In this down economy and the big merchants stays big and the little merchants struggle, it is good to patronize the small merchant. The small merchant on the web usually specializes in something often not offered by the bigger online merchants. I encourage buying from the small merchant websites. Here are some tips to being safe when buying from the small merchant.
Make sure they have a return policy.
Call them and ask them a question to see about their response to a call. Also, to see if they are there. I would not buy from them if you are satisfied with their response.
Email them too for a response.
Questions to ask:
- Do they store your credit card number online.
- Do they store anything from the order.
- If they do store your credit card number. Tell them you do not want them to store it. Can you avoid it.
- What do they use for the transaction, paypal or something else.
If it is paypal, it is safe. Many others are too. It is good to do a little research to see how safe. I do not mind when a website takes me to a third party for a transaction. The third party is all about security for credit cards like authorize.net. It is good when a website does not try to pretend to be big. The only other thing you want to make sure about a small company is that they fill the orders they receive. Talking to them on the phone lets you know they are there. Some website stay up when they merchants have gone. Once you are sure the merchant is good, you will have a good shopping experience.