Safe Online Shopping

Many high street retailers offer discounts and products online that they don't carry or have in their shops. Other online stores can provide convenience and savings not found in their high street rivals. At the same time shopping online also require you to exercise additional caution as you shop. If you don't know an online retailer by its brands or reputation, the advice below can help you determine whether a retailer is operating a secure and trustworthy Web site before you enter your credit card number or personal information.

Before you shop online.
1) Explore the Web site for third-party seals of approval such as
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Companies can put these approval seals on their sites if they abide by a set of rigorous standards - such as how complaints and disputes will be resolved and how personal information can be used. If you don't readily see these seals on the site, look in the privacy policy or "Terms & Conditions" which should be clearly posted on the site.

Tip: If you do see the seals like those above, click on them to make sure they link to the organization that created them. Some unscrupulous merchants will put these logos on their sites without permission, and they're less likely to get caught if they don't link back to the site.

2) Find out what other shoppers have to say about an online merchant on forum sites such as Epinions or Bizrate. Many forum sites have customer satisfaction ratings built into their chat forums with numbers of smiley faces or stars.

3) Always look at their shipping methods and policies to determine what carriers they use, their shipping rates, and if they provide tracking or insurance of any type. Also find out where they ship from - sometimes footwear or clothing is sent from international locations which require customs duties and extra delivery time.

Before you enter your credit card number
Having found the perfect item at the perfect price, you are ready to buy. Before you enter your credit card number, make sure the retailer you have chosen follows these rules.

1) The company should only require personal information that's necessary to complete the purchase. You will probably enter your credit card number, address, and telephone number. You should NEVER be asked for other 'personal' information such as your PPSI number or bank account numbers

* Some reputable companies may ask for your interests by having you check certain boxes but this information should NOT be required in order to complete the purchase.

2)The Web site should use secure technology.
When you get to the page where you enter your credit card number or other personal information, make sure the Web address begins with https (for example, https://www.amazon.com/) and check to see if a small, yellow, locked padlock appears at the bottom right of the screen.

DO NOT ENTER CREDIT CARD DETAILS ON ANY PAGE WHICH HAS NOT GOT A HTTPS:// ADDRESS.

LASTLY- If, for any reason, you have to return an article of clothing, ALWAYS get a 'proof of posting' certificate from the Post Office (they will give you one free) and keep it safe, in case the article gets lost. If the article is expensive, send it recorded delivery.

- What is bookmarking and why should I do it?

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Safe online clothes shopping - Clothing.ie