Shopping Online
Keith wanted to buy a new camera so he decided to search for one on the Internet. He was not a regular user of the Internet so he went to Google and searched for 'camera'. The 230 million results he got shocked him. How could he choose?
He took some advice and instead of using the word 'camera' found a model that he particularly liked and put that into the search engine. This cut down the number of sites but there were still millions and he found a lot of the sites were about photography and didn't sell cameras.
Then on the Google page Keith found another search engine called Froogle. Froogle only searched for sites that sold cameras. He typed 'Canon Camera' into the search box and it was wonderful - there were only 38,000 results and each one had a photograph and a price clearly marked. Brilliant! This made the search a lot easier. He found the camera he wanted at the right price but it could only be bought online. Could he trust the Internet? He had heard a lot of stories about thieves getting hold of credit card details.
Keith made a mistake right at the beginning. When you are using the Internet you have got to have a good idea of what you are looking for. If you don't the number of results you will get will undoubtedly put you off ever searching again. Think up a number of keywords that describe what you want. For example the keywords for Keith could have been:
- Camera
- Canon
- Digital
- 5 Mega pixels (this is a measure of how good the final photograph will be)
- CA345 (This would be the model number)
The model number is probably the most important keyword but it is unlikely that you will have access to it so the other information is important.
When you have found the camera at the right price you will now want to buy it. How can you do this safely?
Follow these instructions and you will be a very Safe Surfer.
- a company might have a great website but that doesn't mean it's law-abiding. Make sure the web site of the company you are buying from begins with http://
- make sure you know the trader's full address - especially if the company is based outside the UK
- don't assume an Internet company is based in the UK just because its web address has 'uk' in it - check out the physical address and phone number
- look for websites that have a secure way of paying (known as an encryption facility) - these show a padlock at the bottom of the screen when you are filling in the payment details
- check whether the company has a privacy statement that tells you what it will do with your personal information.
What is a privacy statement?
The privacy policy will tell you what they do with your personal information. You will be giving them your name address and maybe your date of birth in addition to your credit card details. Who will they allow access to this information? Who will be in charge of security? How can you access the information they will keep? Lots of questions and there are questions about electronic spies called cookies that are sometimes downloaded to your computer and hold this personal information. A good web site will tell you its policy on issues like those above.
Once you have decided to buy something over the internet, be sure you know what is being sold, the total price, the delivery date, the return and cancellation policy, and the terms of any guarantee.
Other points to remember are:
- save all information relating to the transaction
- take care with the information you give out
- check the privacy statements
- check the security of payment details
- you may have some extra protection if paying by credit card.
Do you want more information? Go to:
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