The online shopping business has grown quite massive over the years, with customers spending millions of dollars on various items. There are plenty of products sold online including clothing, toys, books, health supplements, and food products. Surely, you tried purchasing an item or two from online marketplaces like Amazon and eBay. Also, you may have bought items from your favorite brands.
Most of the time you find plenty of satisfactory deals. However, there will be some instances when you receive items that fail to satisfy your standards. To avoid ending up in a frustrating situation, you need to know more about the top online shopping mistakes.
Hesitating to ask questions before buying
When you shop for an item online, you shouldn’t just scan through the product description. As much as possible, read the details provided. Ask questions if ever you have concerns or points to clarify. Most of the time, online shops have a live chat support service or an email contact form where you can send through your queries.
This rule is quite important especially when you shop for clothing. For example, if you want to buy modest dresses for women from fashionable stores, check out what the product label says. Look for details such as the type of fabric used as well as the sizing chart. By doing so, you can set your expectations and find a product that provides the most value for your money.
Using your debit card to complete a purchase
As much as possible, you should avoid buying items with your debit card. Use your credit card instead for your guilty pleasures. It’s a far safer option in terms of keeping your banking information private. In case your credit card information gets stolen, your bank or credit provider will investigate what happened. However, if your debit card information gets stolen, you might lose every penny you saved in that account. Nothing can be scarier than this online shopping mishap.
Completing your transaction using a public wifi
Never use online public wifi to complete your payment information. This presents a lot of cybersecurity risks. You will never know if someone’s trying to hack into your device using the wifi connection. Ideally, you should finalize your shopping transaction when you’re at home, using your private wifi connection.
Believing everything you read in the reviews
Yes, customer reviews provide a lot of information on a product. Some customers are kind enough to leave detailed feedback on the product features. Others provide critical information that you won’t find elsewhere.
However, you might come across biased or manipulated reviews. Instead of providing you with useful information, they might be soft-selling the item. Don’t believe everything you find in the customer review section. Weigh in on every detail provided and do your research. Compare as many reviews as you can and cross-reference that with the features of your target product.
Failing to check the shipping costs
Before you add items to your cart, be sure to check how much it would cost to ship your order. If possible, look for those that offer free shipping. This way you can avoid paying excessive fees. Besides the shipping cost, you should also read the company’s shipping policies.
How long does it take for them to ship an item, especially international orders? Which courier company do they use? How do they handle the shipping process? You can find the answer to these questions on a shop’s shipping information or FAQs page.
Skipping the free trial option
Most of the time companies that offer services or online tools provide a free trial option. If your target shop offers this feature, take advantage of it. This will help you explore the tool and find out if it’s truly worth buying. Companies often provide a 7 to 30-day free trial. You have until then to decide whether you should continue your subscription or not.
So, which one of the online shopping mistakes listed above are you most guilty of? Take note of these things so you can avoid them the next time you go online shopping.