Entry #10 Online shopping

 

Do you prefer shopping in person or online? Lately, online shopping has been extremely popular because of it is very convenient. Instead of having to go to the mall or any clothing store, you can now browse through multiple selections without having to skim through a row of clothes that you will most likely not buy. Online shopping also saves you the hassle of waiting in long lines or having to actually get out of bed. You can shop from the comfort of your own bed... how cool is that?! But obviously there are major risks you might have to take while online shopping.

First, make sure the website you are shopping from is not a scam because you will later have to input information from your credit card or a banking account. I have always been extremely careful when buying from certain brands. For example, I do not like to buy from brands that pop up as an ad while I am on social media. I have heard horrifying stories from friends and family about how they clicked on an ad that referred them to a website from a company that never delivered their order. Once they realized they had been scammed there was not much they could do because they had already put their card information in that website. I once had an incident where I thought the same thing had happened to me, that I had been scammed. It was my first and last time ordering something from an Instagram ad. I bought jewelry from this company and was not hesitant to give them my credit card information. From the time I placed the order, it took 3 months for my 2 rings and 3 necklaces to arrive to my home. After the first month I was really worried because I could not think of any way of getting my money back. I went to my mom for some advice and she simply told me to email them and hope for the best. I wrote them an email explaining my situation and to my surprise they wrote back and said the delivery was taking a little longer to process but it would get to my house in 2 months. Even though I was upset because I did not realize my delivery would take so long, I had some peace of mind knowing that it would eventually come to me. Sure enough, the delivery arrived in the next few months and I realized that in the original order the delivery time said 2-3 months but I had completely overlooked it. That is why it is very important to check delivery times so that you will not have a scare like I did.

Another thing you should look out for when online shopping is sizing. From experience, I can say that getting the correct size in clothes is a struggle. Since you cannot try it on, you must look for measurements which most clothing brands provide, or simply skim through the reviews to find out which size looks like would fit best. Sometimes, no matter how sure you are that you are a certain size, the company might have different measurements which would mean you would have to search for the perfect fit. 

Last but not least, one of the most dangerous risks when online shopping is identity theft. Scamming for identity theft is a serious issue that has been around even before technology. With technology, it is easier for scammers to trick you into revealing personal information that is not as secured as the company made it seem. With your personal information these scammers can easily go around and pretend to be you! As scary as that sounds, it is the truth. They can use your credit card to make purchases with stolen money without looking suspicious. If the purchase was made online there is not a face to the product, there are no witnesses that could describe the suspect that stole your card. But thankfully, there are also ways to track down the person responsible for the unwanted purchases in your account. But as you can imagine, it is not a quick nor easy process. You can also report a stolen credit card so that the thief will not be able to use it. 

All in all, personally I like to shop online because the shopping experience is more enjoyable and quicker. It also saves me time and gas money when shopping on my phone or laptop. Regardless of the benefits of shopping online, there are several precautions one must take if you do not want to get involved in security or sizing problems. No matter the circumstances you should always take care of your money and spend it wisely because you earned it by working hard.