In coming years, online shopping has been a source from which people can obtain their most simple and complex needs without having to step foot outside of their own home.
With that perk however, comes a huge pitfall. Many online shoppers have fallen victim to purchasing faulty clothing items from sketchy websites such as SammyDress or AliExpress.
What costumers think will be a high-quality piece for a low price, ends up being a garment made of cheap material that doesn’t match the description or picture provided. In some cases, items never even ship or arrive at all!
To check that the websites you're ordering from aren't scams, here are some tips you should follow:
- Check to see if the website is secure. With most web browsers, you can check to see if a website is secure by looking at your search bar. There should be a lock icon with the word 'Secure' next to it. This will tell you whether the website and the information you provide to it is protected or not. You could even take it a step further and download a security protection system for your PC that will tell you about each site you visit and its security. Systems such as Norton Security are available to you as a free trial or can be downloaded for prices as low as $19.99.
- Read the Reviews. More often than not, these websites have hundreds of reviews from people who have ordered from the website before. To make sure you don't become another victim of an online shopping scam, check sites like Yelp and Influenster to see how other customers like the website's products.
- Pay attention to the structure of the website. A lot of these sketchy websites often use photos from other legitimate online stores. If you find the website you're ordering from has pictures of models with their heads cropped out of frame, do not purchase their products! These websites do this in order to evade copyright laws and to advertise a product that is nothing like their own.
It's important to be aware of the dangers of some online shopping sites. At the least, you could be waiting months for a piece that looks nothing like the picture, but at most you could be at risk for credit card scam.
So, next time you're thinking about ordering that cheap maxi-dress that seems "too good to be true," remember these tips! It could save you the trouble of buying an item that's too small or wasting your money on a cheaply-made purse!
