Pinoy buyer's guide to the Internet

Summer is here and, along with thoughts of vacation, come thoughts of summer spending. Whether it’s that new outfit you’re looking forward to wearing at the beach or that new laptop you’ve been saving up for since Christmas, many people are turning to online shopping portals to beat the heat —and, hopefully, score a good deal.

These days, e-commerce is no longer a new thing for a growing number of Filipinos. Ever since eBay became popular, millions of people have come to rely on it and put their trust in it, whether to earn money by selling their stuff that otherwise they will find hard to sell, or to save money by finding cheap online bargains.

Here in the Philippines, similar sites have proliferated, such as Sulit.com, TipidPC.com, and TipidCP.com, on top of intesive usage by Filipinos of their Facebook and Multiply accounts, as our media for online buying and selling.

Products sold over the Internet are cheap compared to the ones sold in malls or other establishments. A whole lot cheaper, actually. This is because, first, sellers have a smaller overhead: they don't have to pay rent for shop stalls and other fees. And secondly, much of the stuff sold online consists of second-hand items.

Sure, there are top-of-the-line online stores where you can order brand-new products online. But more and more actually go to online marketplaces —perhaps we can even call them cyber-bazaars or cyber-fleamarkets— where ordinary people can sell personal, hand-made, reconditioned, and even one-of-a-kind items.

Although this may sound like a good deal, you should be mindful of certain things:

1. If possible, avoid long-distance transactions.  Getting an item shipped to you might be convenient. But remember, there are shady people out there who pretend to be selling stuff but won't send anything at all once they have received your payment. Unless you really know and trust the person or online shop you're buying from, avoid these kinds of transactions.
2. Check the all the credentials of the seller. Always make sure that the person you are buying from has good feedback from their previous online transactions. But don't just look at the number of positive feedback, though. Read what others say and check out the dates of the feedback comments. Some online culprits fabricate false feedback about themselves using dummy accounts to make their account look legit. TipidPC.com, Sulit.com and most other local eCommerce websites have this feedback feature; make full use of it.
3. Check the item thoroughly, if possible, before purchasing it. This should be common sense, but it’s usually forgotten. You don't want to end up buying something with defects or, worse, doesn’t work at all. Make sure that the item you're buying is working properly before you pay for it. If you're buying a high-tech gadget or part that is not easy to troubleshoot and repair, ask for a warranty if it’s brand new. If it's secondhand, ask for the item’s official receipt so you could still avail of the warranty from the shop where it was bought from originally. Also, for PC parts, there's a so-called distributor's warranty that ranges from one year to even a lifetime warranty. Ask the seller for this if he or she still has it.
4. Get the seller's verified contact information. It is possible that the item you've purchased looked ok at first, but you found out later that it actually was defective. Having the seller's contact information, not just their email address or cell number, would be handy by then so you can register your complaint directly with them. If you only have the email address or cell number of the seller, he or she could just ignore you; you have better leverage if you have their full names and home addresses as well.
5. If it's too good to be true, it's usually too good to be true. Finding great bargains are common in the online world. But when an item is priced incredibly cheap, even for an online purchase, there's something wrong. It could either be defective, fake, stolen, or even part of a scam. Be extra careful when transacting these kinds of deals. Would you pay P5,000 for an iPhone 4? Many people probably would, even without taking a direct look at the item itself. But what would you feel if you later find out it was a “China phone" and not an authentic iPhone 4 as advertised by the seller? You’d feel cheated —because, in fact, you were.
6. Avoid using credit cards in unsecured online transactions. Remember that your signature isn't required to use your credit card online. The card number, CVC, name on card, and your billing address are usually enough for someone to use it without your permission. Never give these out to anyone. Always prefer COD (cash on delivery) over credit card transactions. If using a credit card is your only option, look for signs of security on the payment site, such as VeriSign or at least a legitimate contact number, so you know where to file your inquiries and complaints in case there's a problem with your bill.
7. Always keep records of your transactions. Most online sellers don't issue receipts. This might be irregular from the taxman’s point of view, but it’s a fact of life. This is probably because most online sellers are just ordinary folk trying to sell personal or disposable stuff and not really doing it as a profitable business. Thus, if you buy an item online and something goes wrong, you probably won't have proof of where, when, and from whom you bought the item. It’s always handy to always keep simple paper documentation that lists the item, its condition, the name of the seller, and the time and place it was bought, then have the seller sign it.
8. Avoid deals involving hefty amounts of money. Criminals keep getting smarter and are always perfecting ways to victimize people online, posing as legitimate sellers. So try to avoid online transactions involving large amounts of money. The smaller the transaction, the lesser your risk of being defrauded. If you're really itching to buy that big-ticket item, then at least use bank transactions. After all, you can never be fully sure if the person you're dealing with online (or face to face after meeting online) is an honest seller, or a crook who has ways to get your cash, by hook or, well, by crook.

Source: TJD, GMA News