The Internet

[sheherazade]

In the UK if u make a purchase that is over £100 with a credit card and there is a problem, you can claim back from either the trader or the credit card company. If u give yr debit card details and some unscrupulous creature gets his/her hands on it, he can separate you from your hard-earned cash. Easier to deal with the loss of money that was never yours and that is covered by an Act than money that was yours and no longer is. Boo hoo.

 

I'm an online fan. See it, touch it, love it when shopping, then buy online if cheaper. Some things don't need the personal experience though- like books, start here if u're nervous. Also look out for the url, once u get to inputting the sensitive info the url shoud have: https://www..

 

That 's' means u're now on a secure page. There should also be a padlock at the bottom right of your browser. Keep a copy of your purchase; print it or keep a screen shot.

[qumane]

whether we accept or not internet shopping is great opportunity those who like to fine best product in cheapest price. Let me say can you fine cheaper fly ticket than internet low budget airlines, can you fine more books any bookshop on earth like amazon. All those reasons bring me internet shopping and online payment.

 

Fine heir Time magazine best shopping sites and have nice internet shopping and save alot of many.

 

Travel Bookings

Sidestep.com

sidestep.com

A couple of years ago we christened SideStep one of the coolest websites around, but since then it has added a whole bunch of new features—including a handy Web-only version of its travel search engine (it started out as a downloadable application for your PC, and that toolbar is still available) and separate search engines for vacation packages and cruises. You can also try newcomer Kayak.com, which promises to scour more than 100 websites to find the best deals on airfare and hotel rooms—but only SideStep includes Orbitz.com listings in its search results. If you're picky about your plane seat assignment, Seat Guru provides detailed information (material, amount of legroom, location of video monitors and exit rows, whether there's a power port for your laptop nearby, etc.) by airline and type of aircraft. Mouse over icons on seating charts to get the lay of the land.

 

Classifieds

Craigslist

www.craigslist.org

We repeat this previous "50 Coolest" pick because it just keeps getting better—there are separate sites listing ads for bikes, boats, baby gear, musical instruments, jobs, apartments (you name it) in 120 cities in 25 countries. Only certain businesses pay listing fees. LiveDeal.com likewise works to connect buyers and sellers who share a zip code, to facilitate sales of used items that are difficult to ship—or that most people would want to try before buying (furniture, cars)— something you can't do on, say, eBay.

 

Comparison Shopping

Shopzilla

www.shopzilla.com

BizRate's new-and-improved shopping search engine lets you quickly compare prices from the different online stores that sell the item you want. If your search words are broad, you'll get a list of Departments to choose from, and you can refine your search by price range, brand and other distinguishing features. Merchant ratings, a series of scores based on consumer feedback (we're talking hundreds of responses at least) help with the decision-making. Click the "All Depts." link at the top of the page to find an alphabetized list of hundreds of highly specific product categories, from action figures to yogurt makers. Covers some 30 million products from 55,000 retailers worldwide.

 

Deal of the Day

Woot!

www.woot.com

Here a consumer electronics distributor unloads excess inventory of a single item each day at a steep discount. One day it could be a home theater system, the next a digital camera. The item is available until it sells out, or until 11:59 pm Central Time that night, whichever happens first. This oddball approach has generated a cult following, which keeps the community forums abuzz with product reviews and other chatter. Selection of one too limited for you? Try Overstock.com, a perennial favorite among bargain hunters that sells excess inventory at great prices. New to that site: auctions.

 

Kitsch

Archie McPhee

www.mcphee.com

Seattle-based shop hawking all sorts of odd and wonderful things, like Bacon Strips Bandages (see Hygiene, under Lifestyle), Pink Lawn Whirlygigs (Lawn & Garden), Jesus, Beethoven and Edgar Allen Poe action figures (Amusements) and much, much more. Other product categories include Pirate, Hula, Voodoo and Elvis.

 

Shoes

Zappos.com

www.zappos.com

Positively the best place to buy shoes online. The site's selection is massive, and browsing is a breeze. Click the Women's, Men's or Kid's buttons at the top of the page to narrow your search by type (slingbacks, mary janes, mules...) or scan the list of brands (there are hundreds—everything except Nike). When you see a pair you like, select Multi View to examine it from all angles. Free shipping is a standing offer, and orders arrive quickly. Also check out Zappos Couture.

 

When Things Go Wrong

Complaints.com

www.complaints.com

Come here to kvetch about a product that malfunctioned or that customer service rep that let you down, or read about other people's experiences. The site, run by Sagacity Corp., will forward your complaint letters to any business, provided you include the email address; it does not act as an advocate or mediator, only as a forum for taking your case public.

[Raxmah]

I have been shoppin online for 3 years now, especially for text books, saves me a whole lot dough. I think is safe, havent had any problems so far.

[N.O.R.F]

I'm a lazy so and so and buy everything apart from food on line. Pay bills/buy clothes/car parts/shoes/hats/sports gear/airline tickets/hotel bookings/football tickets/ congestion charge the whole lot!

 

If my details are used wrongly, then i 'hoping' i have some protection rather than 'knowing'.

[Baluug]

I don't use credit cards,so I don't buy too much online.But I do pay my bills on the computer,that's gotta be the best idea since sliced bread!!

[nafta]

Online buying is definitly convenient at times, but what I don't like about it is that sometimes you can end up waiting a long time (2-5 working days) before you recieve your goods, depending on where you buy them from etc.

 

Other than that, I'm quite happy with ordering stuff over the net and do it all the time. However, like sheh pointed out, before you buy anything make sure the website is secure and has a verified payment company. Also it really (really) helps to read the terms and conditions before you commit to buy anything. It beats wondering later on what you got yourself into when they refuse to change your goods or refund you your money.

 

Ta Ta

[Caano Geel]

Originally posted by Naku Penda Piya:

I wanted

The Yibir of Las Burgabo. Can one of you cool nomads in

Minneapolis or Columbus

area send me a copy?

make that two please and it will be appreciated

[Nephissa]

^^It's been 6hrs and nobody responded to my request! Doesn't that tell you something?

 

Ok biibol, i'll send the $$$ thru Dahabshiil.

[Jacpher]

Originally posted by

Legend of Zu:

noticed most of you said "dont use your debit card" why is that? i know you would prolly say "it is Obvious duuh"..but may be it is not obvious to many...including me

 

So why not debit Card?

I’m not a banker or an expert on the subject but what I heard is that when you use a debit card, the money electronically comes from you bank account, as your debit card is linked to your bank account. If someone steals your debit card numbers either online or at a restaurant, they can buy either online or by phone whatever they want to buy using your debit card numbers as long as your bank account has the funds to cover those expenses. When the statement arrives at the end of the month and you catch those charges, you dispute them and the banks starts to investigate, which could take months. In the mean time, your money is gone and the bank reaches a decision based on their findings. Some banks will send you to deal with the business where the fraudulent charges occurred. Anyone with your debit card numbers can almost wipe out your bank account. Scary. Ain’t it?

 

With credit card, you’re a little bit safe. When you use credit card to make a purchase, the card issuer pays the money electronically on your behalf. Then the issuer sends you the bill. If this happens to be a fraudulent purchase, it’s the card issuer’s money that's stolen, not yours. But you have to catch it within 60 days and dispute it. Once you report them, you have no worries. The card issuer has to chase the thief and cover those expenses. I think by law here in the US, you’re liable for only fifty dollars, which I heard most credit card companies forgive.

 

I bought a software online couple of years ago and downloaded it. The software does not do what they advertised and I was stock trying it on different systems. It didn’t worked at all. Keeps crushing every pc I tried it on. I contacted the support line via email and all I got was those auto-reply emails. I wrote a short email to them again and demanded my money. No respond at all expect those auto-reply thing. I disputed the charges with my credit card company, which took about five minutes. I never paid for that software and awhile later; the software company emailed me with apology, rep phone number and some tutorial to follow. They thought I was gonna have a change of heart but I deleted the email and gave them a negative feedback on their site.

 

Nake,

 

Though I don’t know any business that sells the book, I’ll look around this weekend Insha'alaah. You may PM me.

[nuune]

if you dont like giving FAARAHS your credit card details, They accept xawaaladaha, tell them that, and they will give you a list of xawaaladaha that u can use to send the money

[Qandalawi]

In the subject of internet shopping, I have actually bought few obvious things on the internet that most people do on daily basis like buying Air, Buss and train tickets - not more than that. The idea of buying products online fascinated me but I have never had the courage to do so. Im registered at ebay now for more than a year but neither bought nor sold anything through it.

 

Paypal is what I really want to know, had anyone in SOL used bofere. It actually does a lot of services from sending money to buying and paying cash, It also says some of the services are free of charge - How does it work???

 

Everything one needs to know is provided on the site, but what I mostly need is someone with the good use of experience who did practically - Anyo one with good information.

 

Peace

[Castro]

Originally posted by Tukaale:

Paypal is what I really want to know, had anyone in SOL used bofere. It actually does a lot of services from sending money to buying and paying cash, It also says some of the services are free of charge - How does it work???

Paypal is a payment broker. I use it to pay for things online. You register your checking account with your paypal account and they deduct it from your account. Just like a debit card. I've used it to send money to a friend, to buy phone cards and to pay for eBay purchases. It's very smooth and very convenient. Be careful though, as with anything that involves money, there's someone out to get you. I received a spam email a few weeks ago telling me I needed to log on to my PayPal account as someone was trying to break into and i needed to change my password. The link in the email actually took you to another site (server) that had the same login page as PayPal and if I'd entered my login credentials, they would have been stolen. I always look at the "location" on my browser to see where I'm at and where I'm going. I will not be redirected to another site unless I want to. Beware of URL redirection.

 

Cheers.

[Qandalawi]

Castro, thanks