What to avoid when shopping online?

What to avoid when shopping online? When we decide to shop online, we should choose websites that we are sure are not just a scam.

What is a scam? We will talk about this in more detail later in the article.

It doesn’t matter if the things we want to order are clothes, electronics, building materials or anything else.

That is why we will show you today how we can effectively distinguish an ordinary left online store, which is just a cash grab for the naive, or a good shopping platform in the case of which you have absolutely nothing to worry about.

Distinguishing one from the other is not particularly difficult, just pay attention to the following points, which we will now move on to.

Shop rules

One of the basic conditions that an online store must meet (also from a legal point of view) is to have its own regulations.

If it is not available anywhere, neither in the tabs nor in the footer (at the very bottom of the page) of the home page, then we can stop shopping here.

If such a basic element is missing, there is no point in wasting time on the rest of the checking.

The Regulations are a document that defines and defines the entire policy of the store’s operation in the name of which it operates and operates.

If there is no such thing, we are probably dealing with a quick website set up for the typical exploitation of people buying there. And this is, among other things, a typical example of a classic scam.

What is „scam” and „dropshipping”?

Okay, we’ve already mentioned scamie a few times, so it’s time to explain exactly what it is.

As you have probably already guessed, based on the example above, a scam is the most common attempt to cheat, but it is not always as obvious as we have presented.

Sometimes it is carried out on the basis of a classic trick where we are pushed into some super product, which in fact turns out to be just crap.

There was quite a lot of talk about scams some time ago thanks to many large influencers who, using various platforms, but mainly instagram, promoted typical hypocritical offers such as „high-end watches” or „special toothpaste”, which in fact only damaged the enamel .

How does the scam work?

Well, there’s nothing particularly difficult about that. It is enough for person x to set up a website (today it is extremely fast and simple) and advertise it, for example, on Facebook, where we will see a whole lot of ads with unusual promotions, e.g. watches discounted from $1,000 to $300 or 200.

A very tempting offer, right? Of course, but not in a situation where the watch is worth pennies and is just junk.

Such watches can be bought wholesale from websites such as aliexpres, where when buying more pieces, we have the option of engraving or adding a logo for the price of the order itself.

In such a situation, the price of one ordered watch is about $ 5-10.

These types of offers were often promoted in cooperation with various influencers, which made the advertising reach really huge.

We’re talking about accounts that could have over one million followers. Of course, this is not the only possible promotion of your product.

There are still ads on google, facebook and other social media.

A person who fell for and decided to buy discounted goods in about 60% receives cheap crap from aliexpres and in the remaining 40% does not get the package he ordered at all.

No need to explain to anyone what happens next. Contact breaks off, the shop is closed and that’s all our money was.

How can we recognize a scam on the website?

• No available store regulations or privacy policy (so-called cookies)
• Available payment methods only via bank transfer (usually only quick payments such as paypal or blik)
• Contact with the seller takes place only via e-mail, no phone numbers or even the address of the company’s headquarters
• There is no information about the owner or the previously mentioned company headquarters and e-mail address.
• Similar products to those available on aliexpres and often even made one to one.

What is dropshipping?

Dropshipping, unlike scam, is absolutely nothing illegal, it is even the basis of today’s commerce, both stationary and online.

In a nutshell, dropshipping is buying cheaper and selling more expensive.

Sounds like a scam right? Absolutely not, dropshipping is a phenomenon on which today’s trade stands, in which we participate every day.

When buying clothes in well-known chain stores, we pay for them more than the cost of their production, this is normal. So what’s the difference?

Well, the fact that in the case of a scam we are simply deceived about the quality, origin, material and many other aspects.

In the case of dropshipping, we know exactly what material the products we buy are made of, who produced them, who sold them and where, etc.

Thanks to this, we can guess that a blouse for $ 10 from an online brand will not be something that will remain in very good condition for a long time. many many years.

On top of that, everyone has to earn money along the way, right? Nobody will work for free.

The producer has to recoup the production costs and he has to make a profit from it. The seller bears the costs of purchasing the product directly from the factory and its distribution.

In addition, there is also the issue of maintaining the facility, employees, etc.

If you want to buy cheaper than in a store, try a wholesaler, but there they either do not sell retail or accept orders only for larger quantities or have signed contracts for individual distribution.

Possible forms of payment

Another very important issue is also how we can make payments in a given store.

In all reliable stores, the most common payment methods available are quick transfers, classic bank transfers and also cash on delivery.

We should pay attention to this when finalizing purchases. If the cash on delivery option is not available, we advise you to opt out (of course, if you are ordering something physical).

To be additionally sure, we also recommend reading the comments on the google website, not the store website.

We should pay special attention to those with 3 stars and below, where you will find the most reliable reviews.

However, if there are no reviews yet, it means that the store was established relatively recently and has no credible history.

Possible forms of delivery

Right next to the possible forms of payment, we look at the delivery options for our goods. In the case of materials such as plasterboards, corners, etc.

The delivery is much more demanding and depends on the distance it has to travel and often it may exceed the value of the goods themselves.

That is why it is worth ordering such materials from nearby wholesalers.

However, it is a good sign because it proves that we are dealing with a reliable seller (this type of deliveries applies only to logistically difficult materials, paints, tools, screws, etc. are easily sent by courier).

Website owner details

As we have already mentioned, the website should contain data such as email address, contact number, office address and city in which it is located and NIP.

The latter is very important. Legal and reliable companies easily provide their NIP somewhere on the website. This enables their easy verification on the Ceidg.gov.pl website, where all information about the registered enterprise will be provided.

Thanks to this, we can be sure that the store is as reliable as possible. If the NIP number is not available on the website, it is worth asking for it in an e-mail.

Lack of response or simply willingness to provide information on this subject is sufficient evidence that the site is not secure and we should not use it.

There are many ways to cheat, especially on the Internet. Scums are just one of them, but certainly the most common because they are the easiest to carry out and deceive others, and in many cases without any consequences.

Remember, take these 5 or even 10 minutes to verify whether the site is trustworthy. Thanks to this, you will save a lot of money, time and, above all, nerves, especially nerves.