5 major mistakes to avoid when shopping online
Online shopping is one of the greatest ways to get instant gratification and nowadays it is made extremely easy. You can order almost anything from the comfort of your own bed and sometimes even get it delivered the next day. However, besides the fact that you can easily end up overspending and draining your savings, there are a lot of mistakes that people make when shopping online. Here’s 5 major ones that you should avoid:
1. Saving your personal information
It is absolutely normal for online stores to ask for your personal information, as they will need to know where to send the purchased items to or how to contact you in case there’s issues. However, people are becoming more and more comfortable with giving out their personal details and thus forget to check if they will be handled safely and securely. Cyber security is one of the biggest concerns nowadays and you should be aware of it. Try to avoid saving your details on websites permanently as well as be sceptical of websites that you’ve never bought from before.
2. Ignoring good deals
Who doesn’t love a good bargain when shopping online? Well, a lot of people rely on the online store to provide them with deals and discounts, but don’t bother looking elsewhere. There are lots of money-saving hacks online that you can try before making your purchase. As an example, Voucherbox offers ASOS discount codes for students or numerous other vouchers and it only takes a minute to double-check if there’s one available for the store you are shopping at.
3. Skipping the reviews
One major drawback of online shopping is the fact that you can’t touch or see the items before you get them. This means that you get a lot of “expectations vs reality” scenarios, where your items look nothing like they did in a picture or are not accurate to the description. Reviews are a great way to see pictures of the actual items received by other people. They also will give you insights on what the material is like, whether it met expectations and if the sizing runs large or small. However, don’t completely believe everything you read – reviews can also be fake, although you can often tell if they are.
4. Not reading the return policy
Online shopping is risky, especially when it comes to clothing items. You may not like the way things look on you, but you have no way of telling through the pictures. So, you need to make sure that you’re not spending a lot of money on something that you won’t be able to return and get your money back. Return policies are often written in small print or “hidden” somewhere within the website. Make sure you are aware of your options before purchasing and getting stuck with something you don’t like.
5. Signing up for dodgy free trials
Not all free trials are dodgy and some may actually bring you a lot of value in discounts and exclusive deals. However, the mistake people make is signing up for them without looking them up. A lot of the times these free trials require your bank card and start taking your money after the trial ends. They are often known for making it nearly impossible to cancel the subscription and forcing you to pay. There are so many great deals and discounts online that don’t require any trial deals, so try and avoid them if they look like a trap.
