Indecent E-Shopping: How to Protect Your Online Shopping Experience

Online shopping is one of the easiest ways to shop. In fact, Forrester Research says online sales is a $156 billion industry in 2009. But all too often individuals have a negative expereience. It's usually because they did not do their homework to ensure an online store is "legit."

Imagine placing an order for a beautiful lingerie set. You have a wonderful weekend planned with a significant other and you can't wait for your order to arrive. You pay for your order and then wonder, what's next? After four days you've received no confirmation. You know you should have thought about this sooner - but it didn't cross your mind. That special weekend is just days away. You check your credit card statement. Just as you thought, the money has been taken out of your account. You then email the company asking for a delivery confirmation. No one responds within 24 hours. You now start to panic and call the number listed on the website and leave a message. Of course there is no “live” person to speak with. Even the message machine sounds like a ho-dunk business. At this point you're fuming. It's two days away from your special weekend. Ah, at last you get a reply by email. You learn that the item you ordered is "out of stock" and will take a few weeks to arrive. You feel pretty sad at this point. The online business has taken money out of your account, not confirmed the order, and not communicated that the item was back ordered... of course you are the one left with no lingerie set for your special weekend!

If any part of this scenario has ever rung true for you, here are some tips to ensure a sound and even spiritual online shopping experience next go round:

Scan the Website: Search through the company's website to make sure it's not a fly-by-night operation. Read their "About Us" page and see their press mentions. A company that is legit will have this kind of information posted proudly.

Google the Company:  Google is a powerful tool... so use it!  Google the business name to see if there are any negative reviews written about that company. A company that stays on top of customer complaints and issues will have few unresolved problems hanging around in cyberspace.

Pick up the Phone: Call the number listed on the website and make sure there is a “live” human on the other end. If you get a message machine, ask someone to call you back right away. Those that call you back the same day or first thing the following day are typically pretty safe online vendors.

Confirm Address:  A good e-retail store will have an address listed on its website. Verify that the address is a legitimate business address as well.

Read Return Policy: Make sure you read a company's return policy before ordering. You may be surprised to learn that sometimes the more stringent the policies, the better it is for the customers. In terms of lingerie, you want to make sure that the company does not accept returned merchandise. The Today Show did a hidden camera investigation last April and learned that vendors like Victoria's Secret, The Gap and Macy's accepted returned underwear and then re-sold that same underwear. (You can sign a petition to ban the sale of used lingerie and undergarmets - ick!)

Brick and Mortar Too?  Many online stores also have a “Brick and Mortar” store. This may be the best scenario for you. Online stores who can invest in a retail store usually have sound operations and care about their customers.

Check Better Business Bureau Listing: A solid online business should take the time to become a listed member of the Better Business Bureau.

Philanthophy:  Giving back to the community should be a tenant of good business practices. Look to see if the online business is involved in their community or is philanthropic in any way. It's usually a sign that real people work at and care about that company.

Ensure Secure and Private:  A legit company should have a stated privacy policy (and should not sell your information). They also should have a vendor address protected with “SSL” (secure socket layer) when entering credit card information. Only purchase from sites that are secure - you can tell a site is secure if there is an "HTTPS" in the URL.  HTTP (without the "S") is not a secure site.

Reasonable Shipping:  We've all shopped from a store that had a fantastic price on the goods, only to find inflated shipping charges at the end. Shipping and handling charges should be within reason - or else you should go elsewhere. If you returned an item, you'd be out the full S&H charges.
Remember, if you do your homework you can protect yourself from fly-by-night online businesses. In fact, the majority of online businesses care about their customer's and want to forge long-term relationships with them. If you have a good experience with a retailer, go back to them and refer them to friends. Even better, let them know by offering to give them a testimonial for their website. It's the best compliment of all! 

Alicia Vargo is a lingerie expert and owner of Pampered Passions Fine Lingerie.