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Online shopping is a gigantic industry, and with good reason, too. Few shopping methods offer more convenience, better prices, or better information access than shopping via the internet. However, it pays to follow a few precautions when shopping on the internet.

Secure Shopping

When ordering from an online site, one of the first things you should check is to see that their order page is secure. The page you enter your address and contact details on doesn't need to be secure, but the page you enter your credit card on should be.

The easiest way to tell that a page is secure is that it will start with https. Also, in Internet Explorer, you'll see a yellow padlock at the bottom of your browser window.

Reputable Merchant

You should also do at least a little research to ensure that the website you are ordering from is a reputable, dependable merchant. There are several ways to check on the reputability of a merchant:

Are they listed with the Better Business Bureau?
Are they members of any other third party verification entities?
Check their customer reviews on third party sites like http://Alexa.com, http://BizRate.com, and http://Shopzilla.com

If you're purchasing from a seller on an online marketplace like Ebay or Amazon Marketplace, check their ratings and customer feedback. Most online marketplaces offer some kind of a guarantee against fraud for orders placed on their website.

Company policies

Also check on the companies policies before you order from them. You should check that they have at least some kind of a guarantee and return policy. Also, how quickly do they ship orders? What customer service do they offer? Do they have full contact info on their website, including their physical address and phone number?

With a little research, you can save some time and money by shopping online ' and not worry about not getting your money's worth!