Very often our customers ask: “Will you not deceive me?”, “How do you guarantee that you will send the goods?”, “How will I know that exactly what I ordered will come?”
There are many such questions, and the worries of buyers are quite understandable. So we decided to tell you more about how to distinguish fraudsters from honest sellers.
According to statistics, the number of online purchases during quarantine has increased 3-10 times, depending on the region and product group. Today we will talk about products for the most beloved, dearest people in the world – our children. After all, becoming a victim of fraud is very unpleasant, and when you buy for the little ones – especially.
Here are the basic rules, following which you will 100% protect yourself from fraud.
Online stores, social networks, or bulletin boards: we approach the choice wisely
When we look for children’s products on the Internet, we first pay attention to the price. It is a known fact that the difference in price for the same product from different sellers can be from 10 to 100%.
Social networks (Facebook, Instagram, etc.).
These sites attract with simplicity. You communicate with a person almost face to face, the inner level of trust grows. The price is, of course, one of the lowest on the internet. You can always check the status of the order from the seller. If you delve into this issue, social networks can also be divided into subgroups: personal pages, groups (open or closed), business pages, etc. Each option has its pros and cons. Consider the main risks to which the buyer is exposed when buying goods for children on social networks.
Cons:
• Most often, the seller is an individual who, in case of problems, does not bear any responsibility for the quality and safety of products sold;
• Very often sell second-hand or defective goods under the guise of new;
• The last but the most important disadvantage – behind the page may be a non-existent person – a scammer.
If you have already decided to buy a product on social networks, never make a prepayment, choose only cash on delivery.
Bulletin boards and aggregator sites
These two types of sites are very similar, so we combined them into one group. Aggregator sites or marketplaces are sites that collect (aggregate) and classify information and offers from different vendors on a single resource. Marketplaces themselves are not responsible for the goods sold on their site.
Unfortunately, most sellers do not document their legal status or even identify themselves. It is not uncommon for some of them to take ads from other companies on the same marketplace (on the prom, rosette, avito, olx, etc.), add a markup, and pass for their product. Such a seller does not take responsibility, and in case of problems with the goods or delivery, will not be able to help you. If such a seller collects enough negative feedback, he will simply register a new account and start the same “business” first.
The disadvantages are obvious. In addition to unscrupulous sellers, there are also fraudsters whose purpose is to fraudulently obtain money from the buyer without sending him any goods. Such people can pretend to be a seller by simply registering on a bulletin board or marketplace, or buying a ready-made account with good reviews.
Online stores
Probably the most reliable way to buy toys and goods for children is online shopping. After all, creating an online store is much more difficult and tens of times more expensive than downloading other people’s products on a free bulletin board, marketplace, or social network. But when buying in an online store there are many nuances.
Choose the right online store
It is possible that the online store may behave in bad faith. Therefore, before you make a payment, pay attention to a few important points:
1) Availability of SSL certificate in the online store. SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) – the level of secure sockets. You should not be afraid of such a seemingly complicated name. This certificate is purchased separately by the store owner for several reasons:
it guarantees that the entered personal data will NOT be available to third parties, it gives additional protection of personal data of buyers; the presence of this certificate makes the store more reliable in the “eyes” of the search engine, and the SSL certificate has become virtually mandatory for all sites since 2019.
As you know, fraudsters usually will not buy for a year (and this is the minimum term) this certificate, because, in addition to additional costs, its purchase is associated with the disclosure of the site owner.
To understand that the site has such a certificate, just look at the address bar of the browser. If the address is preceded by a “lock” icon, and the address begins with HTTPS, then the site has an SSL certificate.
2) The domain on which the site is located. In simple words: what letters the site address ends with (com.ua, ca, com, net, etc.). This is important because all domains have different costs and different terms of purchase and transparency of owner information.
3) Social networks. The presence of links on the social network on the online store will be evidence of additional guarantees that you will not be deceived. Do not be lazy
Xia, go to the company’s pages on social networks, see the date of the last publication. If the page turns out to be blank or the date of the last publication is older than 6 months – this is a reason to think.
4) Details and methods of payment. Here you have selected the goods and moved on to payment options. According to the current legislation of Ukraine, an individual cannot sell goods (even in an online store): it must be either a company or an entrepreneur (FOP). Accordingly, you must pay for the goods not on the card of an individual, but on the account of a legal entity. In this case, when problems arise, you are protected by law.
Therefore, if the seller’s website has the ability to make payment according to the details of the legal entity, then everything is fine. Payment systems such as LiqPay or Portmone are most often used to pay through the site.
Accordingly, if the website of the online store offers to pay for goods only on the card of an individual, it is better to look for another store.
5) Cash on delivery. One of the best options for protection against unscrupulous sellers when buying children’s goods online is to order goods postpaid. In this case, you will be able to check the ordered goods before paying for them. Minus – the cost of this delivery option. In addition to the fact that the “overlay” service is paid extra, some stores may not provide discounts on goods ordered postpaid.
6) Reviews. See reviews online. Reviews posted on the website of the online store should not be trusted: good reviews can be written by employees of the same online store, and bad reviews – deleted. Google reviews or opinions of buyers on other sites where it is almost impossible to delete “inconvenient” responses deserve more trust.
We have listed the main points to pay attention to when choosing a seller of children’s goods on the Internet. We hope you find this information useful and practical.
And what ways to find reliable sellers do you know? Write in the comments. We will definitely supplement our article with them. Have a nice shopping!
