I found most surprising in this unit that there are companies that people trust with their money, that are not the most secure choices. They are putting their money, and personal data, into hands that are not always safe, which can be a very poor choice on their behalf. It shocked me how common this actually is, but also that there are companies who take good care of you, and your money.
For me, it was most difficult to decide which method of shopping was more convenient for it's buyers. I had trouble deciding whether online shopping, with it's expanded options involving items and locations, had better opportunities than store shopping. In the end, although it was hard, I figured having a closer, more available option, with easier return policies, and urgency requirements, was the preference for many others who may not have access to online stores.
My mother use to be one of online's greatest shoppers. At first, she had a lot of luck with her items, they all fit the stated condition that the sites said, and she enjoyed them very much. But, after so long, she became careless with which stores she shopped from, abandoning the research she should have done on each company. At one point, she had purchased a pair of leggings with fur interior. She had selected a size medium, because she figured they would stretch if they did not actually fit exactly like they should. Once the purchase arrived in the mail, my mother realized her biggest mistake: she did not check to see which country she was shopping from. The leggings had come in a size medium, based off of a typical woman figure from China, the pants would not even fit me. We then realized that online shopping is a lot more difficult than expected.
I have never sold items online personally, but I do know others who have. Overall, I would say their experiences were quite positive, they did not encounter any theft, or scam buyers. In the end, they did sell all of their items they had wished to sell.
Two tips that I found particularly helpful or important are:
- "When buying using KIJIJI and other online service make sure buying is done in a PUBLIC PLACE and never send money via mail or other ways to the seller." This tip is important in my opinion because of the scam factor of online shopping. Sometimes, the "seller" may be lying about the item they possess, and steal your money once you send it to them. Also, it is important to remember to purchase these items in a public place, in case the seller is, in fact, a scammer or even just a bad person in general who may take advantage of the situation during privacy.
- "Whenever possible use the "TAP" services when paying with credit cards and debit cards to limit the amount of time your card is with others." The importance of this tip is clear: the less time others have with your debit or credit cards, the less likely they are to steal your information, money, and possibly your identity.
The biggest issue around online shopping for young people today may be the innocence they all possess. Most are unaware of the circumstances, and many online sellers could take advantage of this ignorance. They are more likely to be victims of scam, theft, and many other things because of this. We need to keep the young people of today knowledgable about the dangers and precautions we must take when online shopping.
No comments:
Post a Comment