How safe and convenient is online shopping?

OK, I think this is the best way to go about this. 1. Start small. Go to retailers you already trust on-line. Start with office supply products at office depot or office max. Or try circuit city/best buy. Work your confidence with well-known brick and mortar stores first. Many people never go beyond this step. 2. Make sure if you make a payment, it is secure. Look for the https:// marking it as secure, rather than the traditional http:// 3. Do not use your debit card. You may not have the same protection as with a credit card. Check with your bank for complete details. 4. Use a trusted coupon site like http://www.24houredeals.com/home/ On-line deals are a plenty and often you can get better deals on-line than you can in the store. 24houredeals has no spam, no spy-ware, no viruses. Office depot coupons: http://www.24houredeals.com/office-depot-coupons-227-mer.html Office max coupons: http://www.24houredeals.com/officemax-coupons-32-mer.html Best buy coupons: http://www.24houredeals.com/bestbuy-coupons-27-mer.html Circuit City coupons: http://www.24houredeals.com/circuit-city-coupons-280-mer.html

Stick to places online that you know and would shop at offline. That way you know you will get the product and it will not be defective.

On 60 minutes (Dec. 14) they ran a story on this topic. Statistically, on-line shopping is more secure, as far as the financial transaction is concerned, and I find it extremely convenient. Buying Jewelry on-line is the number one worst thing to buy on-line due to the amount of fraud appraisers out there. I recommend you only buy from businesses with good reputations from personal or friends recommendation. There is always someone out there attempting to scam you whether it is in person or via on-line. I have purchased stuff from JC Penny's, Sears, Wal-Mart, numerous specialty businesses and of course E-bay. I have never been scammed/defrauded. Once I had a package arrived empty (Jewelry) that was shipped through Customs and was stolen due to the contents being posted on the outside of the box but it was insured. And, once I had something damaged in shipping but once again it was insured so I suffered no loss. Final advise, to the best of your ability, know who you are dealing with and pay the little extra for postage insurance.