Internet Shopping for the Office

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Internet Shopping for the Office

• December 2006 Techie Talk

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Shopping with a Procurement Card

• Allows the use of a wider range of vendors.
• It is easier to shop locally for smaller items.
• It is much quicker than purchase orders.
• You have access to Internet sellers that dont
  want to deal with purchase orders and typically
  have better prices.

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Shopping on the Internet

• Be prepared.
• Anticipate problems in using a card.
• Think about security and possible fraud during
  every step of the transaction. If you are
  nervous at any point, make changes that help you
  feel more trusting.
• Find the product you want.
• Get the right features that fit your needs.
• Get the right price range that fits your budget.
• Find a Seller you like.
• Get a seller with the best price that you feel
  can be trusted.
• Dont forget to think about possible warranties
  and package deals that may affect the ultimate
  price.
• Make the transaction.
• Consider shipping method and address in the cost
  of the item.
• Consider the cost of any warranties in the cost
  of the item as well.
• Consider using a toll-free phone order line
  rather than using the Internet to pay.
• It isnt done until it is done.
• Make sure you receive what was ordered and
  resolve any concerns with the vendor or the
  shipper.
• Open it and test it to make sure it works and all
  the promised parts are included.

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Things to do before you buy things with the
procurement card

• Add your physical address as an alternate address
  to your card.
• Call the card customer service number on the back
  of the card and ask to have a shipping address
  added to your card.
• If you dont choose to do this, many vendors will
  delay your order and want additional information
  or simply not choose to deal with you.
• Know where to find your credit card security
  number
• Many vendors ask for this.

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Finding the right thing to purchase

• Slim down your choices based on features, price
  range, and reliability.
• You may need to do some research to figure out
  what you are really after.
• What you think is important to have may not be.
  Beware marketing hype.
• Be more concerned with the end result of using a
  product rather than good numbers.
• Dont spend tons of time researching the features
  of cheap, disposable items.
• Consult experts that you trust
• Local photographers for cameras.
• Any random sixteen-year-old male for sound
  equipment.
• Your egg-head computer specialist for computers
  and peripherals.
• Get lots of opinions off the Internet.
• Type the product name and model number in a
  search engine.
• Beware of moles, who are people that are paid
  to talk up products. They try to look like
  regular people just rating things and giving
  opinions.
• If it sounds like an advertising pitch, it
  probably is and should not be trusted as being
  objective.

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Places to compare tech toys

• http//www.consumersearch.com/
• Hey, not just for Tech stuff! My favorite. I
  found my last crock pot here.
• http//reviews.cnet.com/
• This is the king of electronics stuff reviews.
• http//www.consumerreports.org/
• Yes, that Consumer Reports. The web version of
  the magazine. You may have to pay though.

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Finding the right place to purchase something
from

• Use local sources first.
• It is very easy to exchange if you dont like it
  or to return if it is broken.
• Support your local economy if you can afford to.
• Dont forget hidden costs.
• Shipping is a big factor in mail-order or
  Internet purchases. Some vendors charge
  excessive shipping fees so their base item prices
  looks attractive.
• Handling charges vary among vendors. Dont
  expect these charges to be about the same for all
  vendors some business basically make their
  profit off excess shipping and handling charges
  alone.
• Weigh the importance of extras.
• Expensive items often have a warranty.
• Some vendors offer package deals that may
  include consumables that you will ultimately be
  purchasing anyway.
• Be wary of mail-in rebates. Some rebate
  procedures are obnoxious and take months to pay
  you back, if they ultimately do at all. I avoid
  them.
• Compare the total cost of something rather than
  just the base price.
• Remember, you have already decided what exactly
  you want.
• You are just shopping for that one item right
  now. Dont be swayed by bait and switch
  tactics to buy something other than what you are
  really after. This is called up-selling.
• Always make sure you can live with whatever
  return policy your chosen vendor has.
• There are no standards with return policies, so
  check it out.

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Internet Price Comparison Sites

• Have your brand and model number ready and these
  sites can be helpful.
• These sites only list vendors they have contracts
  with. You can get more results by typing the
  brand and model into a regular search engine.
• The Big Three
• http//www.nextag.com
• http//www.pricegrabber.com
• http//www.bizrate.com

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Paying your vendor

• Shop high-tech, pay low-tech.
• Use the Internet to find the product and vendor
  you want to use, then use the phone to make the
  purchase. It is just safer. More reputable
  vendors will have phone order lines.
• If you pay over the Internet, only use secure
  servers.
• A secure server will have a https// or shttp//
  in front of their address, instead of just
  http//.

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Paying your vendor

• Use a proper shipping address for your shipper
• Most vendors will want your billing address to
  ensure that you are a legitimate customer. It
  often must be exactly what is on your bill.
• Most vendors prefer that you use your billing
  address as your shipping address. You may have
  your bills sent to a Post Office box, which most
  shippers cannot use. You can either choose to
  use USPS (Postal Service) as your shipper or ship
  to the alternative address you established with
  the credit card company previously.
• Print out anything that looks like a reciept.
• Most vendors will send an email receipt after you
  are done paying, but a few dont. Print out
  whatever confirmation page you are presented with
  when they say your order is completed.

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Finishing the job

• When is the transaction over?
• The exciting p-card paperwork is done.
• You have the item in your hands and working the
  way you want it to.
• Never delete correspondence between yourself and
  the vendor and the shipper. Archive it in case
  you need it later when problems crop up.

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Outlook Signatures

• Working with Signatures
• In Outlook, click on the Tools menu, select
  Options
• At the Options window, click the Mail Format tab.
• In the Signature Section
• Choose your account (you likely only have one
  account) here.
• Chose the signatures to use for the selected
  account here.
• If you want to change how a signature looks or if
  you want to create a new one, click on this
  button.

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Outlook Signatures

• When you click the Signature button, you get the
  Create Signature window.
• You can edit an existing signature by
  highlighting its name and clicking here.
• You create a new signature by clicking here.
• The Edit Signature window appears!
• This box is where you type in your signature
  text. You can change fonts and such with the
  buttons just below.
• The Advanced Edit button opens Microsoft Word
  and your signature can have many elements that
  Word can produce.
• Click the OK button in both windows when you are
  done.
• Make sure you select the signature you want to
  use on emails at the Options window!

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CAHE Technology Help Desk

• Do you need help right now,
• especially with software or
• How do I do this? concerns?
• MAKE THE CALL!!
• [phone]
• If they dont already know the answer,
• They will GET the answer!