Page 1 of buying online? is it safe??

i just want to know if it is safe to shop/buy online.. is there any chance that you order online and u get a defective or opened box item when it reached u?? any pointers or things to consider?? i`m not used on buying online. thanks.... thanksssssss :D

This item was edited on Thursday, 13th November 2003, 17:46

I guess it all depends on who you are planning on buying from.
If it is say Play.com/DVD.co.uk/Blackstar/Ink2U.co.uk/HMV/Game/Comet/Currys/ or any popular company then you will occasionally get problems with delivery times and such but the security is not a problem.
However if you see an offer from say Charlie Wangs Super Happy Funhouse Hi-Fi Emporium that seems too good to be true then the reality is it will in fact be too good to be true.
TBH I would read the members on this boards recommendations in the Retailers forum and create a new topic asking if any sites or companies are good or bad to trade with.
If a company is good to deal or trade with then you will find out.
However if a company is poor or unreliable then by christ the members will soon let you know.

In my good ladies and my own experiences trading or buying on line is the most efficient and often the cheapest way to buy goods from washing machines to DVD`s and ink cartridges.

HTH

Choagy :)

Thanks... is it good to buy in techtronics??? because they offer modified systems like multiregion players and system packages at a very cheap price :D .....

This item was edited on Thursday, 13th November 2003, 20:56

See comment about Charlie Wang.... :(

J Mark Oates

Check with your credit card company, most if not all will have charge back feature, where if a company stiffs you and won`t play ball then the credit card people take the money back from the company you bought from.

I also back up what has been said already, big companies are not a problem. Use the search facility in this forum for other companies you may not have heard about. If you can`t find anything that way, then start a new thread.

I find a good rule of thumb when starting out is whether the shop you want to buy from is well known on the highstreet or advertised prominently on tv. The likes of ARGOS, DIXONS, HMV, PC WORLD, COMET, NEXT, MARKS AND SPENCERS, TESCO etc certainly fall into this category.

These companies also usually give you the option of returning goods to the actual high street shop if anything goes wrong and you prefer to - problems are rarer but this is useful if you buy clothes for example. Online retailers also often do internet-only offers as well - shop around! As far as safety goes i have been told by different people that buying something online is actually safer than having your card scanned in a physical shop!

The internet has also thrown up its own now established and respectable retailers: some examples are PLAY.COM for dvds, cds, games: free delivery and arguably the most competitive prices. BLACKSTAR.CO.UK for vids and dvds, CD-WOW for cheap cds. Never buy a dvd in the high street again unless there is a dire emergency!! GOOGLE.COM is the search engine of choice for anything really.

AMAZON.CO.UK is another trustworthy internet name for general stuff like books, videos, games, electronics etc. I believe it is essentially Waterstones` presence on the net. But they do charge delivery unless your order is £25+! EBAY.CO.UK can be a fun auction site and you do get occasional bargains once you get the hang of things.

Using a credit card is prob your safest bet since they almost always offer fraud protection but switch is fine too. I have bought stuff for years without any problems whatsoever. You should normally see a little yellow padlock at the bottom right of your screen when sending sensitive card details etc during an internet order - this is a good sign!

This item was edited on Friday, 14th November 2003, 04:33

I`ll echo all the above comments. As suggested, if you`re unsure of buying from a certain company online, then a post up on these boards will get you a load of answers about how good the company is.

As for your comment on cheap kit from Techtronics - I have to say that I have a Panasonic DVD player I bought from them years ago and never had a problem, but there are horror stories about their customer service if there`s a problem.

I know Ebuyer are really a computer/components supplier (and an excellent one at that - I use them all the time), but they have a "Home Entertainment" section and you can find plenty of multiregion DVD players etc on there with customer reviews. Their Value DVD player is excellent at under £40 inc VAT and the region hack is in the reviews of the product!

ALWAYS use a credit card when buying online (not Switch). As suggested, buying with a credit card usually guarantees that if anything horrible does happen, you have the might of Visa or Mastercard on your side :D