Are you safe transacting online?
According to an article Americans are concerned about their privacy online. People I speak to at work and at home feel the same way. They can hardly believe that I do my banking online – amongst other things.
It is amazing how easy it is for some people to log onto a website and transacting without any worries while others view internet shopping with suspicion.
Personally I feel safer shopping online than walking with my debit card into Pick n Pay or doing banking online rather than withdrawing from an ATM.
Just more than a year ago I Googled an item I was looking for and ended up on Bidorbuy. Within a few minutes I registered, bid on the item on auction and subsequently lost the auction. This was the first time I ever saw the site or anything similar. It was also my first auction. I waited for the next auction and got the same item at a cheaper price! The bug had bitten big time.
Having been online since 1998 I bought books through kalahari.net, groceries through Pick n Pay Homeshopping, Woolworths and made other purchases through some other sites, so the internet never held any demons for me. Ever since my first online purchase I have been aware of security and always make sure the purchase site is safe.
My first few transactions on Bidorbuy were all purchases and through luck and common sense I have not had any problems. I’ve read on local forums of people who have been scammed, but it’s not something I can identify with.
Most important for me is to check the buyers ratings (from more than just one or two people), make sure I really want the product, the price is reasonable and to not spend more than I intended to.
Best of all – I got some good bargains and it presented the opportunity for me to become a seller!
