Many (and I mean many) PCMech readers buy stuff online. In fact, a fair amount of them shopped online during the “bad old days” in the pre-2005 era.

Chances are that if you were shopping online pre-2005, there were at least a few purchases where you either a) didn’t get what you expected, b) had a product arrive broken or non-functional, c) ran thru a nightmare trying to return the product for your money back or in the worst case, d) never got the product and lost your money outright.

I do qualify as encountering A, B and C – but never D thankfully.

There have been a few things that have changed from pre-2005 to today.

1. Credit card companies have stepped up their purchasing security by a huge amount.

Situation: You find something you want to buy online from a smaller retailer, go to the checkout process, use your card and it’s declined. At this point you’re confused because there should be absolutely no reason you get declined, but yet you did.

Is this your fault?

Odds are it isn’t. The credit card company recognized the retailer as “bad” and therefore declined the transaction in order to protect you.

2. Banks have stepped up their merchant approval security by a huge amount.

From the time the internet started online retail up until around ’05, just about anyone could get approved to be a merchant. The approval process was lax at best, and as a result a lot of people got screwed over with purchases.

This is not the case any longer.

For those who want to sell online with true-blue merchant accounts (meaning from-business merchant accounts and not Paypal), the approval process is far more strict. As such, it’s a whole lot tougher for a merchant with not-so-noble intentions to get approved. In fact most of them get flat-out DENIED – and this is better for you as a purchaser.

3. General knowledge of what to look out for has increased exponentially.

I’m betting every single PCMech reader would never say “It’s just the internet, what could happen?”

You guys and gals are smart cookies and know exactly what to look out for when it comes to your online purchases. You know all about how to avoid phishing, understand the statement “if it’s too good to be true, it probably is” and so on.

Knowledge is the best defense against getting screwed with an online purchase. And most (if not all) of us are very aware of what to look out for.

So is online shopping better now or not?

Yes. A recent poll showed an average satisfaction rating of 90 concerning online holiday purchases. This is actually better than the offline (i.e. in-store) rating of 72.

It is better, it is safer.

Am I telling you to open your wallets and shop ’til you drop online?

No.

But I am telling you that it is safer than it used to be.

So if you were leery of making that purchase from Netflix or Amazon, don’t be. These guys (as well as others) are a whole lot better than they used to be.

However this doesn’t mean you should be careless. Always be a smart shopper.

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