Ten Tips for Shopping Online This Holiday Season

Kathy Grannis sent me this very useful article by Shop.org.

Shop.org is the network for retailers online. Its 600 members include the 10 largest retailers in the U.S., and 70 percent of the Internet Retailer Top 100 E-Retailers. It’s where the best retail minds come together to gain the insight, knowledge, and intelligence to make smarter, more informed decisions in the evolving world of the Internet and multichannel retailing. Founded in 1996, Shop.org became a division of the National Retail Federation in January 2001. Shop.org programs and activities include benchmarking research, events and networking communities.

Ten Tips for Shopping Online This Holiday Season

1. Plan Ahead. Having a set list of gifts you intend to buy helps minimize confusion, especially if you intend to make multiple purchases through several websites. Shop.org encourages consumers to start their online holiday shopping at www.cybermonday.com, a site which will offer current promotions of more than 400 online retailers throughout the holiday season.

2. Shop safely online by using common sense. A golden rule of online shopping is that if something seems like it’s too good to be true, it probably is and you should avoid it. Shop with retailers that you trust. If you aren’t familiar with an online retailer, look for privacy and security seals, which indicate that their security and privacy measures have been verified.

3. Make sure your gifts arrive in time. Check retailers’ shipping deadlines, which are featured prominently on most retail websites. The information ensures that customers understand the last day when they can place orders for arrival by Christmas or Hanukkah. After standard shipping deadlines pass, many retailers will offer shipping upgrade promotions with later deadlines.

4. Know the retailers’ return and exchange policies. Return policies vary, so knowing ahead of time whether or not you will have to ship back returns or exchanges or if you can return them to the physical store in your area will help in the long run. Also be sure to find out who covers the cost of shipping if you need to return or exchange an item.

5. Ship gifts directly to the recipient. Most online retailers can ship items to a different location than your billing address. During the holiday season, when many people are traveling, take advantage of this feature by sending gifts ahead of your arrival. Some companies can even ship to multiple locations so you don’t have to lug holiday gifts all across the country.

6. For instant gratification (or holiday procrastinators), buy online then pick up in the store. Many retailers offer a “buy online, pick up in store” option. Check with your favorite retailers to see if this is a service they offer, then skip the crowds and head straight to the customer service counter where your items will be waiting.

7. Read the fine print. Retailers list important information such as privacy policies, warranty information, item descriptions, terms of agreement and company information on their websites. Much of this information is very useful, but is displayed in a smaller font.

8. If you aren’t comfortable paying with a credit card, research other payment options. Retailers place a tremendous importance on keeping their websites safe and protecting customers’ information. But for shoppers who are still nervous about paying by credit card, other options are often available. Online retailers offer a variety of services, from letting customers fax in an online order to accepting third-party payment options. Some retailers also allow gift cards to be redeemed online.

9. “Check it Twice” before confirming purchase. Before you complete an online purchase, double check billing and credit card information, shipping address and total cost of the order. This will eliminate any potential panic after you’ve hit the final “confirm” or “submit” button. And remember not to click “submit” twice.

10. Start a file folder. First, print and save all confirmations of your purchases. This will help in many ways, from returning or exchanging items to verifying credit card or bank statements. Also, write down each purchase. It’s easy to forget how much you’ve spent if you don’t keep track of it. This will help both budget holiday spending and balance your checkbook.

Related Posts - Highly Relevant Content

Vintage Clothing, an inspired industry Veronica Cizmar, the owner of SomeLikeItVintage.com has written this article exclusively for our Weblog. Vintage Clothing, an inspired industry Every year consumer online shopping and spending increases. The average online purchase is now approaching $250 with consumers becoming more confident in buying higher ticket items such as electronics to cars,......
The life of a T-shirt Designer Paul Baines is a T-shirt Designer and Blogger. Read his popular t-shirt reviews blog and read also about his highly original t-shirt designs. You can vote now on his latest Threadless.com submission or purchase pieces from his collection at Retrogod, Redbubble, Zazzle. This is his exclusive article for us, a......
The Advantages Of Online Shopping Today Online shopping has not always existed. Before the Internet, you either had to go to an actual store to purchase something, or you had to order a catalogue that carried the item you wanted, wait for the catalogue, pick it out of the catalogue, then call your order in by......
Wearing Fashion Arts T Shirts is Cool One of the coolest fashion products on the market are fashion arts t-shirts. Anyone looking to be comfortable, while continuing to look cool wears fashion arts t-shirts. They are a really hot item, and people all over can be found wearing them, almost everywhere that they go. Arts t-shirts are......
Hints For Locating Wholesale Shirts And Shirts Wholesaler If you own a business then you are in need of a supplier. Searching for a Wholesale Clothing and Clothing Wholesaler supplier you will want to remember that it can be difficult at times. However, some tips are available that you can make use of to find the one that......

Related Websites - Highly Relevant Content

Holiday Shopping Techniques To Avoid Breaking the Bank It is looking like the upcoming holiday season will be gloomy for many families, given the current state of the economy and continued bad news on many financial fronts. While this may not be a time to go all out with gifts, there are holiday shopping techniques that you can......
Click-through rebate sites -- how do they work? Maybe you've run across sites that give you a percentage off of your purchases for shopping through them. Or you get points or credits, which you can redeem for goodies like gift certificates and other stuff. If you don't know how these sites can make money -- after all, they're......
Learn How to Make Money Online Blogging Blogs have become synonymous with money, and a lot of people set up their own blogs thinking about the income they could possibly earn from blogging before even posting their first content. Yes, setting up a blog is easy, but earning money online blogging takes a little time and......
Recession's Silver Lining: Consumer Debt On The Decline Credit Karma recently released its U.S. Credit Score Climate Report reflecting data for July 2009. It revealed a few interesting trends, the most interesting being the continued decline of consumer debt for those currently holding a credit card. This means that, overall, Americans are paying off more than we are......
The Secret Behind The Stampede By Webmasters For One-way Inbound Links Once a website has been constructed and the content optimized for the chosen key words, the main objective or strategy of a smart webmaster will be to submit the Website to the Search Engines and obtain as many Inbound Links and Reciprocal Links. One-way Inbound Link is an external link......