Shop Smart, Stay Safe Online Shopping Explained

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Shop Smart, Stay SafeOnline Shopping Explained

• A Presentation by
• Boise Public Library
• 09/15/2009

Presentation created using Google Docs
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Overview

• 1. Why Shop Online?
• 2. Tips for Protecting Yourself
• 3. Popular Online Shopping Sites
• eBay
• Amazon
• craigslist
• Overstock 
• Orbitz
• 4. Price Comparison Sites
• 5. Selling Online

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1. Why Shop Online?

• In June 2008, Nielsen published statistics on the
  overall online shopping trends - Over 875 Million
  Consumers Have Shopped Online - the Number of
  Internet Shoppers Up 40 in Two Years.
•  
• The same study estimated that almost two-thirds
  of consumers have made an online purchase.
•  
• It is estimated that online shopping accounts for
  about 8 of retail sales in the United States and
  continues to grow at about 10 a year worldwide.

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1. Why Shop Online?

• What are the disadvantages of online shopping?
•  
• A different Nielson Online Survey discovered the
  most important factors people shop online are
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•  To save time (77)
•  To comparison shop (61)
•  To find things easily (56)
•  Low prices (46)
•  Free shipping (24)

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1. Why Shop Online?

• What are the risks of online shopping?
• Buying goods that arent delivered.
• Goods which dont match the description.
• Delays and hassles with online purchases.
• Poor after-sales service.
• Misuse of your credit or debit card details.
•  

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2. Tips for Protecting Yourself

• 5 Tips for Safe Online Shopping
• Taken from Washington Post article
• 1. Shop From a Secure PC
• If possible, avoid using the family PC that your
  teens or children use to chat with their buddies
  and play games online. Those machines, especially
  if they're a Microsoft Windows computer, are
  often already infested with spyware. An infected
  system will undermine all of the other
  precautions you might take to avoid online
  fraud. 
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• Before you start shopping online, make sure your
  system is running with up-to-date anti-virus
  software, and that you're using a firewall to
  block potential intruders. Just as important, be
  sure that your computer has the latest Microsoft
  software security updates installed.

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2. Tips for Protecting Yourself

• 2. Shop Smart, and Only at Sites You Know Trust
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• Avoid search-engine shopping, which can often
  lead to random merchants you've never heard of.
  For the safest and most hassle-free online
  shopping experience, it's best to stick with
  merchants you know and trust. Most importantly,
  make sure you have read and understand the
  merchant's shipping and return policies before
  making any purchases. 
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• Be sure to print a copy of each receipt or
  confirmation e-mail you receive. Keep all of your
  receipts in a folder and filed away in a safe
  place. 
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• Never buy anything advertised via unsolicited
  e-mail. Such offers are almost always a scam.
  Criminals even build attractive storefronts for
  fake businesses that close up shop within days of
  accepting your online order.

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2. Tips for Protecting Yourself

• 3. Shop with Your Credit Card
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• Most online merchants accept both credit and
  debit cards. Under federal law, credit card
  issuers can only hold customers liable for the
  first 50 of fraudulent transactions, and most
  issuers will waive even that amount.
• While debit card issuers have largely adopted
  that same approach, your bank account could be
  overdrawn while you dispute fraudulent charges,
  particularly if you don't notice the fraud
  immediately. Experts say credit cards still
  present less potential for hassle when dealing
  with your financial institution should
  unauthorized charges show up later on a monthly
  statement.
• Never, I repeat, never, shop at sites that ask
  you to wire your payment or send money orders.

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2. Tips for Protecting Yourself

• 4. Consider Alternative Payment Methods
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• For the truly fraud-wary online shopper, there
  are still plenty of alternatives to entering your
  account number at multiple Web sites. Many
  financial institutions and card issuers --
  including Bank of America, Citibank, Discover,
  and PayPal -- offer customers the ability to
  generate unique, "virtual" or "one-time use"
  account numbers that are good for a single
  transaction or a handful of specified
  transactions only and cannot be reused.

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2. Tips for Protecting Yourself

• 5. Get a Handle on Spam
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• If you worry that giving away your e-mail address
  at multiple online merchants might wind up
  cluttering your inbox with more junk mail,
  consider creating a new address for each new Web
  site that requires you to enter one as part of
  the registration process. This allows you take
  action if a merchant you're doing business with
  sells or rents your e-mail address to marketers. 
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• NOTE We recommend creating an unique e-mail used
  just for online purchases. Free e-mail accounts
  are readily available from Google, Yahoo!, and
  Hotmail.

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2. Tips for Protecting Yourself

• Other Online Shopping Tips
• Keep all passwords private
• Never give out your Social Security Number
• Read site's privacy and security policy
• Shop with sites located in the United States
• Disclose only your bare facts when you order
• Look for "https//" at the beginning of web
  address
• Look for closed padlock or unbroken key symbol at
  bottom of browser
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2. Tips for Protecting Yourself

• Other Online Shopping Tips
• Pay attention to shipping facts and terms
• Learn the merchant's Cancellation, Return and
  Complaint-Handling Policies
• Consider using single-use card numbers or gift
  cards
• Be extremely wary of anything that is offered in
  an unsolicited or spam email
• Trust your instincts - notice spelling and
  grammatical errors does the site has amateur
  look and feel? are the prices too low?
• If it's too good to by true - then it probably is

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2. Tips for Protecting Yourself

• Other resources for online safety/shopping
  strategies
•  Get Safe Online - http//www.getsafeonline.org
•  OnGuard Online - http//www.onguardonline.gov
•  Federal Citizen Information Center -
  http//www.pueblo.gsa.gov
•  Safe Shopping.org - http//www.safeshopping.org

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3. Popular Online Shopping Sites - eBay
eBay - www.ebay.com The following is taken from
the eBay website   eBay is "the world's largest
online marketplace - where practically anyone can
sell practically anything at any time. It's an
idea that BusinessWeek once called "nothing less
than a virtual, self-regulating global
economy.   "With a presence in 39 markets,
including the U.S., and approximately 84 million
active users worldwide, eBay has changed the face
of Internet commerce. In 2007, the total value of
sold items on eBay's trading platforms was nearly
60 billion. This means that eBay users worldwide
trade more than 1,900 worth of goods on the site
every second."
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3. Popular Online Shopping Sites - eBay

• What can you do on eBay?
• Bid on new and used items
• Find market value on almost any item
• Sell new or used items
• Participate in charity auctions
• Run an eBay-based business
• Find reviews on select products
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• For more information, check out the eBay Learning
  Center.

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3. Popular Online Shopping Sites - eBay

• How eBay works
• A seller lists an item on eBay, most anything
  from antiques to cars, books to sporting goods.
  The seller chooses to accept only bids for the
  item (an auction-type listing) or to offer the
  Buy It Now option, which allows buyers to
  purchase the item right away at a fixed price.
• In an online auction, the bidding opens at a
  price the seller specifies and remains on eBay
  for a certain number of days. Buyers then place
  bids on the item. When the listing ends, the
  buyer with the highest bid wins.
• In a Buy It Now listing, the first buyer willing
  to pay the seller's price gets the item.
• Sellers may also include a Best Offer option
  where a potential buyer can make an offer to
  which the seller has 48 hours to respond whether
  or not they accept the offer.
• eBay charges sellers - not the buyer - a fee for
  each transaction.

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3. Popular Online Shopping Sites - eBay

• eBay Buying Tips
• Don't get caught up in a bidding frenzy. Set an
  amount you would be comfortable paying for an
  item, make amount your bid, and wait until the
  auction ends. If you get it great, if not, more
  than likely you can find another auction for the
  same or similar item.
• Set up an account with PayPal - a service that
  allows you to send money without sharing
  financial information using bank accounts, credit
  cards, personal financing, or PayPal account
  balances.
• Only bid on items that accept PayPal. 
• Understand the auction's payment, shipping, and
  return policies.
• If you have any questions about the item, contact
  the seller. If you don't receive a timely and
  satisfying response, don't bid on the item.
• It is to your advantage to know which items are
  prohibited, questionable, infringing upon or
  potentially illegal.
•  

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3. Popular Online Shopping Sites - eBay

• eBay Buying Tips (cont.)
• Before buying an item, check the seller's
  feedback to understand other's experiences with
  the vendor.
• Leave feedback after every sale. Feedback - both
  positive and negative - makes or breaks a seller
  and lasts forever.
• Don't rush to negative feedback - give a seller a
  chance to make good on any transaction.
• Use eBay's Advanced Search feature to discover
  selling prices for like items.
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• Most Importantly!
• Remember, once you place a bid for an auction
  item, or agree to a Buy It Now or Best Offer item
  - you are obligated to complete the transaction.

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3. Popular Online Shopping Sites - Amazon
Amazon - www.amazon.com   Founded in 1994 as an
online bookstore, Amazon is now America's largest
online retailer.   Amazon offers a huge variety
of products and allows individuals and businesses
to sell both new and used products via its
site.   Amazon is a pioneer in social media
allowing customers to rate and write about
available products and allowing these "reviewers"
to provide suggestions based on certain likes and
interests.
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3. Popular Online Shopping Sites - Amazon

• Advantages of Amazon
• Wide variety of products
• Ability to purchase used products
• Flat rate, and often, free shipping
• Create a wish list for later purchases
• Clear and dependable return policy
• Discounted items and promotional sales

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3. Popular Online Shopping Sites - craigslist
Craigslist - www.craigslist.org   Not a shopping
site, Craigslist is an Internet-based classifieds
site. People can list items for free and the site
allows potential buyers to search classified in
their area.   Craigslist maintains privacy
between communications by masking e-mail
addresses.   No transactions are made via the
website, Craigslist only facilitates
communication between parties.
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3. Popular Online Shopping Sites - Overstock
Overstock - www.overstock.com   Overstock is one
of the web's largest inventory liquidators. The
site offers discounted prices on a wide variety
of liquidated items - it like an Internet-based
outlet mall.   Overstock also partners with a
number of companies to provide discounts on
non-liquidated items as well. The site offers a
fixed low shipping price on most items It also
branches out into online auctions, auto, and real
estate sales.  
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3. Popular Online Shopping Sites - Orbitz
Orbitz - www.orbitz.com   Orbitz specializes in
online travel. The site allows its customers to
research, plan, and book a wide range of travel
products including flights, hotels, cruises, and
vacation packages.
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3. Popular Online Shopping Sites - Orbitz

• Other popular online shopping sites
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• Wal-Mart - general merchandise
• Target - general merchandise
• Dell Computers - Dell brand computers and
  accessories
• Best Buy - electronics and computers
• JC Penny - general merchandise
• New Egg - computer-related merchandise
• QVC - general merchandise
• ETSY - handmade items

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4. Price Comparison Sites

• In order to find deals on the Internet, using a
  price comparison search engine can help both find
  deal and also provide perspective if prices found
  in store are good ones.
•  
• According to an article by Smart Money, the top
  three best price comparison sites are (listed in
  order)
•  PriceGrabber.com
•  Yahoo Shopping
•  Shopping.com
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5. Selling Online

• A number of site allow you to sell both new and
  used items via their sites. These sites have
  different rules and prices structures for
  potential vendors.
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• Here are some links to find out more information
  about selling items online
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• eBay Sellers Guide
• Amazon Sellers Guide
• Craigslist Posting Guide
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•