Shopping Online

Shopping online can be really fun and rewarding--as long as you know how to do it safely! 
If you're someone who has trouble getting out and about, or you don't like being mixed in with crowds of people, or you like to find a specific item for a good price--then shopping online is a good option for you.

Here are some tips and resources for online shopping.

PayPal - PayPal works somewhat like an organizer and online bank.  It SAFELY and SECURELY stores your bank information and credit card information so when you shop online you can purchase items through PayPal.  When you buy something from a website using PayPal the website you are buying from never sees your information--PayPal processes the transaction in a way that keeps everything, but your shipping address, hidden.  PayPal has been trusted for years and is very selective about which website they allow to use their system.  They even have a new feature now where you can buy MoneyPaks from stores and put money directly into your PayPal account.  This is good for people who are still uncomfortable about putting their credit information online or do not have a bank account or credit card to use.  If you are someone interested in starting your own online store or are looking to raise money online PayPal offers services to websites to do this.  Chances are, if a website uses PayPal it can be trusted, but you should still make sure that everything else on the website is legitimate (and also always make sure that what they're saying is PayPal is ACTUALLY PayPal and not a scam to get your PayPal information!)

eBay - Many of you may already be familiar with eBay.  It is a great website for all people to sell their goods online--whether it's used or even brand new!  eBay has the option of using PayPal to process payments.  The website is trustworthy--but sometimes the sellers are not!  Before buying an item always look at a sellers star rating and feedback!  If they have low ratings and bad feedback, then you should probably save yourself the trouble and look somewhere else.  A 90% rating or higher is best--but personally I won't buy from anyone who has less than a 98% rating.

etsy - This is a fantastic resource for artists and people who like handcrafted or vintage goods!  It's like eBay except that people are only allowed to sell vintage goods, things they have made themselves, or supplies for various art projects.  You MUST have a PayPal account to sell on this website and generally sellers prefer that people buy their items with a PayPal account. (I told you, PayPal is one of the most trusted services online!)  If you're someone who really enjoys handmade goods you can spend hours just browsing etsy.  It's amazing how creative people can be!  As a side note, if you are interested in opening your own etsy shop let me know and we can work on it together!

There are millions of other great websites and online resources for shopping!  (You can even buy your groceries online--let me know if you want to learn more about that!)  These are just a few of my favorites.  Feel free to share some of your favorites with me, each other, or on our blog.

Things to keep in mind when shopping online!

1. Only trust websites that have a closed lock at the bottom right corner of your web browser.  That means that this is a secure website and all private information you share on a website is locked and secure.  This lock cannot be faked!
2. Always check the web address of a website you are shopping on, if it doesn't match up--it's a fake!  For example.  If I'm shopping on Barnesandnoble.com then the address bar must have barnesandnoble.com in the web address.  This could be shop.barnesandnoble.com or secure.barnesandnoble.com, or some sort of combination---but it absolutely must say somewhere barnesandnoble.com!  Not ishopbarnesandnoble.com or webbarnesandnoble.com or barnesandnobleonlineshopping.com or brnsandnble.com  these can all potentially be fakes, even if the website looks legitimate.  These scams are setup in order to steal your information!
3. Don't trust the free iPod advertisements or the e-mails that say you've won a thousand dollars or anything like that.  If it's not a scam then it's just a waste of your time.  The sad thing is that some of these could be legitimate, but there's no way of knowing the real from the fakes.  It's not worth the risk.
4. If you're new to the internet and/or shopping online I would suggest starting by only shopping at major websites, even though there are a lot of small shops on the internet that you can use.  Once you feel comfortable and confident using those you can move on to the smaller websites.
5. Have fun and stay safe, if something seems suspicious then just avoid it.  It could be safe, but when it comes to your financial identity it's better to be safe than sorry.

If there are questions you still have or topics I did not cover here, please feel free to ask.