do this and keep putting it off until they have no choice but to brave the masses of shoppers.

So in a rush to get in, grab items and get out as soon as possible, people tend to either forget a crucial item, take the wrong product or buy second best and end up not feeling completely satisfied.

There may be no way around this for the average person so it is advised that patience and tolerance be practised for this trip.

For those who have access to the Internet and a debit or credit card, the madness that comes with Christmas shopping can easily be avoided with a few simple clicks.

Online shopping is becoming fairly popular to some people as it is both convenient and can be done at leisure at any time of the day, providing for much less stress and more enjoyment.

It also allows buyers not to overspend and impulsively grab items off the shelves and regret it at the tills, but gives the opportunity to check and double-check the contents of the “basket” as well as the total sum.

However, there are certain aspects of this that potential customers need to be aware of.

When browsing online stores, keep in mind that delivery may take a while before it reaches its destination, which is a slight setback to that of physically shopping at a mall and instantly having your items.

Depending on the store and where its production facilities are based, delivery of your purchase may take between three to seven working days.

This is where online shoppers need to be one step ahead and order long beforehand to avoid disappointment of late arrival.

According to the website www.forbes.com, it states that the five top dangers of online shopping are:

• Fake online reviews

When shoppers are on the lookout for a specific item and they see a five star rating on them, they tend to lean toward it rather than a two or three star rating, which is natural,as everyone wants the best buy for their money.

The website states that there have been authors who confessed to writing fake reviews, with some websites even offering a refund for a five-star rating.

Be careful of this and look for more detail, try finding better reviews on social media.

• Defaulting on disclosing full costs

There may be fees that are in addition to the price of the item and may be well hidden.

Look carefully at every detail before buying the desired item.

• Fake items

There may be people who take chances on a store’s website and try selling products that are merely an imitation of the real McCoy.

Research the seller thoroughly and, as the saying goes, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

• Never receiving the order

Packages may get lost, stolen or never shipped.

The website cautions buyers to be weary of third party sellers and stick to well-known or “big” online stores.

• Identity theft

According to the website: “identity theft and fraud are terms used to refer to all types of crime in which someone wrongfully obtains and uses another person’s personal data in some way that involves fraud or deception, typically for economic gain.”

This means that when someone gets hold of another’s credit/debit card number, their bank account can be cleared in a matter of minutes.

Be stingy with the personal information asked for and ask a lot of questions to ascertain whether or not it is a scam.