Holidays are around the corner & there’s no better time in the year to let your shopping carts overflow. Black Friday & Cyber Monday further extend the shopping spree online; even software purchases see a massive spike with unbelievable discount prices.
Mobile shopping has grown multifold over the last few years. Recent reports state that 79% of smartphone users have made at least one purchase online using their mobile devices during the past six months.
However, as online shopping becomes easier, it has also become increasingly tricky to shop safely online. While it brings in a lot of convenience shopping online, you should also take care that you do not get cheated/fooled while shopping online.
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Problems with Software Discount Stores Online
When searching for software discounts online, most of us usually stumble upon various stores offering top products at lower prices. However, when you dig deep down, you will find that some of these stores are not trustworthy. They lure consumers into believing that the product they are buying is genuine, as it is as advertised.
Many consumers have faced issues like:
- Non-working Coupons: Most of these stores will have coupon codes that, in reality, DO NOT WORK at all.
- Fake Software License keys: To top it off, some of them will send you licenses that, when entered, prove to be fake.
- No Product License Guarantee: There is no guarantee on any product purchases, including licenses purchased in these stores.
- No Customer Support: When you face issues buying any of the software products through these stores and want to reach out to support, well, there isn’t any customer support service, or if it’s there, no one will turn up & answer your questions on time.!
There are reliable and trustworthy stores that offer genuine licenses at a much lower price. The point here is, how do we identify?
What should you consider before buying software online?
It is a good practice to be vigilant when buying software or any service online. The most basic questions that you need to things to check are:
- Is the website you are purchasing from genuine, and in reality, are they what they claim? A little research can help you find that out.
- Do the software products listed on the particular store come with a warranty period.?
- In case you run into any trouble after purchasing, are there ways and means to reach out to someone for support.? Are they offering prompt customer support, and through how many channels?
- Do they have a Return Policy on their listed products?
Below are some safety tips to consider
1. Buy only from Secure Sites.
It is a common practice online for fraudsters to build similar looking sites of some well-known websites to fool people into buying fake software products. However, make sure that the URL on the top is the original address when you visit any known website.
A common safety hack to check for a primary level authenticity is by checking if the URL has an https: instead of http. It makes sure that any information you share over that site is encrypted.
2. Background Check
If it is your first purchase with a new store, make sure you find out about its online reputation & go through their reviews on portals like TrustPilot, Shopper Approved, etc.
Another hack here is to check for how long they have been receiving reviews. A store with a steady flow of reviews coming in for a long time usually means that they have been in business for quite long. These pointers will further validate your option.
3. Good Refund & Privacy Policies
To take our shopping safety on the next step, make sure you go through the store’s refund and privacy policies.
However, no discount resellers will provide you with a software satisfaction guarantee.
Be sure that any product that you are purchasing meets your requirements. A good way to know this is by installing a trial version before buying the final product license or subscription. Many software vendors now offer full-featured trial versions for the users to know what they can expect from their products.
A well-reputed software discount store like Dealarious has a very good refund policy. Most of their listed products on the store have mentioned refund policy right on their product page itself.
What’s so important about Privacy Policy?
There’s a very famous saying on the internet world that says, “On any platform that offers free products, the products aren’t free, but the users are its products.” Be sure to go through the privacy policies to check how the store will use your data.
4. Customer Support
Good customer support is vital. However, even sites that offer decent customer service should scale up support during the holiday season.
If you happen to buy any software product during this time of the year, make sure that the portal offers good support.
5. Payment Gateways
Any shopping that you do online will, at the end, redirect you to the payment portal to complete the transaction.
It is a critical step in the entire engagement with that store since it involves direct money. Choose to do business with sites that offer multiple payment gateways. Paypal is one of the most trusted names when it comes to payment gateways. Alternatively, other gateways like Stripe, 2checkout are also equally good and reputed.
Choosing a good gateway ensures that your transaction details are in safe hands and that you do not face any issues later on. Well-known payment gateways take responsibility for the website and help you to resolve issues after completing the transaction.
Conclusion
So as you now decide to fill in your virtual carts with lots of products during the holiday sale shopping, make sure you follow all the above tips for a safe and delightful shopping experience.