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Equipment needed – ISP connection, email address, modem or router, telephone point, telephone cable to the computer, Windows Vista Home Premium program or Windows XP program, which both come with Internet Explorer, and a valid credit or debit card

Skills needed – Desktop, keyboard and mouse (Chapter 2), opening a program (Chapter 5), knowledge of Windows (Chapter 3), concept of email and the Internet (Chapter 9), the Internet (Chapter 11) and knowledge of search engines (Chapter 23)

You can fi nd a huge amount of bargains on the Web – but watch out for the cowboys, and I don’t mean John Wayne. Having said that, you can save a lot of money but only if you take simple precautions and use your common sense. If something sounds too good to be true that is because it probably is, especially once all the hidden extras have been revealed!

First you need to search for the item you wish to buy, which you can do by brows-ing through the shopping category of one of the large directories (refer to Chapter 12) . If you want an electrical appliance, all the regular high-street retailers, such as Currys, Comet, Dixons, have their own websites, too. Remember, there are no cash tills on the Net so in most instances you will have to pay by credit or debit card, which is the reason why so many newcomers to the Internet baulk at the idea of sending their card details across the ether. This chapter guides you along the path to safe and satisfying shopping.

13Shopping ‘online’

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Paying Safe with Credit and Debit Cards

You have probably heard scary stories regarding the use of credit cards over the Net, but you might be surprised to hear that most of these stories are simply myths. The picture of balaclava-hooded Balkan Mafi osi intercepting your pur-chase of a new book from Waterstone’s website is a fi gment of a tabloid journal-ist’s imagination. You are far more likely to have your credit-card details stolen from a high-street shop’s tally roll or the theatre agency from whom you bought tickets over the telephone.

Forging details of your credit or debit card requires sophisticated knowledge and equipment as well as a criminal tendency. This is not to say that it does not hap-pen, of course it does, but it is very unlikely. There are car thieves who have developed instruments to steal the coded signal sent from your ignition key when you press the bleeper to unlock your car. They follow you home, relay the signal and drive off with your vehicle while you sleep. These people are out there but most of them are generated by the Hollywood fi lm industry.

It is a sad refl ection on our times that we are more likely to lose our cards in a purse or wallet as a result of being mugged in the street than have the details sto-len on the Internet. What I am trying to say is that using your card on the Web is as safe as using it anywhere else – or as risky. (Check out the section on ‘Consider-ing Security Issues’ later in this chapter.)

Advantages to Shopping Online

Just imagine that you can buy anything, anywhere in the world without stepping outside your front door – actually, you do not need to use your imagination as this is now a reality due to the Web. If you cannot get out and about easily or if you simply hate trailing around the shops then shopping via the Web could be a very welcome and practical experience. Purchasing goods from the Web and having them delivered straight to your door is an obvious advantage but how else might you benefi t by shopping on the ‘online’ rather than traditional store shopping.

There are several reasons why you can save when buying goods on the Internet, and the majority of internet companies are only to happy to pass these on savings to online purchasers. Go into any home-furnishing store where you will see hun-dreds of items of furniture on display, all of which have had to be delivered to the

Shopping ‘online’

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store, demonstrated by the staff, duly soiled by customers ‘trying them out’, and which eventually get delivered to your door. Staff and premises incur tremendous costs for a company in the form of wages, rent, rates, insurance, maternity/pa-ternity leave and insurance. You fi nd these expensive stores scattered across the country, just sitting there incurring costs waiting to make a sale.

In contrast, a commercial web enterprise could be located just about anywhere in the country, having just one huge warehouse and delivering goods nation-ally by dependable carriers. They use computers to analyse and sort the orders, which reduces staff numbers allowing the company to buy in bulk and store products centrally. The saving in costs can be passed on to web customers, who are generally delighted to get something £50 cheaper than on the high street. Many companies advertise the fact that you will get a discount when purchasing their products on the Web.

Disadvantages to Shopping Online

One slight disadvantage is that you do not get to view the merchandise before you buy but this fact does not prevent you from checking the goods in a shop and then ordering it for less on the Net. However, there are other considerations to take into account before making your purchases.

Please do not be led to believe that everything is cheaper on the Web. You may see an item in one of the many catalogues that drop through your letterbox – with annoying regularity – offering the article at a ‘sale’ price. So you think, great, I will order it from their website, but when you come to look you will often fi nd that the item is offered at the original price, and that you can only buy it at the discounted price by ordering in the traditional mail-order way. Strange but true!

Another factor to bear in mind is that, should anything go wrong, it is far easier to deal with a local shop than a warehouse 300 miles away. Paying out the return postage of a heavy item could soon wipe out any savings you may have made on the initial purchase – best to check out their Returns Policy prior to ordering. When you buy a fridge/freezer from a local store they will very often arrange for the disposal of your old one. Most certainly, the independent carrier delivering your newly acquired fridge will not, leaving you with the cost and inconvenience of its disposal.



The Net is not necessarily cheaper

Beware of falling into the trap that the Internet is always cheaper than the high street or mail order. Shops and mail order companies will often offer sale goods that are not advertised at the reduced prices on their websites. You may be able to buy a shop display item at a considerable discount while there is no opportu-nity for a good old-fashioned haggle on the Internet.

Considering Security Issues

Common sense should tell you that making a transaction with a large national company is more likely to be secure than dealing with one called ‘Cheap Ciga-rettes’ that does not even display an address or telephone number on their website.

Tips

Bear in mind that goods bought from abroad may well incur import charg-es and duty that wipes out any saving made on the original purchase. Goods bought within the European Community do not attract duty or VAT charges.

Use credit cards for items over £100 in value to get the added protection from the card company.

You have the right to change your mind about a purchase during the 7 days following the transaction but you must notify the company of this decision, in writing, within 30 days.

Having decided against a purchase you may have to pay for the return costs of the goods (check the company’s Returns policy).

Check out the companies Terms and Conditions. They contain useful in-formation.

Make sure you have a telephone contact number and a valid address – not just a Post Box number – for the company you are dealing with.

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When visiting an unknown site keep a careful eye on any small print and explore the site fully before forming an opinion of the company.

NEVER give out your banking details unless you are absolutely confi dent about who you are dealing with. There have been many instances over the past few years of emails purporting to be from your high-street bank or building society asking you to confi rm your account details. Banks do not send out such corre-spondence – so avoid these messages like a dose of MRSA.

Steps to improve your fi nancial security on the Internet

Everytime you make a transaction online always follow all the suggestions listed here:

Check that the website displays a full postal address and telephone number (you could also ring the telephone number to verify these details and check that the company exists).

Chose only well-known, trusted retailers or sites used and recommended by friends.

Use credit cards for high-value purchases as credit-card companies usually offer fraud protection.

When visiting a site, type in the web address in the Address bar rather than following a link provided in an email.

Check that the website’s address begin with https:// and display a padlock (see padlock symbol in margin) in the bottom right-hand corner of the web page where you input your banking details.

Check that the website display a security certifi cate from a trusted company such as Verisign. (Double-click on the certifi cate icon to check the certifi cate details.)

Register your credit cards with VerifybyVisa or Mastercard Securecode. Upon making a fi nancial transaction you will be asked to verify your name and password to complete the purchase.

Use a trusted money transfer system such as PayPal (see Chapter 15)



The Mechanics of Web Shopping Almost all shopping sites use the same structure in that you select the item you wish to buy, place it in your virtual shopping basket , proceed to the virtual check-out , submit your name, address and card details and fi nally confi rm your order.

For example, let us say that a friend has shown you some stainless-steel food stor-age bowls and you decide that you would like to buy a set for yourself. She tells you that she bought them from the Lakeland Company in Windermere, Cumbria but how do you go about making the purchase? The instructions that follow here are representative of the general method for buying goods from most shopping sites.

Using a search engine, such as Google, run a search for the words “Lakeland windermere storage”, which will fi nd the website at www.lakelandlimited.com.

Click on this link, which will take you to the home page of Lakeland:

Reproduced by permission of Lakeland Limited.

On the home page you have a number of alternatives available to you for fi nding the product you want – you can click on the kitchenware link or enter the word ‘storage’ in the keyword search box or, if you know it, enter the product reference code.

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Eventually you will navigate your way to the product you want to purchase (kitchenware then food storage):


Click on the product to obtain the price and a detailed description of the item:


Click on the shopping basket icon (Add to shopping basket).

After clicking the Add to shopping basket icon, you will be shown what items are currently in your shopping basket (my basket), the quantity and price per item. Further options and information are also given so you need to carefully check the details as follows (see the boxes marked on My Basket image on page 204):

Box 1 – The fee for postage & packing; this cost can vary from company to company so ensure you are happy to incur the fee displayed as it can add a

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signifi cant cost to a small purchase, or alternatively select a quicker shipping method if you require a faster delivery (but it will cost extra).

Box 2 – Information about delivery and returns; you would be wise to check the details shown here in the event that you need to return the item.

Box 3 – Details of the company’s registered offi ce; always check that an address and contact telephone number are displayed should anything go wrong.


Click on Purchase. This is the part where your heart rate begins to rise. What have I committed myself to? Calm down, they don’t even know your name or address yet, never mind your credit-card details. Your life is not in their hands so go on, live dangerously and click on Purchase. In many instances, a Security Warning dialog box (see page 205) appears explaining that your se-curity is important to the company. If you are in any doubt about the security of a page double-check that the web address starts with https:// and that a padlock icon is displayed in the bottom right-hand corner of the page.

Now you come to the point where you have to give details about yourself. Shopping sites vary in the format they use to receive this information. Some

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will ask you to Login , Register or Join where you will be asked for your name, address, telephone number, a user name and password. Others choose to ask you to fi ll in an order form similar to the usual mail-order format. Fill in these details and click on Submit. If you have omitted certain essential pieces of information you will be prompted of any errors when you try to submit the completed page.




By logging in or joining, the company can retain your details so that future orders can be processed without the need to fi ll in the details all over again. Your details are protected by the user name and password you choose so make a note of them for future use. The principle of choosing these words is the same we used when choosing the username and password for the email account (refer to Chapter 9). The user-name can be very simple like your ini-tials and name (without spaces) but the password must be something that is memorable to you but unlikely to be guessed by outsiders – the name of your favourite dog spelt backwards for instance – but not so obscure that you are going to forget it in a few weeks time.


Password characteristics vary from company to company; in the example above, pointing at the question mark beside the password box brings up the information that the password must be at least 5 characters long. Most Login forms ask you to verify the password in case you have made a typing error and many will offer a reminder facility . If you forget your password you can contact the company and ask to be reminded of your password. They will not release the password for security reasons but they will give you the reminder prompt that you chose originally, in order to jog your memory.

Click on Submit and the company’s computer will check that all is in order. If you have forgotten to complete one or more of the ‘required information’ boxes you will be returned to the Login page with the reason why it has not been accepted. Correct any errors and Submit the form again.

With me so far? Well done!

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Now you come to the credit card bit. If you have decided to go ahead with your purchase, fi ll in your card details very carefully . Remember – none of this information will leave your computer until you give the command but it is wise to consider, at this stage, whether you really want to buy. The reason for this is that while most sites will display the full details of your purchase before asking you to confi rm the order, others may transmit it without further confi rmation. Some sites will offer you the option of printing out a summary of the transaction.

That’s it! You have completed your fi rst purchase on the Net. Within a very short time you should get an email confi rming your order with a reference number for any queries you may have. However, in the event that you get panicky, but you need to act very quickly at this point, you could cancel the order by phone quoting the order number. I say quickly because some com-mercial sites are astonishingly fast – the company I order my printer inks from might receive my order at 4.00 p.m. and the goods will be delivered to my home by 10.00 a.m. the next day.

This example gives the basic structure of a shopping site that can be applied to most web outlets. I suggest that you visit a number of these sites and practise searching for various goods, checking their description and putting them in your shopping basket – without the fi nal stage of entering your fi nancial details (yes, you can simply delete the items from your shopping basket or use the Back icon) – to build up your confi dence in navigating through the process thus far before taking the fi nal step and actually ordering that certain something you really can-not live without.

Visiting Price Comparison Sites

While on the subject of shopping, a few words on the many price comparison sites that appear on our television screens would not go amiss. These compari-son sites can save a great deal of hard work on your behalf but I would urge you to compare prices across a number of sites as their offerings can differ signifi cantly.

Many sites offer useful comparison between fi nancial services such as insurance, savings accounts, credit cards, mortgages and loans while others extend their range to include everything from holidays to household furniture.

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Some of the sites that I have found to be most useful compare your own utility prices with better offers from other companies. I have recently reduced my an-nual outgoings on heating and lighting our home by over £200 a year using one of these comparison sites. In the case of utilities, the changeover to a cheaper supplier is simplicity itself. Having entered your current expenditure on gas and electricity, the site compares all the current offers against your present supplier’s costs and then invites you to click on the Change icon – and that’s it. The rest of the work is done automatically by the new company who will arrange the changeover– even to notifying your current supplier.

Comparing prices on these sites is a useful exercise in budgeting your household accounts – even if you decide against taking up any of the offers. You will get a lot of useful information before you actually commit to a change and provides ammunition for haggling with your current suppliers.

Even the most comprehensive comparison sites cannot cover every company and some companies have opted out of their inclusion on such sites so be prepared to do your own homework. Some offers may have lapsed by the time you decide to take them up so check with the individual retailer that the facts given on the website are accurate. The comparison sites will not include some short-term sale items only available on the high street – the Internet does not guarantee the low-est prices.

You can fi nd a useful list of these price comparison sites in Appendix A.

Revision

Bear in mind that there may be more than one correct answer to each question.

Why are prices often cheaper on the Internet?

(a) The products are generally of a lower quality

(b) The company incurs lower overheads

(c) Most internet goods are shop soiled

(d) Goods are sold in greater quantities over the Internet

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When is it safe to give out your bank account details on the Net? (a) Almost anytime because bank details are secure and encrypted

(b) Only when you see a padlock icon in the lower right-hand corner of the screen

(c) Never

(d) When you know the company you are dealing with

How might you lose your credit-card details? (a) By being mugged

(b) Having your car and its contents stolen

(c) Dropping it out of your purse or wallet

(d) Buying something over the telephone

What happens if you put an item into your ‘shopping basket’ on a shopping website?

(a) Not a lot

(b) You have committed yourself to buying the goods

(c) They must be delivered within 7 working days

(d) The company gains access to your credit card details

What are the disadvantages of shopping on the Web? (a) You cannot touch and see the item that you are buying

(b) There are some cowboys out there

(c) Any savings you might make are wiped out by the postage and packing costs

(d) The company will need to know details of your bank account

When might high-street shops offer better value than on theirwebsite?

(a) It can be easier to return unwanted goods

(b) Heavy goods might be delivered free of charge

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(c) Shops may offer to remove your old goods that are being replaced

(d) During the sales

What are you likely to fi nd on the Amazon website – www.amazon.co.uk

(a) Geographical details of a South American river

(b) Photographs of aggressive women

(c) A catalogue of amazing images of Britain

(d) A book store

What products can you buy on the Internet?

(a) Razors

(b) Grass seed

(c) Petrol

(d) Guaranteed health

What suggests that a company website can be trusted?

(a) A full postal address

(b) A valid telephone number

(c) A VAT number

(d) A website that shows https in its web page address when you are enter-ing personal details

How do you get a company to remind you of your forgottenpassword?

(a) By telephone

(b) By post

(c) By fax

(d) By email

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Answers

Q1 – b Q6 – All four answers are correctQ2 – c Q7 – dQ3 – All four answers are correct Q8 – a and bQ4 – a Q9 – a, b and cQ5 – a and b Q10 – d

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