Shopping Online Essay, Research Paper

Enormous selections, great prices, convenience and service are all just one click away with the latest innovation of online shopping. Today, people all over the world can buy almost anything without leaving their homes. Online shopping allows people to purchase anything from plane tickets, to apparel, to cars, to groceries, to stocks and shares and the list continues. However, one of the hardest problems is to decide where to shop online. Classifieds, auctions, online companies, shopping services and portals all have different advantages and disadvantages. But, every form of shopping has its price. There are many hidden costs of shopping online, such as shipping and handling, and membership fees. When shopping online there are many important factors that must be considered. These factors include your privacy and security.

Today, the current innovation of online shopping is perfectly suited to aid people automate their mundane and monotonous chores. Shopping via the Internet has the potential of making your life a lot easier. Shopping online means access to numerous products 24 hours a day, seven days a week, all from the comfort of your home or office. For individuals who work long hours, for those who don t live in urban areas, or for those who just can’t find the time to get out to the mall, online shopping has become a great alternative. The advantage of online shopping is that there is an unlimited amount of shopping resources online that it allows individuals to purchase almost any product on the market. Companies around the world are establishing online presence, therefor, internet users will be able to purchase items that they cannot find in their own countries.

Seeing as there are millions upon millions of online shopping resources how do you sort through all the different sites to find the exact product(s) you would like to purchase? Your best bet is to start out general, and narrow down your search. There are many commercial shopping services such as Roboshopper and Yahoo Shopping, to aid people in finding a product. There are also portals, which gather a number of shopping destinations together, this is much like an online shopping center. This gives people a large selection of stores to choose from. Another forms of online shopping are manufacturers or retailers, online outlets for small or large stores. When purchasing directly from the retailer often a lot more information is available however, you may not always receive a good price. Online auctions are popular places for trading goods. When using online auction prices can be much cheaper however, it is often hard to obtain a certain item. And finally, online classifieds are much like newspaper classifieds, you can locate used items or even hard to obtain items usually at a cheaper cost.

Before ordering any product you must consider the costs of shopping in cyberspace. Before purchasing any item there are some important questions you must ask yourself. Who am I dealing with? How much is this item going to cost me? How long will it take to receive my goods? What is the companies Satisfaction guarantee/return policy? And how can I pay for my purchase? Once you have asked yourself these key questions you must realize that every form of shopping has its costs. Usually online shopping resources charge a shipping and handling fee. Another factor important to mention is the occasional inflated prices for the convenience of shopping at home. When shopping online many companies charge their clients a membership fee for using their online shopping service.

Privacy and Security has been a major concern of many online shoppers. Using your credit card online, however, is no more risky than using it at any local store, a restaurant or over the phone. Just as you would probably not give your credit card to any unknown person, you should be cautious when using it online. When online shopping, there are a few criteria to look for when deciding whether or not to submit your credit card and personal information. Check for the companies privacy policy that states what they will do with your personal information. Before submitting your credit card online, make sure the site is safe. A secure site will encrypt the credit card information as it is transferred over the Internet. Also, Be sure the company lists its contact information.

Shopping online is a new and incredible innovation. However, Before shopping in cyberspace it is very important to consider the hidden costs and the risks. Be sure to only use sites with securer servers, read the companies privacy policy, check the terms and conditions of the purchase and shop around first for information and good prices before committing to a purchase.

326