Shopping online, and checking the seller before you pay

Before an online order, check the seller and the product, and add up what it will really cost. Afterward, keep the records that show what the seller promised.

The seller and the reviews

• Read customer reviews in more than one placeLook at where each review was posted, who wrote it and what else they've reviewed.
• Look past the star ratingSome reviews are fake, and a fake review can be negative as well as positive. Some reviewers get free products or other rewards, and not every site says so.
• Search the company or the product with "complaint" or "scam"

The price

• Add up the totalInclude shipping, handling, delivery, taxes and any other fees.
• Read the terms of the deal and the full product description"Refurbished" and "close-out" can mean the item isn't in perfect condition.
• Look twice at a very low price on a brand-name itemIt can mean the item is counterfeit or stolen.

Returns and paying

• Read the return policy before you payCheck whether you can get a full refund for a return, who pays for return shipping, how many days you have and whether there's a restocking fee. Sale and clearance items often have their own return rules.
• Don't pay an online seller only by gift card, wire transfer, payment app or cryptocurrencyScammers ask for these because the money is hard to get back.
• Don't treat "https" as proofIt means the connection is encrypted, and scammers use encryption too.

The records to keep

Keep the company's name and website, the order details, the return policy, the shipping promise and its date, every message to and from the company, and the payment statements. Tracking, where the seller offers it, shows where the order is.

Your information

A site's privacy policy or terms of service say how it uses, shares and protects your data. Some shopping apps use your location, and you can turn that off in your phone's privacy settings.