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Question: Any tips for shopping on the Internet? I hate to
shop surrounded by crowds of last-minute shoppers.
Answer: The first tip: do your on-line shopping now. Last
year many on-line gift orders were never delivered or
delivered too late for the holidays. However, on-line
shopping will be popular again. The Gartner Group, which
provides Consumer and market information, forecasts that Web
shopping will increase more than 80 percent this year.
Because of a high number of complaints last year, the
Federal Trade Commission warned the on-line retail industry
that it must respond to customer orders with the same
performance standards as mail-order companies. Many Internet
retailers have increased their stock and staff in order to
offer good customer service over the holidays. Most
companies will clearly state the last date an order must be
made to make the Dec. 21 Hanukkah or Dec. 25 Christmas
deadline.
Before shopping conveniently on the Internet, find out
which stores provide the merchandise and services that are
important to you.
Be sure you can contact the company if you have a question
or need to make a change in your order. The company should
clearly post e-mail addresses and telephone numbers. It
should give you a prompt acknowledgment of your order with
an order number that can track your order.
Without spending an arm and a leg to test the service of
each retailer, go to Kiplinger’s site at www.kiplinger.com.
Kiplinger is a personal finance resource. Before you order,
read their comparisons of online retailers. If you are
planning to buy apparel, electronics, toys, books and music,
or department store merchandise, read their survey of 23 of
the largest online stores.
In the book and music category, three companies are compared
on such things as guaranteed Christmas delivery, shopping
options, notification when shipped, out-of-stock
information, easy-to-find return policy and toll free
numbers.
Two online toy stores are compared using the same
categories. Keep in mind that the convenience of shopping
online carries the penalty of shipping charges including
return postage if the gift doesn't work out.
The Kiplinger site links you to www.gomez.com — the on-line
evaluator of many different types of goods and services.
Gomez ranks many online companies on 10-point scale. The
overall Gomez ranking is made up of separate categories
including ease of use, customer confidence, on-site
resources and relationship services.
For more information, contact your local
Colorado State University Extension office.
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