Free Essay Example on Ethics and Online Shopping

Introduction

Online shopping is a type of electronic commerce that permits customers to purchase goods and services directly from the vendor via the internet using browsing sites. Online shops are customized over the web browsers, and they assist the online customers in searching and selecting specific features and characteristics of the goods and services they want. Online shopping saves customers time and money because goods are delivered at their doorsteps, and the prices are lower than the market prices.

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Shopping Online

For the past few years, people have been shopping online, which has become a trend. Even though many people recommend online shopping, some customers have been frustrated because they have met fraudsters and have been conned a lot of money without getting their goods or services delivered. There are always risks when shopping online due to data breaches, which has affected most customers. When shopping online, don't be fooled by fancy websites; online sellers customize their websites to look good to attract customers, but they need fast money; hence they can't keep your data private and secure from digital thieves.

Trustworthy Merchant

To determine if a merchant is trustworthy, you have to look if they have a secure website. Do not buy things from any vendors just because their sites look fancy and have lower prices. Install a phishing filter for your browser, which alerts you when you are about to browse in an insecure website. Also, install Emsisoft scanner in your computer that detects and alerts you if any malware software could have entered your computer (Safe Online Shopping? How to Recognize a Trustworthy Vendor, 2015). Also, check whether the merchant’s browser has Secure Sockets Layer technology. SSL creates an encrypted link between your browser and the website that you are shopping at.

This technology does secure you from all the threats, but it protects your personal information. Lastly, check whether the site you want to shop online has trusted site seals such as the Trusted Shops from Europe that offer certified shops with the trust mark, enabling online shoppers to verify a safe online merchant. If I walk into a store and find that most customers are using a credit card, the seller is probably trustworthy since they would be a lot of complaints if the store has fraudsters. This mostly works in a store operating for about one year since people will have earned the vendor's trust.

Advocacy Groups

Customer advocacy groups are the best organization that is in a better to handle complaints from the customer and control online transactions. This is because these groups know what a customer needs, and they make sure to fulfill the customers’ desires (What Is Customer Advocacy and 11 Reasons Why It’s the Bedrock of Your Business, n.d.). Customer advocacy is always there to protect the customer so that merchants cannot make illegal transactions or con the customers to make more money. The government is not so effective in protecting customers because it deals with many things in the country. Still, customer advocacy groups are dedicated to serving customers only.

Conclusion

Thus, customer advocacy groups make sure that a customer buys legit goods and services from a legit merchant or store. When filing a complaint against a company, collect all the information and data linked to the things you bought (Filing a Consumer Complaint | USAGov, 2019). Afterward, contact the seller about your complaint and wait for the response from the alleged company's customer care service. If the seller doesn't fix your problem, contact the third party, such as the consumer protection agency, and then take legal action.

References

Safe online shopping? How to recognize a trustworthy vendor. (2015, August 5). Emsisoft | Security Blog. https://blog.emsisoft.com/en/17841/safe-online-shopping-how-to-recognize-a-trustworthy-vendor/#:~:text=Certifications%20are%20not%20the%20only

What is Customer Advocacy and 11 Reasons Why it’s the Bedrock of Your Business. (n.d.). Jitbit.Com. https://www.jitbit.com/news/customer-advocacy/

Filing a Consumer Complaint | USAGov. (2019). Usa.Gov. https://www.usa.gov/consumer-complaints.