These days shopping online is pretty safe and most people know the signs to look out for to make sure the site they are using is safe. But yet, there are still some people getting caught out especially while pet food shopping or shopping for pet gifts. So here are ten tips to keep you safe and while most of them are basic online shopping advice they are still worth reminding yourself of them…
Stay Safe With Online Coupons
Pet owners usually give importance to chewy shopping discount codes and promo codes that can help them to save extra money. But it is always a good idea to check the validity of the coupons online.
HPPTS
Yes, this is old advice, but it is STILL something people keep getting caught out on. While the Chrome browser will warn you of this some other online browsers still don’t and those people using them need to make sure there is a little padlock on the site before entering any payment details.
Check for Accreditation
You may also find some coupons, which are counterfeit or are invalid, but that doesn’t mean the site is bad or not worth using. Even if the code you use seems to not work check their social media pages and if you can get in touch with someone or not. And with that, it brings me nicely onto the next thing to look out for…
Contact Points
If you are not sure the site looks legit why not try and get hold of them! Does the site have a chatbox? Maybe just a phone number? And if the site has none of those things maybe it has social media pages it responds to. If a site has none of those things it probably isn’t worth using.
Reviews
When it comes to reviews I personally don’t put as much legitimacy behind them as other people do. Sure, a few good reviews do bode well for the site, but you can always fake them. It is best to stick to review sites like Trustpilot who don’t allow sites to remove bad reviews.
Friends and Family
As a general rule is a member of your family have used the site before without issues or maybe just a friend that is a pretty good indication that things are OK. While one good experience isn’t an indication that yours will be it does mean you stand a much better chance of everything being OK.
Social Media
A great indication of customer service is a sites online presence. If they are actively posting that is a good sign, but if they allow reviews to be placed on these pages that is a much better sign.
Brand
It’s OK to trust the Amazons and eBays of this world, but the same goes for smaller sites as well. Have you heard of them before? Have you seen adverts for them? These are signs the website is trying to get a good brand name out and normally means they can be more trusted.
Sites UI
Does the site seem a little basic for you? Is it easy to use? If a site seems to be broken or links to products not working it is normally a sign the owner of the site doesn’t care about it and if they don’t care about the site, they normally won’t care about the customers.
Google Them
Forget reviews, forget social media pages. What does a search of website bring up? If someone has had a rant about them on a blog or an online forum it will normally come up.
OK, so as I said at the start these ten things are pretty basic online shopping knowledge, but some people still don’t follow them and get caught out. The last thing you want while shopping online for pet foods and treats is to be scammed and these tips should prevent that.