What to watch out for when buying online?

Buying online is convenient – ​​it saves time, which is scarce in today’s lifestyle, and additionally, selected products are delivered straight to our door. Unfortunately, it happens that, just like in the real world, fraudsters also occur in the virtual world. So what should you do and what should you pay attention to to make your online shopping safe?

The e-commerce industry is developing rapidly, and as a result, a growing percentage of society feels less and less afraid of virtual shopping. That is why it is important for Internet users to be aware of how to distinguish e-shops that are trustworthy from those that are better avoided.

Let’s start with an unpleasant issue – there are some threats associated with online shops that cannot be defended against. We are talking about the possibility of such a shop going bankrupt. Bankruptcy in this industry can be caused by several factors, including too low margins on products or too frequent use of working capital loans.

In such a situation, customers who transferred money and did not receive a product in return very often lose it irretrievably. Of course, there are cases in which e-shop owners declare a 100% cashback, but this is not a situation that always happens.

“Super deal” may turn out to be a “super scam”

If something is much cheaper than the market price, it may be a fake. Such slogans fulfill exactly the same function as in real life – they are to attract attention, and consequently – attract new crowds of customers.

At one time, there was a lot of talk about the case of one of the e-shops that tempted with an unusual price reduction of Nike Air Max shoes. The shoes, whose price usually oscillates around PLN 480-500, were put up for sale for just over PLN 200.

The shop promoted itself on the largest Polish portals and indeed attracted a lot of interested people. Thousands of Internet users were fooled by this “attractive offer”. As a result, those who sent money either did not see the shoes at all or received defective counterfeits that had little in common with the original “nayaks”.

Shipping from abroad

The thing to pay attention to is whether the product will be shipped from Poland or abroad. Those who purchase goods from a store not authorized by the manufacturer take a big risk. In such a case, we expose ourselves not only to high costs and the waiting time for the shipment, but we can also easily be cheated.

It is therefore best to use reputable sales networks that enjoy great trust. If we plan to buy an expensive product from a foreign website, let’s make sure that the e-shop is verified, what opinions it has and… whether it exists at all.

What about these returns?

Fortunately for customers, in December 2014, the pro-consumer act came into force, thanks to which the rules of e-commerce were made much more rigid. What does this mean in practice? Customers have 14 calendar days to return purchased goods. This rule is inviolable – so there is no way for a given store to set rules on the time for potential returns.

Stores that have a shorter period specified in their regulations are breaking the law. To be clear – it is possible to extend this period (which many stores agree to, to accommodate their customers), but this period cannot be shorter than the above-mentioned two weeks. A red flag should go off for those who did not see any information in the store’s regulations about the possibility of returning or complaining about purchased goods. In such a case, there is a good chance that the e-store is dishonest and wants to cheat its customers.
There is no point in “demonizing” the e-commerce industry. After all, online shopping is a great way to save time and is convenient. However, it is worth being aware of what traps may lurk for future customers in order to avoid financial losses in the future.