Buying online

Buying goods and services online is not as risky as some people would have you believe, but it's still advisable for consumers to take sensible precautions

The benefits of buying online include:

Access to a worldwide market of suppliers, offering a huge choice of products and services, possibly not available in Western Australia;
Access to goods and services that are possibly cheaper; and
The capacity to buy from home or work, 24 hours a day seven days a week.

The concerns are:

You may not always know who you're dealing with;
Just because a web site looks professional and legitimate, it doesn't mean the trader is;
There may be concerns about the security of online payments and providing credit card details;
It is possible your privacy may not be respected and your confidential details could be misused or sold to marketers;
There may be problems accessing after-sales service, support and warranty offers; and
It's always difficult to check the quality of goods without being physically able to touch and inspect them.

We recommend you follow these guidelines when buying online:

Don't judge a web site by how it looks. Good-looking sites are easy and cheap to build and don't necessarily reflect the trader's status or professionalism.
Check that the trader has a physical address so you can contact the business later if necessary. Don't deal with traders who are evasive about giving such details.
When you deal with sellers for the first time, ring or email them direct to ask about the goods or services they provide.
Use the Internet (e.g. newsgroups) or speak with other regular online buyers to find out which sites are reputable and reliable. You can also check adverse reports about various sites at resources like the National Fraud Information Center (USA) at www.fraud.org
Don't buy on impulse or in a hurry. It's likely there will be other sites that offer similar goods and services, perhaps at a better price.
Check the actual cost of getting the goods to you. This means considering currency exchange rates, freight costs and perhaps sales tax or import duty;
If you are buying goods that may require after-sales service, think about how easy or hard this will be to manage. If it all seems too difficult, you might be better off buying locally.
Always find out when the goods will be delivered.

Don't use your credit card for online payments, unless the site offers a secure payment system. If it doesn't, supply your credit card details over the phone or by mail.
If you have a disputed charge, contact your credit card company immediately.
Don't give out your bank account details to anyone – even partial details. Unauthorised withdrawals may be made.
Keep a record of all purchase details and always print a copy of purchase orders.