Tips for online shopping for beginners

When it comes to online shopping, let’s face it, you’re probably always going to worry about your package’s integrity and safety until it’s sitting pretty in your arms. Yeah, I remember the very first time I ordered something online. It was a pretty good looking pair of sneakers that cost me $100.

From the moment I made payment and the package was out for delivery, everything changed. Time suddenly dilated, and days seemed like weeks as I was entirely overwhelmed by purchase anxiety. Tons of questions filled my head, and I thought about my package every single hour of the day, only relying on my day job to distract myself.

What if the package never arrived? What if it did arrive but got damaged along the way? What if it was defective? What if they sent me the wrong pair of shoes? So many questions got me worried. Well, the good news is that the sneakers came in perfect condition. However, I soon realized that I wasn’t alone in this situation.

Whether you have a reputable parcel manager at your service or not, millions of new online shoppers suffer from this same anxiety. In fact, a study shows that people who shop online suffer from purchase anxiety more often than those who shop offline. This happens mainly because they’re purchasing an item they can’t see and inspect physically, and most of the time have to pay immediately and wait for days to receive the item. Also, the seller of the product is someone they have never seen or met before. To keep this anxiety at the barest minimum, online shoppers need to possess a means to track the activities of the designated parcel manager. This is where the beauty of shipment tracking comes in.

If you’re new in the game and looking to do more online shopping this year but can’t seem to shake off the online shopping anxiety, then you’ve come to the right place for help.

7 Online Shopping Tips Every Beginner Should Know

In this article, I’ll be introducing you to the best and most efficient parcel manager and tracker to make your online shopping experience safer and more reliable.

But hold on a second, before we dive into it, below are 7 online shopping tips you’ll need to hang on to while surfing the internet for the best prices and the best deals.

1. Shop With Reputable Retailers

Is it just me, or are new e-commerce stores’ ads popping up on social media every single day? You might come across them on your Facebook or Instagram feed offering all sorts of mouth-watering deals for items you definitely can’t resist.

For safety reasons, it’s best to shop directly with online retailers you know and trust. There are tons of trustworthy e-commerce sites out there that offer the best possible deals, the quickest delivery and shipment tracking services.

It’s also crucial to check website URLs for spelling mistakes to avoid falling victim to website phishing. Scammers can easily steal your sensitive information from these phishing websites.

2. Look for the Padlock Sign On The Website

Remember that time you were browsing through Amazon or GearBest, and you saw a small padlock icon at the top of the page? That’s a sign indicating that the communication between your browser and the webserver is encrypted. But why is this important?

You should never purchase anything online or input your credit card information on a site that doesn’t have SSL (secure sockets layer) encryption installed—at the very least. Another way to verify if a website is secure is by checking the site URL. Ensure it starts with HTTPS instead of just HTTP.

HTTPS is a standard that all websites must have, and browsers will now issue a warning to you when you visit suspicious websites that don’t have SSL encryption installed.

3. Beware Of Deals 'Too Good To Be True'

We’re not saying there aren’t unbelievable deals on the internet today. Trust me, you can find really amazing Black Friday deals and many other deals for special holidays. But it still pays to be careful with deals that are just too good to be true.

For instance, there’s no way on earth a $2000 laptop selling on GearBest will retail for $1000 on a relatively unknown e-commerce store. That’s a 50% discount, a good enough deal to sway any unsuspecting online shopping newbie. So keep an eye out for suspicious deals by suspicious sellers to ensure you don’t fall for the wrong deals.

4. Thoroughly Read Product Reviews

Are you looking to buy a new smartphone, a laptop, a fashion accessory, or any other kind of gadget on the internet? One key feature provided by many e-commerce websites today is the ratings and review system.

This system allows people who have purchased the item to share their honest thoughts about the product on the product’s page to help other future buyers. They also have the ability to rate their satisfaction, with 5 stars being the maximum possible rating.

But why are ratings and reviews so important? I’ve come across so many people who don’t bother to read reviews of products on e-commerce websites before purchasing them, only to regret the decision. This is because even popular websites like Amazon comprise numerous sellers of a single product. 100 different sellers may sell one particular brand of a dishwasher in the store. Some may be deceitful and sell defective items, while others may be legit. You can only discern the best sellers from the terrible ones by reading all their reviews.

The best sellers may not have perfect 5-star ratings, but they usually have tons of people testifying to their service quality, and that’s a good sign.

5. Verify The Seller Information

Like I explained earlier, several e-commerce websites don’t personally own the products they sell. They host millions of individuals sellers on their platform who may sell similar or different items. If you’re looking to purchase a particular item from a seller online, ensure you perform your due diligence.

You can easily Google the name of the seller, search the internet for reviews on Yelp and Google. This is to avoid a popular type of e-commerce fraud called ‘Non-delivery’ whereby a fraudulent seller accepts payment for an item yet intentionally fails to ship it. To avoid falling for this, ensure you find a concrete address and a working phone number for the seller before placing your order. If things go wrong, you have a place to take your complaint.

6. Always Check The Company’s Shipping Terms

Different e-commerce stores have different shipping and return policies, and it would be best if you can take your time to read it before making a purchase. Some merchants are notorious for charging exorbitant shipping fees that make online shopping fees seem to be unreasonably expensive.

Look to see if the e-commerce website you’re about to purchase from provides shipment tracking and insurance. Also find out what parcel manager they are affiliated with.

7. Track Your Package

Finally, the moment we’ve been waiting for. You have done all the required research and triple-checked the seller to be sure you’re working with a reliable merchant. You finally decide to make the purchase and place your order.

After you make an online purchase, it’s important to be able to monitor its shipping progress from the seller’s store to the warehouse for packaging, down to all the stop locations along the way.

If the seller refuses to provide you with a tracking number and update you on the shipment status or doesn’t respond to your requests for your order's status, quickly contact your credit card company for help removing the charge from your bill.

Tracking Your Package: Why Use PostTrack.com?

Now that you’re armed with the knowledge of making online shopping safe, we introduce you to our online platform that allows you to track parcel from any postal services and carriers.

Post Track is a universal parcel tracker and manager. We help our users manage and track their parcels from any postal service or carrier. All you have to do to use our platform is provide the unique tracking number and our system will handle the rest. It’s that easy!

Post Track is a remarkable package tracking system that offers a wide range of services that include parcel management, parcel tracking, and being able to receive package status notifications while your parcel is out for delivery.

We understand the problem of purchase anxiety and how difficult it is for online shopping newbies to fully trust the online shopping process. We know how important it is to be aware of where your package is located, and that’s why we do what we do.

At Post Track, we will gladly assist in your shipments’ search and management till it arrives at your destination. We help track shipments from popular online e-commerce stores such as GearBest, ASOS, eBay, Wish, Lazada, DHGate, etc. We also help with China Post tracking and are able to track your Aliexpress Parcels.

Our customers are those who purchased one or more items online and are waiting for their parcel to arrive. We aim to provide a satisfactory service that keeps online shoppers informed throughout the waiting process to eliminate the need for fear or uncertainty that is common with online shopping.

We are an ambitious young team with the goal of creating the best package tracking system, and we’re willing to go the extra mile to ensure your package is safe and secure.

For questions concerning our service and the features we provide, simply send us an email. We’ll be happy to hear from you and help you out.

Author: Serina Evelyn