Buying with confidence
For roughly a decade, Americans have been using the Internet for their holiday shopping. Buying gifts with a mouse click and having them conveniently shipped for you are now an ingrained part of our holiday rituals. And yet, there are still souls out there, like 82-year-old John Sonneland, who are unlikely to buy anything online.
“I just don’t want to spend any more time than I have to on a computer,” Sonneland said. “There’s too many people hunched over computers these days.”
More serious concerns involve issues of online fraud and the security of personal information when dealing with an unproven merchant.
Still, as browser software security features have improved, so has the confidence level of American online shoppers. Retail industry analysts say the holiday shopping season this year will ring up $32 billion in online sales, up from $27 billion last year.
Murray Huppin, president of Huppin’s Hi-Fi, Photo and Video, in Spokane, said two tools should be considered by those concerned about protecting their personal information. In recent years, the majority of sales Huppin’s generates is through its online site, Onecall.com.
First, some online payment systems can add confidence to online purchases, such as the PayPal protection system, which is used extensively on eBay and on other online retail outlets.
A separate approach is used by Bill Me Later. For those who sign up at Shopbillmelater.com, it offers the option of online payments without having to enter credit card numbers. In effect, Bill Me Later handles the payments, then charges your account for the item purchased.
“It’s also important, when dealing with a merchant you haven’t bought from before, to look at a ratings service that gives a third-party assessment” of the company, said Huppin. One popular service providing that rating is BizRate.com.
One online regular is Spokane native Guy Marshall, who works at the downtown Huppin’s retail store.
Marshall uses online sites for holiday buying for three reasons: “I don’t have to deal with masses of people and trying to get through them in stores; I can find a wider selection of items online; and it’s great I don’t have to ship the item myself to wherever one of my relatives lives.”
For others who haven’t started the habit, area retailers and Web experts offered this list of best practices for holiday shopping:
“ Use one card only for holiday online purchases for security. If strange or unusual charges show up, they’ll be easier to spot.
“ Scour your regular mail and look up the online versions of companies you know and trust.
“ Take advantage of price-comparison sites. Some of the better-known are Froogle.com, Mpire.com, Shopping.MSN.com and Pricegrabber.com. If you’re hunting for books, there’s Bookfinder.com. If cellular phones and plans are the object, there’s Phonescoop.com.
“ Use Web sites that offer guarantees or secured transactions. BuySafe.com offers a seal of approval and bonding for merchants selling on eBay. It offers the same surety bond service for auctions on Overstock.com.