ELM Bulletin - November 30, 2008
The Christmas Online Shopping Experience
Today is the day that retailers have been looking forward to for the past twelve months as they finally enter the annual Christmas rush they've been preparing for since last year and the incredible amount of shopping that will take place over the next few weeks. Great deals are to be had, if you know where to look.
There are many places to shop for gifts of technology, you probably have a well known store close at hand, but have you considered online shopping? It's convenient, there's no getting lost in a parking lot, and the prices are just as good as those at the brick-and-mortar shops, The only real drawbacks to online shopping are that you must already have a fairly good idea of what you want to buy (as there is no sales staff to guide you) and you can't touch the product before buying it. Security is almost a non-issue these days, and you are not at significantly greater risk at better known online retailers than when shopping at their local store.
How secure is online shopping? - All current Internet browsers support security protocols that ensure a secure connection to online stores. You should look for the following to confirm that these security measures are protecting you when entering any personal information:
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Ensure that the web address of the online store begins with "https." The letters "http" indicate the Internet's standard communication protocol (HyperText Transport Protocol). The trailing "s" indicates that the connection is encrypted, making it more difficult for outsiders to spy on your transaction. If the address does not begin with "https" you should confirm that the online store supports the standard and that it is enabled on your Internet browser. (All modern browsers support "https" by default, if it is disabled in your browser it may indicate that there is a problem.)
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Most online stores and banking sites also indicate a secure connection by displaying a lock in either the address bar or the status bar of your Internet browser. The lock icon will typically appear when a secure connection has been established.
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Confirm that the address of the website where you are making your purchase is valid. In general, the website should end with the domain name of the retailer whose online store you are visiting. For example, if you are shopping at a fictional store named Goodbuy you should make sure that the web address ends with "goodbuy.com" (www.deals/goodbuy.com) rather than having "goodbuy.com" appear in the middle of the web address (www.deals/goodbuy.com/hoax.ca).
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Every online purchase should end by displaying an order confirmation page. This page will list the product(s) purchased, the price you paid, the shipping address and sundry other information. Print this page immediately! It is your proof of purchase and should be treated in the same way you treat a receipt from a local store. If you can't print it right away, use your Internet browser's save option to copy the page to your computer or do a screen capture (ALT + PrntScrn in Windows) to copy an image of the order confirmation page to the clipboard and past it into a document for storage.
Is it safe to give out credit card information over the Internet? - Because of its reputation as a "Wild West" environment, many believe the Internet is a dangerous place to be exposing credit card information. News of the theft of credit card information over the Internet has done little to discourage these views. While this is true, customer trust has been abused at local stores and in telephone sales transactions as well. Credit card information is stored in the a common database whether it was obtained over the Internet, by telephone or at a local store. The increased risk of Internet transactions is primarily due to spyware on the computer used for those transactions or the absence of security on the connection between the computer and the retailers' website. So, to answer the question that lead this paragraph: Yes, it is safe to give out credit card information over the Internet as long as appropriate precautions are taken.
Who are the best online retailers? - The best online retailers are those selling what you want at a price you're willing to pay. That being said, it is best to shop at an online store that has a good reputation and a credible history of good customer relations. Some online retailers offer price matching, many provide free shipping and all allow you to compare features and prices very easily before buying. I personally prefer to shop at an online store that has a local store where service is readily available in case it is needed. If you're curious about a particular online retailer, Google them and see what others have to say about their shopping experience.
In conclusion: - Yes, the Christmas shopping season is upon us; with all of its stress and distraction from the true joy of the season. Enjoy buying the things to make your family and friends happy. Go online, go to a local shop, have fun and be careful. Come Christmas day the smiles on the faces of those you love will be far more important than all the time spent standing in line or waiting for the order confirmation to appear.
As always, please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about this or any other issue.
Past issues of the ELM Bulletin are available from our website, feel free to forward them to anyone you wish.
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