Online Catalog

The definition of “online catalog” is really self explanatory — it is a listing of items or services displayed at websites of online retailers or wholesalers for the purpose of completing electronic or e-transactions of selling to consumers via the World Wide Web and the Internet.  In recent years, online catalogs have become part of a multimillion dollar growth industry and their concepts have expanded into just about any commodity and into all industrial arenas.  Today, if there is still a product or a service that has not yet been cataloged for online business deals, I am sorry to admit that I do not know of its existence.

Online catalogs provide benefits to both sides of the electronic commerce or e-commerce.  On the one side, online catalogs offer merchants a setting from which to conduct their businesses with minimal expenses and low overheads as well as exposure to a much wider range of customers.  On the other side, by using online catalogs consumers enjoy the easy access, the larger selection and, more often than not, the discounted rates and the convenience of shopping from the comforts of their own homes, via their personal computers and at their own opportune times.

Going hand-in-hand with the benefits, there are a few concerns which buyers should always addressed when attempting to shop from online catalogs and those are:

• Is your browser secure?  If your browser fails to meet the industry’s security standards such as the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) or the Secure Electronic Transaction (SET) and it does not encrypt the purchase information you provided, then it is not secure and you may not be protect while shopping from an online catalog.
• Is the website of the online catalog you are about to shop from safe?  Look for an unbroken key or a closed lock icon or for the letter “s” (which stands for safe) in the website’s address, i.e. https://… versus http://…  In addition, your secure server should display a warning which will allow you to proceed or to cancel before you submit your personal information.  You might also look for Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) certificates provided by VeriSign, Inc.  If you have any doubts or misgivings, leave the website before you divulge any of your personal information.
• Do you know the company that stands behind the online catalog you are about to shop from?  Do you know who will be receiving your personal information?  Investigate the companies by verifying their shipping charges, as well as their policies in regards to your privacy, to the return of merchandise and to refunds.  Also, acquire their mailing address and telephone numbers and check with the Better Business Bureau (BBB).
• Are your concerns mostly about your credit card information?  They really should not be.  When using a credit or a charge card, you become automatically protected by the Federal Fair Credit Billing Act which will always give you the right to dispute charges you do not recognize.
• Do you keep organized records of your online shopping transactions?  In case the need to register complaints, dispute charges or contest claims arises, you should always keep confirmations of your shopping transactions as well as all other communications between you and the online merchant.

Enjoy the benefits of shopping through online catalogs but minimize the risks by taking wise precautions.