Perils of Shopping Online

Some people are wary to buy or shop online for a wide variety of reasons. First is the possibility that credit card or debit card might be either exploited or intercepted by hackers, phishers or identity thieves online. We have heard and read lots of tragic stories about people whose identities were stolen or whose credit cards were being used unbeknownst to the true owner. Second, appliances purchased online, specifically electronics, have a high risk of getting damaged or wrecked during shipping. One good example of this is the digital camera and the CD Boombox. Third, clothes that you buy online might be too short, too small, too large, or too long for you because you never had the chance to fit or try it first-hand. In other cases, the product sent sometimes is quite different from what you expected or from what was shown in the online catalogue. Lastly, compared to buying in store, buying online involves paying the shipping and handling cost which sometimes exceed the cost of the product. Once, I bought a knitting book for my girlfriend worth only 85 cents in amazon.com, but since I also have to pay the shipping and handling fee, I paid almost $5.00. In case you don't want to keep the product anymore for some reason and you want to send it back, you still have to pay again the postage of that item aside from the hassle of bringing it to the postal office. There are lots of advantages and disadvantages of purchasing merchandise online. These online companies are burgeoning because of the conveniences they are giving to the customers living in the high-tech world.