by Edward Raymond

Created on: January 30, 2007   Last Updated: April 20, 2007

In order to really get a sense about an online company, open a web page to http://www.bbb.org . Using that page, you can put in suspicious web sites to see what their history is with the Better Business Bureau's database search to see if they have a history. You may also take advantage of the following additional sources :

Read the site's 'about' and 'contact us' pages. You can learn a lot about their claims by how they present themselves. The 'about' section could lead to some very enlightening search results that could easily reveal visitor's blogged frustrations from past dealings. The 'contact us' should include a phone number, e-mail contact, and a *physical* address; a P.O. box should be an immediate red flag, but dig a little deeper.

You can do a search for the Chamber of Commerce in the city listed as their home base. Use the term below while substituting the with the appropriate term. Where terms are more than one word, place double quotation marks around the words.

"Chamber of Commerce"

This can help you to find out if they are a member of their local Chamber of Commerce or not. An additional search could pull up dissatisfied customers. The items given in braces should be alternated into subsequent searches.

{dispute, testify, scam, fraud, filch, litigation, etc...}

For example:

"Scams r us" some_state dispute

In general, do your homework through several sources and don't be afraid to inquire on bulletin boards and in news groups that deal with the subject of the company's business. Good luck and safe shopping to all!

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