What makes up a reputable online store?

• How the site that I want to buy from should look like?

• What security measure do they have in place?

• Is the site friendly, hostile or secretive?

• What are their terms of use?

The online market usually referred to as e commerce is a huge industry and it is still in its infancy stage, users of online shop are really overwhelmed by the gazillion e commerce sites to visit to make purchases. A survey just concluded in recent time revealed that the number one concern of online shoppers is security.

You and I know that things are cheaper on the internet when compared with the cost in the neighborhood store, because the online shop owners know you have a choice of buying from so many shops selling the same item and all viewable from the comfort of your home in one place-the internet,with the information about the product visible for everyone to see and compare; and because the stores owners have the opportunity of presenting their products to millions of prospective and viable customers at the same time, that is cheap publicity for them.

 What quality should you looking out for in an e commerce site that makes the site worth your wallet?

1. The site should have a professional touch:

The internet has millions of website and many of these sites are poorly designed. A low quality design tells its own story; it could be saying the persons running the site are not serious with their business, it could mean since they are not concerned about how the site looks then they will care less when users have complaints or enquiry to make. A poorly designed site could be a sign of neglect by the owners or outright abandonment.
A well designed site could mean the owners cared about their business and are willing to give all it takes to make it functional and it could also mean that it is being monitored. A friendly design means the owners cared about their users.
The site should have its product easy to find and the description should be simple to understand with clear product picture and price tag conspicuously placed. Look at the major players: Amazon.com, Pay dotcom, eBay, etc.

2. The website should have a good customer care and sales support team:


It is common to find yourself confused with a thing or two while paying for a product online, when this happen the only thing that comes to mind is “ who will help me out”. That’s where the customer care and support team comes into play. A bad mannered supports staff may not be patient enough to hear you out and work to solve your problem, the way HOSTGATOR.COM handles her customer is really heartwarming; I host a site with them. The sales department must send promptly all correspondence and be willing to go the extra mile to clarify any issue raised by online shoppers.  

3. The site should have up to date encryption technology128-Bit Encryption: SSL, Firewall and 24 hr constant monitoring:

• Site owner: The site should have Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) for secure transmissions. SSL applies encryption between two communicating applications, such as your computer browser and the website. When your credit card information is sent over the internet, the information is encrypted or “scrambled” and when it gets to the website that is processing the transaction it is then decrypted or “unscrambled”. The higher the encryptions level the better. Apart from this it should have Firewalls that secures the web servers and should be constantly monitored to prevent security breaches.

• On your own part: Is your computer well protected? Not some free Avast antivirus. I use the free Avast its good but not when you wish to shop with critical financial data, get a real paid for Avast internet security that will warn you if something isn't right? When some sites try to attack your computer, a good antivirus (Security Suite) will block or foil that attack. Is your computer up to date with all the Microsoft patches and fixes? If it isn't, don't go online to buy using your card. Malicious guys that do internet fraud know how to exploit any vulnerability. Does the credit card you are using have fraud protection so you won't have to pay back the credit card company even if it is fraud? You should look in the bottom, right corner or your screen; you should see a padlock symbol. You should also see the letters "https" in front of the website's address. These two symbols mean that the page is secure and that the personal information you enter is encrypted and safe from hackers. This is the most important step that you can take for protecting yourself from identity theft.
Some site owner have hacker safe tool installed in their site.

 4. The site should have a privacy policy, cancellation policy, complaint handling, return policy that is clear and easy to understand:

Apart from design issues or content, a reputable site should make clear order policy, refund on cancellation policy, shipping policy, privacy policy and they should also make the shopping cart or checkout process intuitive. Be sure that the site has options, if the product is not what you expected, or is damaged during delivery; options are available for replacement or for a refund.

5. The site owner should have published their business seal with trade union or chamber of commerce:

I feel that a reputable site should publish their trust seal, trade mark or emblem with their SSL Certificate with the trade union, also in other to establish credibility they could join the official business organization that is consistent with the kind of business they do like the Chamber of Commerce. These further authenticate their suitability and reputation but it also show that they are part of a larger already established organ.

6. The vendor should have Verizon seal of authentication and trust and participate in verifying the identity of shoppers:

You could consider Shopping online with merchants who take part in the Verified by Visa or Verified by Master Card programs. The number of merchants using these two programs is relatively small, though many more are asking for the card identification number to ensure the card is in the shopper's physical possession.
Check whether the site have VeriSign?

7. The site should not install spy ware or programs that store your detail dishonestly or send unsolicited mails:

Any site that just sends you mail without your permission may indicate that there are something going on there that is not right. Beware of such site. Never Ever Respond Spam Emails. If you don’t know the senders then never respond or buy their products no matter how enticing the price or products. The site should not offer to save information from cookies in your computer; it should concern itself with its primary business. A site with several disturbing popup advert flying here and there may not only be annoying but it is intruding on your privacy.

8. The phone number and physical address should be verifiable:

If the website is not familiar with you then you need more investigation. And it will be worth it, if you buy your goods from an already reputed web site like eBay, Amazon etc or else do further investigation. What’s the rush?
Try calling their phone number to have a feel of what is going on behind the scene. Is their phone number prominent on the site? Is the physical address verifiable? Find out.

9. They should give you the option of using an online payment processor rather than your personal credit or debit cards: 


Online payment processors, such as PayPal, protect your information. Get a PayPal account and just put money into it and start shopping by clicking the shopping cart when you find a product you need and in case your information was stolen it wouldn’t matter because they won’t be able to steal your money.
Does it allow you the option to use a pre-paid credit or debit cards? Pre-paid credit cards can be loaded and used as much as you have the fund in there. The site should provide option in case you find out that the product you purchased have not been received or is not shipped to you that you can request for refund.

10. You should use common sense:

 If you sense something fishy about an online shop then you must find out more about the site and its business processes.  Is the site too complicated, don’t just jump in and start clicking and making a bid if doing an auction. Find out more, look before you leap. A site that is easier to use sends the message that the company behind the site cares about its customers and has a commitment to good customer service.

In conclusion: if it is easy to find the product you wants to buy, and if the product description is easy to understand and answers all your questions, then it is a signal that the site is reputable. Is it reported that the company is known to deliver as promised and the shipment still in good shape on arrival. Does it have contact form, email address, telephone, live chart, fair price, good product or services, friendly and accessible customer care then you could be dealing with the right online shop. Go ahead to shop online it’s a great experience if you just follow the above online check points.