Focus On: Shopping Safely Online This Christmas
Halloween is well and truly over, Bonfire Night has just about finished (I’m expecting a few more bangs and whizzes over the weekend though), Christmas decorations are going-up in the streets and shop windows. There’s no getting away from it – Christmas shopping season is here.
Shopping online is a great way to do all your Christmas shopping – you avoid the crowds, save on travel costs, it’s far less stressful (especially if you have children), there’s more choice and you can do it in your own time whenever it’s convenient for you.
If you’re online Christmas shopping for the first time this year, or if you’re an old hand, here are some basic tips to follow to make your spree as successful and safe as possible:
Check the Delivery Times
If you’re buying Christmas gifts it’s obviously no good if they don’t arrive in time for the big day. The last recommended UK posting days are:
- Thursday 18th December Second Class
- Saturday 20th December First Class
Some sites may have earlier cut-off points than these. Remember too that these dates are not guaranteed so it’s best to place your order as early as possible to avoid disappointment
Look for contact details
If you need to get in touch with the company about your order how easy is it? In addition to an e-mail address or contact form, a reputable company should provide you with a telephone number and a ‘real world’ address and these should be easy to find, not buried away in some dark and dusty corner of the site.
Use Secure Sites
Before you enter any payment details make sure that the page you are on is secure. The whole site doesn’t need to be secure, but the payment page must be. The address should start with https:// (note the ’s’ at the end) and there should be a little locked padlock displayed on your browser. When you send information from a secure page it is strongly encrypted so that only the intended recipient can read it.
Use a safe payment method
Use a credit card or, if the site accepts them, an online payment service such as PayPal or NoChex. If things do go wrong you will be able to get your money back. Don’t use wire transfer services and never ever ever send cash in the post.
Watch out for extra charges
What is the Post and Packing price? Is it easy to find or do you have to go through the checkout process to discover what it is? Is VAT included? It should be on retail sites, but it’s best to check. And remember, if you’re buying from a non-UK firm there may be import duties and VAT to pay when your order is delivered.
Print out the order confirmation screen
You should get a confirmation e-mail when you have placed your order but e-mails can go astray, get eaten by spam filters etc. so it’s a good idea to print out the order confirmation page – just in case.
A good tip here is to use a PDF printer such as CutePDF which is a free download. What this does is set-up a virtual printer that you can select when you click on File then Print in your browser. The PDF printer saves whatever you print as a PDF file on your computer. This saves paper and ink, is easier to organise (use file names such as ‘081110_fabmusicshop_com_Best_of_AC_DC_gran.pdf) and is less likely to be found by anyone who tries to find out what you’ve bought them
Check the return policy
Under the Distance Selling Regulations you have a ‘cooling off’ period of Seven working days after the day on which the goods are received. This is the legal minimum and many online shops will offer better terms than this such a fourteen or even thirty days. Some will go one step further and say that the returns period starts on Christmas day so you can be sure that the gift you buy is right for the person you’re giving it to.
Shop around
Shopping online makes it incredibly easy to find the best deals and you can often make significant savings by shopping at the right place. Use one of the specialised UK price comparison sites such as Price Runner or Kelkoo to find the best all-in price for particular products. There is often a significant saving to be made
Share your experience
Had a particularly good or bad experience with an online store? Tell others about it by rating or writing a review in the Hotzest UK Shopping Directory
