Internet shopping has become mainstream nowadays. Personally, I love online shopping because it can provide a wider set of options for the products or stuffs I'm looking for. Aside from that, I can also purchase items online for a very affordable price. Most of the online shopping applications and websites also have something to excite the customers each month such as free shipping, discounted items and much more. I get really excited each month to order stuffs mostly on Shopee and Lazada because that's the two most popular online shopping apps in the Philippines. But if you are living in the United States and Canada, the most popular shopping website is Amazon where you can get as fast as one day shipping for the products you order. There is also an option to apply for prime membership which provides a lot of benefits. Having this in mind, I wish Shopee or Lazada can have that option as well - and I'm pretty sure that I'll be one of those who will eventually sign up for any membership!
But as an online shopper, you can't expect that you'll always have a 100% satisfaction on the products that you buy online. There is always the expectation versus reality dilemma, oftentimes you won't even get the quality that you paid for.
But there are also people who hesitate to shop online. Some are worried about the risks of buying online such as getting their debit or credit card hacked, others are afraid of inadvertently giving out their sensitive personal information and other simply just don't know how to go shopping online.
So how can you make the most out of your online shopping? Consider the following suggestions or shopping advices I came up with based on my previous online shopping experiences.
Online Shopping Suggestions
Here are few things to consider, so you can shop with confidence and enjoy shopping at the comfort of your home, your office or anywhere you may be.
If you are using your computer to shop, make sure that malware and antivirus are installed. It will protect your information from hackers or anyone who may use your sensitive information for any fraudulent activity such as your debit or credit card numbers, your pin and your password. If possible, avoid using any public computers when shopping. I've previously worked as a customer service representative for a well known online shopping website, and I've encountered several customers who have their cards debited or credited for something they didn't purchase and later on found out that it happened after placing an order using a public computer at work or at the library.
It is easier and more convenient to shop using applications. This came to mind after hearing a story from my mom this morning.
We often see advertisement when browsing on Facebook about cheap products on Shopee and Lazada are right? But you can't order it right away straight from Facebook, instead you will be routed to play store to install the apps or if you already have it installed, you will be redirected to the app itself once you click on the product. So there is no need to comment on the advertisement because Shopee or Lazada will never answer your queries through Facebook. Remember it is just an advertisement. But that's what my mom's Facebook friend keeps on doing. He is interested in ordering a razor on Shopee, but he only keeps on commenting on the advertisement that appears on facebook, asking how much the product is and how to order.
That's not how it works so make sure to install the application and shop from there.
Do not shop mindlessly - putting everything you see on your shopping cart. Oftentimes when you're bored, you might just end up browsing on those shopping apps. But because these sellers online have the goal of making us feel like we always need something new, we may be tempted to buy just anything we see, specially if it's on free shipping or on the flash deals or sales.
When shopping for clothes, make sure to know your measurements and refer to the size chart before placing an order. Don't assume that the small, medium, large sizes works the same for every piece of clothes. So refer to the size chart to make sure you won't end up going to the hassle of returning an item.
Before adding an item to your shopping cart, check the reviews. I found this really helpful whenever I shop online. Check if the product or the seller has high ratings, if not you may try to look for that specific product you're looking for from a different seller. Aside from the number of ratings, I usually check on the comments as well and it affects whether I'll place an order or not. This helps to minimize the chances of returning an item.
Remember that as customers, online shopping apps gives us the option of returning an item if there is a good reason for doing so, it may be due to the wrong product that we receive, or it may be defective and other reasons. But also remember that it is sometimes better to communicate with the seller and come to agreement because returning an item is a hassle. Most of the time, you will have to pay for the return shipping cost and refunds also takes time.
If you see a product that you might want to order in the future, add it to your shopping cart so that you won't have to spend a lot of time looking for it once you are all set to buy it or once you have the budget to pay for the item.
If you don't want to use your cards or online wallets when paying for the items you buy online, look for the option of paying it upon delivery. Look for items that has the option for COD or Cash-On-Delivery.
If for some reasons you won't be able to receive your parcel, communicate with the courier or contact customer service. These online shopping apps provides customer service experience where you can talk to a live agent to help you with your online shopping concern.
Online shopping provides an opportunity to buy and obtain any product or stuff you need or wants to buy. Once you keep these suggestions in mind, I'm sure you'll also enjoy shopping online where you don't have to tire yourself looking for items on physical stores.
Thanks for this but I already disciplined myself to stop online shopping in shopee because I want to save more bch but I even though I stopped, I still need to spent my bch for load in classes and I want to reach my goal to save more but it relies on the bot which doesn't always upvote me. Hayys 😞