Scoop’s Views

Today is the day online retailers have been waiting for all year. In fact, it’s estimated U.S. online holiday sales are expected to be right around $20 billion this year, and today, Cyber Monday, is when retailers expect things to take off for the annual Christmas shopping season.

For you, the consumer, what’s it all mean? It means that today, being Cyber Monday, is the day you can typically find some of the best online deals because today is the “Black Friday” shopping day for online retailers.

If you were like many people this year, you skipped out on the madness last Friday, and are waiting for better deals to come along. Hey, with the cost of gasoline, the long lines, frustration of “limited quantities” of in-demand items heavily advertised, what’s the payoff for getting up are 2 a.m. — or earlier — to shop on Black Friday?

I love shopping online, and actually do most of my shopping — for birthdays, Christmas, and other gifts — online, and often have the items shipped direct to the recipient. It saves me time, money, frustration, and I often get better prices than I would at a big box store in my area. Since I like keeping my money in my pocket and don’t like lining the pockets of retailers, shopping online helps me find the best deals without wasting time or fuel.

When shopping online, though, beware of the scams out there. If you’re not familiar with the store, check it out until you’re satisfied it’s legitimate, or, do as I do: shop only at stores you’re familiar with, recognize from the brick-and-mortar world, or learn about from others you trust. Sure, it’s always nice to find a deal on an X-Box, but if the price is $100 cheaper than every other site with dirt cheap prices, the old caveat emptor (Latin for “Let the buyer beware”) rule comes into play.

To get the Black Friday pricing for Cyber Monday, visit the Cyber Monday site, search by category, or even look at the many square display ads they have, featuring various products that are on special at online retailers.

The other big thing to watch for when shopping online is that the site’s checkout page — the page where you actually enter your billing, shipping, and credit card information — is all handled on a secure server. How do you know the server is secure? Depending on your browser, the identification is slightly different, but all browsers use a padlock icon, either in the address bar (the block where the site’s URL is located), in the status bar (the gray boxes at the bottom of the browser window), or in a special field next to the address bar, showing a green or red indicator, along with a link to the security certificate’s link where you can view the information in the certificate.

When looking at a security certificate, check that it matches up with the site. For example, if you’re at Amazon.com, for example, and you check the security certificate during checkout, it will indicate that the registrant is Amazon.com. In many cases, the registrant’s physical address is also listed, as well as the site’s URL. Some sites, however, such as Scoop’s Views, use a third-party processor for payments. That processor would be something like PayPal, Google Checkout, or even a company that does credit card processing for brick-and-mortar stores. In those instances, when a third-party processor is involved, the site should indicate that you will be sent off-site (to another site) for payment processing, and also give you the name of the site where you land. If it doesn’t, well, refer back to the old caveat emptor rule comes into play yet again.

Not all sites that use third-party processors tell you that you are being re-directed off-site to pay for your order. In today’s society, with identity theft and all sorts of scams, particularly online scams, any site that does that, frankly, does not deserve my business. It’s my money, my credit card, and other personal information being entered into the payment screen. If I do not feel 100 percent comfortable — if anything feels “funny” — I leave. Sometimes I write to the site’s owner, using the contact form and one of my disposable email addresses to inquire about things. Sometimes I call if a phone number is listed — but only after running the number through Google’s phone number lookup feature.

Past that, have fun, save money, and be sure to have plenty of coffee beside you as you start your Cyber Monday shopping.