How To Not Lose Your Money When Buying Or Selling Things Online?

Having an e-commerce business is smart, as most people prefer online shopping over visiting stores in person. The Covid-19 pandemic has taught us that online stores can survive natural calamities effectively. That’s right. When most businesses were shutting down during the Covid-19 pandemic, the e-commerce industry was rising.

Amazon is one great example here. Its profit soared nearly 200% during the Covid-19 pandemic, making business owners realize online businesses’ significance. Most business owners now agree that having a website is more important than a brick-and-mortar store. Not to mention, websites and online stores have become symbols of stability for businesses.

A Mini Guide For Sellers/Merchants  

Let’s start with sellers first. Many sellers, rather than making extra money, lose their invested amount when selling things online, especially if they use a third-party application or platform. Most of the time, they lose money due to buyer scams.

In addition, many people buy things only to return them a day later without realizing that it costs the seller both time and money. In such cases, the delivery fee is paid mainly by the seller, costing them money when the order is returned. The same goes for multiple exchanges and returns.

Here are a few measures that you need to take as a seller:

Add Guidelines And Instructions With Every Product 

It’s great to offer your customers ease and convenience. Yes, it’s good to provide them with free returns, exchanges, and delivery for products they purchase. However, you must never do it at your own expense. Therefore, introduce some guidelines and instructions for online purchases. 

Let your customers know that they can only return the product if it’s broken, not functioning well, or if a wrong product is sent. The seller won’t exchange the product only because they don’t like it anymore. Similarly, exchanges and returns should only be possible within 14 days of purchase.

If a customer fails to return the product within 14 days of purchase, let them bear the delivery charges. Such little things can make a massive difference at the end of the day.

Go For Online Payments 

Online payments are not only convenient for buyers but sellers as well. As mentioned earlier, sellers lose their money mainly because of buyer scams. People place orders for different products without giving them a second thought and later refuse to collect the order at the time of delivery. Such a situation costs the seller a lot of money. 

It could be avoided if you make the buyer pay before dispatching the order. There are plenty of ways to accept online payments. Look into different payment gateways and integrate one into your website.

For example, if most of your customers demand cash on delivery, you can ask them to pay half the amount in advance to confirm the order. They can pay the other half at the time of delivery.

A Mini Guide For The Buyers

Buyers lose a lot of money, too. It isn’t always a buyer’s fault when he returns the product immediately after receiving it. Most of the time, it happens because the seller shows highly photoshopped content on their website, and upon receiving it, you realize that the product is entirely different. Such scams cost buyers a significant amount of money.

Here’s what you can do to avoid them:

Check The Product Reviews

If the respective brand has an outlet that you can visit, it’s best to shop in-house. However, if that isn’t an option, check product reviews before placing an order. Many people who shop online leave product reviews later on the website. Some of them even upload pictures of the product.

Check the product reviews thoroughly before placing an order. Apart from that, please ensure that the reviews are legit. Many sellers on platforms like Amazon add fake reviews for their products. It’s pretty simple to check if the reviews are fake. Yes, if all the reviews are highly positive with five-star ratings, chances are they’re fake. Purchase only from authentic sellers with ratings between 4 to 4.8. 

Go For Products That Are Covered By A Warranty

When purchasing expensive products, especially home equipment, appliances, or tech gadgets, it’s always best to check their warranty. Most of the time, when the product arrives, it’s functioning, and a few days later, it stops. It happens because of low-quality or an existing software issue.

Therefore, I always suggest checking the warranty and purchasing products that come with home warranties of at least one year. This way, you know that your purchase is safe and your money isn’t going to waste. 

The Bottomline

When buying or selling things online, many risks are involved. The risks of scams are also higher in online shopping; however, it’s not possible to skip online shopping altogether. People now prefer online shopping and payments as the tech world is evolving. All one can do is be careful with such scams and keep things in check. 

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