Online Purchasing Made Easy

Online Purchasing Basics

Pros

Convenient

Greater Selection

More precise information

Compare similar items

Low prices

Cons

Can’t see item in person

Shipping cost

Waiting for item

Purchase history may be

tracked

Online Purchasing Concepts

You can browse or search for a specific item

You use a “shopping cart” or “bag” to gather your

items

You don’t have to buy everything you put in your

cart

“Proceed to Checkout” or click on cart to view

cart and edit

Security basics

Look for

You need to create an account to purchase

items

Use complex passwords w/ numbers, letters,

*&^%

You can set up an email to use for all your

shopping if you prefer not to get all of that in

your regular mail.

Payment

Credit or debit

Your credit card may offer some protections that your

debit card doesn’t.

PayPal

Drafted from bank account, e-check

What is a CAPTCHA?

CAPTCHA is an acronym for “Completely

Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers

and Humans Apart”

A CAPTCHA requires that you type the letters

you see in a distorted image

so you would type: smwm

This way, the website you are using knows you

are a real person

Craigslist

Online classifieds

New and used items, but mostly used

Pay in cash

You can add the Craigslist app to your

Smartphone if you have one

How To Shop On Craigslist Craigslist is a site where you pay cash for items sold locally, so begin by making sure the general area where you live is at the top.

If it isn’t, change it by clicking on the area nearest to you using the side menu.

Avoid scams and fraud

More on Scams and Fraud •Never agree to send money orders via Western Union or money gram •Never buy something you haven’t seen •Never pick up your item alone, and try to meet the seller in a public place •Do not accept cashier’s checks or money orders, they are often counterfeit. Cash is best. •Craigslist will not intervene or refund you if your transaction does not work out, so be careful and avoid risky transactions. •Beware of “phishing”, when someone emails you pretending to be from Craigslist and demands personal information or your account will be deleted. These emails are fake. If you aren’t sure, log in to your account on Craigslist.

Online marketplace for almost anything

How to shop on Amazon

If you know what you want, start with a search

Search “miele vacuum”

You will be prompted to sign in or create an account

Follow along the next slides without signing in.

Enter your shipping address, choose shipping speed, and enter payment info. You will have a chance to change shipping speed, quantities, etc. before you submit order.

You will get an email from Amazon after you place your order.

“Saved for later” and “wishlist”

Returns on Amazon.com

Returns Center

You may return most new, unopened items sold

and fulfilled by Amazon.com within 30 days of

delivery for a refund.

3rd party sellers have their own return policies,

so it’s best to order things you have researched

and know you will want to keep, but you can also

file an A-Z guarantee claim

If you bought from a 3rd party seller, try

contacting the seller first

If that fails, file an A-Z guarantee claim

Questions about Amazon?

Amazon Prime

$99 per year, free shipping on everything, Amazon

streaming TV and movies

Subscribe and save

Discount on pantry items

Free shipping $35 and up

Returns

Disputes

Ebay is an auction site. It contains both new and

used items.

When you search for an item, you can enter the

lowest price you wish above the minimum sale

price and if you win the item when the auction

ends, you can choose to buy it or not.

If you want the item right away, you can choose

to Buy it Now for a slightly higher price.

You can add the app to your smartphone if

desired

Getting Started

To buy on Ebay, you will need to create an account if you don’t already have one.

Ebay will ask you for your full name and email, and you will be asked to create a password. Later you will be asked for your credit card or Paypal information and the address on the account.

Tips For Shopping

As soon as another buyer bids on an item, the

Buy It Now button disappears. If it’s a must-

have, consider the Buy It Now button instead of

purchasing the item through the auction.

Buyers may re-list their items many times until it

sells, so re-search for it after a few days if you

didn’t win the auction.

Don’t get carried away in bidding and end up

paying more than you wanted to.

How To Search On Ebay

Your name will appear here once you’ve signed in

Type a description of the item you want to buy into the search bar. Experiment with using more or less descriptive words to get the results you want

You don’t have to choose a category to search under, but it may help in some cases. For example, if you keep getting the book To Kill A Mockingbird in your results, change the category to DVDs and Movies and you’ll get the film starring Gregory Peck instead.

Narrowing Your Results

You also have the option to narrow your search by category after you search. I searched for a soap dish. If I want the kind that sticks to the side of the bathtub, I can narrow to Bath to get results closer to what I want.

Narrowing Your Results

You can also choose to narrow your results by the materials the item is made of, brand, condition, and price. Whenever you check or uncheck a box, the search results automatically update.

Narrowing Your Results

“More Refinements” lets you narrow to extremely specific terms, such as results from one seller.

If you have a lot of results with exactly what you want, consider narrowing by Free Shipping or sellers who accept returns to get a better deal.

If you prefer one over the other, narrow to auction or Buy It Now. If you want your item sooner, you can look for an item shipping from your area.

Viewing The Item

When you see an item of interest, click on the title. Add To Cart places the item in a shopping cart where it can be purchased or saved for later. Place a Bid allows you to offer a price for an item. Buy It Now allows you to purchase the item right away. Not all options will be offered for each item.

Viewing the Item

Check if there’s an extra charge for shipping

If you need the item by a certain date, check the delivery date

Look at the accepted payment methods. This seller only accepts Paypal, a global money transfer service

The Ebay guarantee reimburses you if you get cheated by a seller

Buying The Item

You can save an item for later, or follow the buttons to purchase the item. This may look slightly different depending on what method you’re using to purchase/pay for an item.

How Do I Check On My Order?

Top right of the eBay homepage is My eBay. Hover over it with your mouse and a dropdown menu will appear.

You will click on Purchase History, where you can see recent orders and delivery information.

Can Ebay block my account?

Yes, but there is hope. Don’t panic. • Find the email that eBay sent you explaining why your account is suspended.

Or check your eBay account messages box. • If you have unpaid money on your account, pay it. Your account will be

automatically reinstated. • If you broke a rule, contact eBay using the link in the email and make your case

for getting your account back. Be specific about how you will change your buying habits in order to improve.

Other Sites

Do you have questions about other stores? Let’s

take a look at those.

Etsy, Zappos, etc.

Feel free to experiment with different shopping

sites to find the best deals