10 Foolish Tips
Foolish Gift Guide Pt. 2
December 17, 1997

1. Check out your online merchant at the Better Business Bureau. If you're concerned by whether a merchant is reputable or not, check with their local BBB. You can even check on some online vendors from the BBB website.

2. Determine the company's refund policy before you place your order. Better to be safe than sorry.

3. Know your rights. If you pay for your order with a credit card a whole slew of of laws are on the books to protect you. Learn more about the "Fair Credit Billing Act" from the web site at the Federal Trade Commission.

4. Shop on a secure server. Your vendor will let you know if one exists. In fact, you'll probably get an annoying little pop-up screen that declares it forcefully. Be thankful that it's there.

5. Ask about taxes, shipping and handling. Those great prices on the web sometimes don't look like such a bargain when you add all of the costs in. Know what you're paying for before you actually do.

6. Never give out your password to a merchant. There is absolutely no reason that they need it. If you are shopping on AOL and they ask for your password, report them to the BBB and to AOL.

7. Use their 800 number. If you're uneasy about giving your credit card information over the phone use the merchant's toll-free 800 number instead.

8. Print out and save your order form. If you shop online you won't get a regular receipt like you would at a traditonal store. Hang onto your order form until your merchandise arrives, in case there are any problems.

9. Shop where they promise to beat the best price. Some traditional stores will now honor web advertisements in their "we'll beat any price" promises. An Egghead store did it for me on the purchase of "Microsoft Front Page" just this week. It saved me $50.

10. Register your software. Once you buy software (whether it's from an internet merchant or a traditional merchant) don't forget to register it with the manufacturer. That Front Page purchase above wound up costing me only $49.99, not the $149.99 I originally paid for it. I got $50 from Egghead (because I found someone who advertised it for $100 on the web) and then I got another $50 from Microsoft because I had earlier registered another Microsft product.

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