Hi there, having a great day today? just fondling around the internet i came across a post on nairaland.com which interests me, it reads “Some Things Online Store Do Which We Don’t Know About”– quite an interesting observation. Often times alot of online buyers get burned by cunning discounts, delivery of fake or inferior products as compared to what they display on their online store or even
sell at higher price more than retailers do (is internet not suppose to be where to find products cheaper?). Well this calls for some concern doesn’t it? So on this post we will be looking at smart ways to shop online so you dont get burned.
#1. Doing proper research before placing order
When you pick up a product, the first thing is you want to investigate the product (most times not searching for anything in particular) just to convince yourself enough to make buying decision. In an online setting, researching is what you have to make calculated buying decision online. So what are the best ways to do online shopping research you might want to ask?
Look out for price stamps
Not all price tags have same meanings. If not well understood can cause you make buying decisions you might regret. Your ability to understand what each price tag means can help you make good buying decisions.
Some popular price tags and their meanings
% off
This means a certain amount of percentage has been deducted from the total price of the product. Now when you see this, you want to ask yourself, what is the actual price of this product in the first place? try browsing the price of this product on other sites, compare to see if the discounts reflect; If it doesnt and you still keen on buying the same product and from same seller, you can contact seller for inquiries, talk to them about the discounts and how you want the product, if they could sell at a price you want.
From N
This means, the least amount of price you can see of this product is the one displayed, hence there could be other versions of this products(probably with higher features) which could be of higher price.
Knowing what to buy is key. The specifications, having a price range etc. you must put all these to play.
Under N
Means you can actually see lower prices of this product and its kind starting from the displayed account.
Only N
Means this is the last selling price you can get this product from your seller.
#2. looking out for authentication stamps if any
The buyers have the money to spend, and are also at higher risk in any online business transactions. That’s why e-commerce platforms make sure they protect their buyers. They put in different ways to help buyer have confidence on who they buy from. Authentication stamps is one of them. When you look at a site like Konga, if you click seller information, you’d find quite some relevant information that can help you know if you dealing with the right business. On cokodeal.com you have customer reviews on every seller page. This reviews are controlled by cokodeal.com not the sellers. Try to read through as much as you can to have a knowledge of what other people’s experience have been with quality of products, price, and warrantee if any.
#3. Looking out for the product specs
Best practice is to place an order when you are sure of what you want to buy. Even if you weren’t sure from the start, make sure you walk yourself through the rigor of researching what to buy, and then come to final decision before browsing through the online shop for what you want to buy, else you’d be more confused and probably end up with a wrong decision.
A good practice is to know what you want to achieve with whatever product you want to buy.
#4. Looking out for the little details
Little details can hurt us far deep. Most times we are too eager to click that ‘buy’ button that we forget to pay attention to little details. Some of these details include: Buyers protection, refunds, terms and conditions, how many sales the seller have made, how long the seller has been selling, How responsive is the seller to inquiries? Is the platform a stand-alone or hosted e-commerce platform?
Your research work should be such that you can be convinced enough to buy, if peradventure you still not convinced, you need not jump into placing any order.
See also: Trust at first sight: How to help prospects trust your online store at first contact