Buying from online Retailers
It is important to ascertain the authenticity of the retailer.
If someone has invested the time in building a website they are probably for real, none the less, feel free to run a few checks.
check their website closely
Ask for References
Establish contact
Ask other Buyers in collectors clubs or on the usenet
Buy small items first
Checking a website Buying from an Individual The risks in buying from an individual are slightly greater but so are the rewards. Sending Payments Here are the main methods, their advantages and disadvantages:
It is very easy to build an impressive looking front page, it is harder to give a site content.
Go onto the record lists..
Are the items accurately described?
Asking for references
You should not be embarrassed to do this, and you should contact the referees..
Establishing Contact
This is the important one, If there is no phone number on the website and they decline phonecalls/faxes look out..
If you have any doubts and there is a phone number, ring up!
Buy Small items first.
If you wade in with a huge order you are exposing yourself.
Buy one item first, this will give you an idea of the vendors reliability, the accuracy of their quality and how well the pack things up to post.
If you buy direct from fellow collectors you stand a good chance of getting your goods cheaper.
The most likely way to buy privately is over the Newsgroups or an Internet Auction house, of these the Newsgroups are less safe as no registration is required.
The precautions you take are similar to above but are less effective.
The two main defenses you have are Establishing Contact and buying Small items first.
The latter is the most important, If you send large sums of money to an individual overseas and they disapear your chances of getting anything back are pretty limited.
The Effectiveness of Referees is not as great, the true fraudster will have email aliases and will act as their own referee!
On Newsgroups, Buying from regular contributors is safer, posting your wants list brings the greatest risk, replying to wants is a favorite trick of conmen.
Credit Card. If the seller accepts cards this is the easiest way, as the buyer you pay no fees and get a reasonable exchange rate. You will also benefit from very good legal protection.
You should not email card details, Fax, phone or even send them by snail mail. Of course not everyone can do this or be bothered to wait for the post.
Tales of Credit Card fraud are almost as abundant and apocryphal as rumors about new killer viruses that can be received by reading email. Fraud happens, but is not as common as many people believe. In fact it is more likely that someone will keep the carbon when you use your card in a hotel and then use your numbers to go on an internet shopping spree.
The main method used by fraudsters online to get card numbers is the use of "sniffing" software, which scans email for the patterns of numbers used on credit cards. For this reason it is a definite No No to send your card number and Expiry date all in one email. You should:
If the seller accepts cards this is the easiest way, as the buyer you pay no fees and get a reasonable exchange rate. You will also benefit from very good legal protection.You should not email card details, Fax, phone or even send them by snail mail. Of course not everyone can do this or be bothered to wait for the post. Tales of Credit Card fraud are almost as abundant and apocryphal as rumors about new killer viruses that can be received by reading email. Fraud happens, but is not as common as many people believe. In fact it is more likely that someone will keep the carbon when you use your card in a hotel and then use your numbers to go on an internet shopping spree.The main method used by fraudsters online to get card numbers is the use of "sniffing" software, which scans email for the patterns of numbers used on credit cards. For this reason it is a definite No No to send your card number and Expiry date all in one email. You should:
Spread the Numbers over at least 3 emails
Post the emails some time apart
Write some or all of the digits out as words (one-two-three instead of 123)
not include any reference in the emails to the fact you are buying something
Cheques Find out what cheques the seller will accept and if you are buying from overseas expect to pay extra charges.
On the Up Side Cheques are secure in the post and can be stopped if they go astray.
Find out what cheques the seller will accept and if you are buying from overseas expect to pay extra charges.On the Up Side Cheques are secure in the post and can be stopped if they go astray.
Money orders. Pretty similar to cheques, some banks don't charge fees for these others do.
You will probably have to pay your end to get the Money order. Find out all the details before using these.
Pretty similar to cheques, some banks don't charge fees for these others do.You will probably have to pay your end to get the Money order. Find out all the details before using these.
If the seller accepts cards this is the easiest way, as the buyer you pay no fees and get a reasonable exchange rate. You will also benefit from very good legal protection.You should not email card details, Fax, phone or even send them by snail mail. Of course not everyone can do this or be bothered to wait for the post. Tales of Credit Card fraud are almost as abundant and apocryphal as rumors about new killer viruses that can be received by reading email. Fraud happens, but is not as common as many people believe. In fact it is more likely that someone will keep the carbon when you use your card in a hotel and then use your numbers to go on an internet shopping spree.The main method used by fraudsters online to get card numbers is the use of "sniffing" software, which scans email for the patterns of numbers used on credit cards. For this reason it is a definite No No to send your card number and Expiry date all in one email. You should: Find out what cheques the seller will accept and if you are buying from overseas expect to pay extra charges.On the Up Side Cheques are secure in the post and can be stopped if they go astray.Pretty similar to cheques, some banks don't charge fees for these others do.You will probably have to pay your end to get the Money order. Find out all the details before using these.
If the seller accepts cards this is the easiest way, as the buyer you pay no fees and get a reasonable exchange rate. You will also benefit from very good legal protection.You should not email card details, Fax, phone or even send them by snail mail. Of course not everyone can do this or be bothered to wait for the post. Tales of Credit Card fraud are almost as abundant and apocryphal as rumors about new killer viruses that can be received by reading email. Fraud happens, but is not as common as many people believe. In fact it is more likely that someone will keep the carbon when you use your card in a hotel and then use your numbers to go on an internet shopping spree.The main method used by fraudsters online to get card numbers is the use of "sniffing" software, which scans email for the patterns of numbers used on credit cards. For this reason it is a definite No No to send your card number and Expiry date all in one email. You should: Find out what cheques the seller will accept and if you are buying from overseas expect to pay extra charges.On the Up Side Cheques are secure in the post and can be stopped if they go astray.Pretty similar to cheques, some banks don't charge fees for these others do.You will probably have to pay your end to get the Money order. Find out all the details before using these.
It is very easy to build an impressive looking front page, it is harder to give a site content.Go onto the record lists..Are the items accurately described?You should not be embarrassed to do this, and you contact the referees..This is the important one, If there is no phone number on the website and they decline phonecalls/faxes look out..If you have any doubts and there is a phone number, ring up!If you wade in with a huge order you are exposing yourself.Buy one item first, this will give you an idea of the vendors reliability, the accuracy of their
Western Union /Money Gram .
Small Orders may need to be paid in such manner ,but be carefull
It All Went Wrong...What Now.
Getting Your Money Back
Don't fly off the handle when something goes wrong. Do not take such action against the dealer without warning them and giving them time to respond.
Contact the Seller Politely and explain the problem, this will often be enough. If they fail to respond to email, try phoning, some people read their email only occasionally, or they may have computer problems.
It is important to get in contact before you assume the worst. This is particularly true where the goods may be lost in the post. Post Office investigations into such events can take months.
Once you establish contact you must consider the logistics of your case, If you have the item, but are unhappy with it, it may cost a lot to post back.
You are entitled to a full refund if the seller is at fault, however if the dispute is over condition, the seller may decline to pay your postal costs..
The seller may offer a part refund or credit on their website, take the time to consider such offers, they may not be ideal but could You save a lot of grief.
Remember that a seller is unlikely to be deliberately defrauding you. Most people in Mail Order make mistakes, send the wrong record, describe it incorrectly, even forget to post it... It's human.
That said, if you seem to be getting nowhere, take a firmer stance, inform them that you know all about your rights as a consumer and will use that knowledge.
Your Legal Position
OK, You have tried being nice and it's failed, where now?
If you paid by Credit Card you very good protection. Contact the credit card Company, and inform them that you have not received the service you used your card to pay for.This is unlikely to work if you are embroiled in a dispute over condition, but if the goods fail to arrive, you are covered.
Collect all the information you can about the person, their email, website, the address you sent payment to.
Try giving this to your local Police, they may be willing to help.
If you have paid by personal cheque, you may be able to get a trace on their, your bank will not give you this information but may hand it over to the Police if they start an investigation.
If they have been abusive, this will help your cause, print out the emails and hand them over as well.
If possible contact trading standards officers in their country. Your local Trading Standards/consumer protection agency may help you with this.
Warning others
The first place to go is The Trading Forums of Alibaba
If you made contact with them post to that also, it may seem off topic but if this person is using a Newsgroup to find their victims other readers should know.
OK, You have tried being nice and it's failed, where now? you very good protection. Contact the credit card Company, and inform them that you have not received the service you used your card to pay for.This is unlikely to work if you are embroiled in a dispute over condition, but if the goods fail to arrive, you are covered.Collect all the information you can about the person, their email, website, the address you sent payment to.Try giving this to your local Police, they may be willing to help.If you have paid by personal cheque, you may be able to get a trace on their b/ac, your bank will not give you this information but may hand it over to the Police if they start an investigation.If they have been abusive, this will help your cause, print out the emails and hand them over as well.If possible contact trading standards officers in their country. Your local Trading Standards/consumer protection agency may help you with this.
Contact the Seller Politely and explain the problem, this will often be enough. If they fail to respond to email, try phoning, some people read their email only occasionally, or they may have computer problems. This is particularly true where the
Before You Post a Bad Dealer Alert, consider the following Have you given them EVERY opportunity to respond and explain themselves? Have you turned down a compromise offer, which it would actually make more sense to accept? How strong your case is. If your dispute is over minor details you may end up getting flamed. |
You still want to post it. The main thing now is to be factual and not to resort to abuse.
in the Header put "BAD DEALER ".
In the message lay out the whole sequence of events, include all the information you can about the person, where you came into contact with them the name and address you sent payment to. Their email and Website should also be included.
This is not about sweet revenge, you are doing other buyers a favour.
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