Do You Enjoy Online Shopping? Here are Some Tips and Tricks

Internet shopping is easily the most popular and convenient means of shopping today. What better way to shop than do it anytime – at work, while commuting, or at home. Buying stuff is also cheaper than most malls. No standing in line, no interacting with rude salespeople, no haggling for discounts. Plus, free home delivery!

Yet, online shopping is not without its own issues. Adhering to these do’s and don’ts will increase your safety and comfort.

Do’s

1. Distinguish between your needs and wants: What you need is an important part of your life. But we often want something without needing it. It lies unused and later makes you feel that money got wasted. So avoid impulse buying and prevent piling on unneeded items.
2. Use aggregator sites: Portals like India Book Store (for books) and Buy Hatke scan many e-commerce websites and inform you of the best prices. Saving more money while shopping on the internet is always good, right?
3. Maintain receipts: I misplaced the receipt of my laptop after a year and was in trouble when I needed it. I got in touch with the online portal, which referred me to to seller, who referred me back to the portal. It was a game of table tennis, with me being the ping pong ball. So maintain your paper receipts and all the e-invoices safely in the cloud. You never know when you will need them.
4. Read reviews: Before purchasing something, read reviews – not just of the product but the seller too. 5-star reviews can many times be faked or bought. Pay special attention to 1-and-2-star ratings. If they are lesser than the number of buyers who have voted above the average rating, it’s generally safe to buy the item.

Don’ts

1. Buy impulsively: Follow the 30-day rule: resist purchasing something you want, except necessities, for 30 days. Then permit yourself to buy it. But you generally will notice after 30 days that you don’t want it. Thus, you will curb your impulsive spending habits and also save money.
2. Be fooled by a ‘SALE’: Most online shopping sites barely slash prices during a ‘SALE’. It’s nothing but a booby trap. You just end up buying more because you get fooled into believing that things you want are cheaper.
3. Use the regular browser: It’s common knowledge that airline tickets become expensive each time you revisit the portal. It may not be long before other shopping portals deploy this technique. So when you use a computer, visit online shopping portals in the Incognito Window tab. That way, your cache and cookies are not detected and you can get more honest deals.
4. Ignore security: If your payment details are saved on specific portals, ensure that you lock the apps on your smartphone. This will prevent miscreants from misusing your stored payment if your phone gets lost or stolen.

Nobody believed that online shopping could take off in India. Flipkart proved them wrong. Then came a landslide of e-commerce portals. Today, everything that you can think of is sold online. The convenience experienced and amount of time saved are unbelievable. Just keep the eight points mentioned above in mind. Your online shopping experience will be a delight each time.

Vishal is the founder of Aryatra, a venture to help individuals improve their productivity and live more fulfilled lives. He also is a digital marketing consultant helping businesses generate revenue from their online presence.

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