A guide to shopping online
Where can you shop at 3 o’clock in the morning, in your slippers and dressing gown, with a cup of tea in hand? Online of course!
Online shopping has grown significantly of late, with figures showing an increase by 20 per cent at the beginning of 2009. This growth has continued throughout the year, coming to peak in the run up to Christmas, with phenomenal predictions for ‘Cyber Monday’- the first Monday in December.
On Monday 7th December 2009, online shoppers are thought to have spent in excess of £350 million, beating the 2008 figure of £320 million. So where are all these people splashing the cash, and how is it done safely?
PC Site® is here to give you the ultimate guide to online shopping with tips about where to shop, how to process payments safely and will highlight all the benefits.
You can buy just about anything online as there are so many site dedicated to different things, and all accessible from your sofa at home.
Most stores have online shops now including Topshop, Topman, H&M, Dixons, Argos and House of Fraser. There are also some great online stores that have quite a following, such as ASOS.com, a website that sells both labelled and own brand items and Net-A-Porter is another site that stocks some of the bigger designer names such as Alexander McQueen, Burberry and Stella McCartney.
If you are in the market for books, DVD’s, CD’s, games and gadgets, amazon.co.uk and play.com are two of the best, and have some great offers. These sites give you the option of selling new or used items and at bargain prices; for example, at Amazon you can buy the complete first season of popular vampire series True Blood for just £21.95 and many offers qualify for free delivery.
Abebooks.com is good site that specialises in, you guessed it, books! It is an American site, so everything is priced in dollars, but you can buy the Jane Austen classic, Pride and Prejudice for just $1.00 + shipping which is usually only a couple of dollars extra.
Firebox.com is the perfect site to find unusual gifts, that’s anything from a Peanut Butter Maker to a Penguin USB Flash Drive.
If you hate the chore of food shopping and having to carry heavy bags home the store then here is where online shopping can prove to be a godsend. Major supermarkets such as Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Waitrose all offer online grocery shopping and there is even free delivery with larger orders.
Even if you are not Internet shopping savvy, you may have heard of eBay, The World Marketplace®. eBay has been around in the UK since 1999 and has a customer base of over 233 million people. You can buy almost anything from eBay including, clothes, jewellery, antiques, books, DVDs, music, computers, phones, cars, musical instruments, and the list goes on. It is the best place to find rare collectables or antiques, and items are sold by a mixture of individuals and companies.
Membership to eBay is free and if you buy items you don’t pay anything to the site itself, just the payment to the seller. The way it works is, you search for the item you want and place a bid on it. You will receive emails telling you if you have been outbid and then you will need to bid again.
Top tips:
- Try not to bid until the auction on the item has nearly closed, that way you get your higher bid in just at the last minute and get the prize!
- Put your maximum offer in the box shown when you first place a bid, this will ensure that the computer will automatically increase your offer as others bid against you, ensuring you remain the highest bidder.
- Check the postal options – if you are ordering from an international seller, check they post to the UK before purchasing.
Many people do not shop online for the fear of being scammed or having their bank details stolen. This is a very real threat and that is why Internet shoppers should take precautions.
eBay lets buyers give feedback on their purchases and subsequently gives sellers a quality score. This helps buyers identify who the dodgy vendor could be.
Many sites work with PayPal, an online account service which safeguards your credit or debit card details enabling you to make online transactions with speed and confidence. Online stores that use PayPal include BHS, Boots, Burton, eBay, NikeStore.com, New Look, Ted Baker, Schuh and TomTom, to name but a few.
Web buyers can also buy antivirus or Internet security software to help protect them from hacker who may be able to access their details.
McAfee Anti-Theft is a great addition to any software package and protects you from online thieves. Norton Internet Security 2010 is another product which offers protection against ID theft and will allow you to shop online with peace of mind.
- Discounts- Many sites such as Myvouchercodes.co.uk offer discount codes for online sales meanign that you purchases may be cheaper than if you bought them instore. Many sites, especially ones selling computers, have special online offers so make sure you click around.
- Variety- Online store are usually better stocked as their items comes straight from the warehouse.
- International purchases- The Internet allows you to buy goods from across the world with ease.
- Convenience- You can get all your shopping done without moving a muscle (well except your mouse clicking finger) and you don’t have to lug your heavy shopping all across town, it’s delivered to your door.
Image by Sidelong
Written by Rosie Khdir
Rosie is a technology journalist who covers all the latest technology news, product releases and emerging social media and computing trends for PC Site.
Thu, Dec 10, 2009