Shopping online can be fun, for numerous reasons. It saves time, money, prevents you from travelling; traffic and meeting people, who you want to avoid, is out of the picture. Best part? A couple of clicks here and there, and the product is right at your doorstep. It’s no less than magic.

However, shoppers must be careful and chart their ways properly in order to avoid fake reviews, unsafe products or counterfeit goods, among others. With the influx of third-party sellers, there’s always a layer of mystery for the users.

Don’t worry, we’ve got your back. Here are some of the steps you can follow to avoid the hassle.

Investigate third-party sellers

Any product’s seller is one of the important pieces of information you can ask for. After identifying the seller, you can do your own search and find out more about the seller, if it is genuine or not.

If you see people complaining about the products or the ratings are below average, you should probably avoid it. Nonworking customer service phone number or a piece of contact information that does not have a swift or prompt reply should be one of the red flags.

If safety a concern, buy directly from the store.

According to a WSJ report, in 2019 thousands of items sold on e-commerce platforms turned out to be fake or were banned by certain authorities. To avoid such confusion, you should buy directly from the manufacturer.

If quality a concern, avoid no-name brands

E-commerce websites often carry products that have no labels or instructions; the products mostly turn out to be cheap. While these items will lure you with cheap pricing, the best is to avoid them. It will save you from buying products that may harm you in the longer run.

Always confirm the shipping date during checkout

During checkout, the shipping estimate tends to change often. To avoid such confusion, you may check the delivery ETA again and not let anything affect your shipment.

Analyse the reviews carefully

One should always check and analyse the reviews of a product. Cross-check other websites that help with spotting fake reviews. To check if the reviews of the product are genuine, global reviews should be kept in mind.