How to spot a bad online buying deal before it happens?

What are the signals to alert you that a product you want to purchase will turn out a bad deal? In this post we will find out what makes up a bad deal? Who are those that make these situations occur?  What to do to avoid this situation?  And how to ensure other shoppers don’t fall into the same problem?

What makes a bad deal?

What makes up bad transaction to one person might be seen by another person as an exciting opportunity. A bad online buying deal is:

• Any transaction that leaves one of the parties involved disgruntled or disappointed.

• A transaction that makes the vendor to lose the good will of the buyer.

• Any deal that fall short of agreed terms: i.e. quality, quantity, brand, cost, charges, delivery, etc.

• Any deal that fall short of e commerce standard.

• Any online businesses that make either the online store or the shopper lose money.

A bad deal might not necessarily be fraudulent but it is what results when either the seller or buyer is not being sincere.

Who are those behind these deals?

It is not only the online shopper that may get a bad deal but at other times the merchant gets a bad deal. 

The merchant: There are vendors that are not straight forward in their dealings, they raise the expectation of shoppers with mouth watering deal only to disappoint the expectation of shoppers by giving them a deal that fall short of what was initially promised and then point the attention of the shoppers to an obscure clause in the terms of use. Why don’t these guys make this thing clear in the first place? Why do they make the terms of use too complicated and bulky to read, how long does it  take me to completely read terms of use of this blog platform 5 minutes of absolute concentration. I love Google and Blogger they make blogging easy. There are other sites and online programs whose terms of use could take me as much time as it takes me to eat lunch to read and after reading you cannot place your hand on any statement that you frankly understand. 

The online merchant want more shoppers, more patronage and I don’t blame them. Good will ensures that a responsible merchant gets more free adverts by satisfied shoppers. 


Sometimes as a shopper it could be wise to use Personal Identification Numbers (PIN) instead of signing your credit card transaction slips if you are not comfortable with a merchant’s payment option and you still want to make the purchase. Some web owners can pose as a reliable vendor and advertise product at a very low price compared to its worth, you should spot this as potential fraud at other times they can contact you outside of the website or business asking you to send your bank details by email to complete a deal, what?

The Shoppers: Not all buyers are truly buyers; there are buyers that go online to exploit the vulnerability of merchants’ online programs. They want to find out how to read a book, join a program, use a software, order an android apps without paying for them; how do this vendors develop other programs when they don’t get the resources they need to maintain the site and its processes.


The merchant sites are constant targets of a lot of online bad deals. Some scammers may take part in auctions and after the activity contact you by mail offering to sell the same product to you with timeline of 24 hours, which if you accept you may end up with a defective product or nothing for that matter. 

What are the types of product likely to be used to perpetuate this scheme?

Download links for software or for screen savers and other free videos and games: Which comes with spyware and key loggers? Spyware can spy on your computer and key loggers record your keystrokes so that scammers can steal your online banking passwords and other personal information from inside your computer

Domain name renewals notice.  A fake renewal notice will be sent by a scammer for your real domain name or one which is very similar to your own, with an invoice that looks very much like your real host's letterhead, after paying you will discover that you have paid your renewal fee to the wrong account.

Spam emails are emails offering free goods or prizes: Cheap products or instant wealth if you just follow a link or send a sum of money.

Upfront payment scams for premium goods at cheap price: In this scam, you are asked to send money to receive a product or a reward for signing up, and you receive a lesser gift or nothing at all. 

Some other way is when you are offered a less expensive product and when you order for it you are charged for a more expensive one. There are others but all follow the same pattern.

What to do to avoid bad deals?

• Read the seller's description of the product closely, don’t over look any term, it could really be a distraction when you want to buy and you are requested to read a 10 page terms of use. Are you looking for brand new product, a particular cloth label, a refurbished car, etc be sure of what is offered to you is what you want.

• Check the descriptions of the product; ask question if the picture is not clear you can even request that they send a clearer photo of the product taking from top and side views.

• Check the price of the product and the total amount you are to pay including delivery, insurance, currency exchange rate and other charges before buying.

• Check to see if there are any forms of warranties or any terms that you wish to re-negotiate.

• Check delivery details.

• Check the returns policy, because some vendors won't accept returns if you change your mind.

• Check that the business will protect your privacy.

• Make sure you go to the actual merchant site or an actual PayPal website when making payment

• Check that your system is secure.

• Make sure the payment gate way is encrypted with the HTTPS: and the padlock.

What you can do to ensure others don’t fall into such situation?

When you have an unresolved transaction issue with an online store and you file a complaint and you don’t get redress and you are sure that you are truly been cheated. If that doesn't work, file a complaint with other relevant authority: Your country consumer protection agency, you can report the site to Scam Watch, you can use their online form to report a scam and the investigators will do their best to investigate it. Here in Nigeria, you could also file a complaint with EFCC, an agency that investigate and prosecute financial crimes. It is important that you follow through to a logical conclusion to ensure that others do not fall into the same problem and tell all of your friends and family about the suspected business or website.

What to learn from an unpleasant online transaction?

• Keeping records: Those that get back their money after a bad transaction are usually those that keep record of all online transactions, including the product description and price, the online receipt, and the emails sent and received from the seller. Paperwork related to web purchases increases the chances that you will get what you are paying for. If you have paper evidence, it will be easier for you to make claims with your credit card company if a product does not arrive or if additional charges appear on your credit card bill.

• Get record of vendors’ profile first: if you have checked on this online store, you might discover that there had been traces of fraudulent deals and whether other customers have been cheated by the company.

• Good to be honest shopper:  Be wary of too-good-to-be-true offers and very time-limited offers. You can find some great deals online, but if a deal seems suspicious, be wary so you won't be sorry later on. If you think you are getting more than you bargain for, can that truly be a fact? Theirs is no such thing as something for nothing.

Online shopping still remains an authentic means of buying both electronics, office accessories, consumables’ and mobile apps, I still believe it gives us a great opportunity to see all before you buy only what you want exactly.