by Greg Schwartz

Created on: August 07, 2009

You can find almost any product online that you can find in a store. Ordering online is usually easier and less of a hassle, and it's a trend that has been growing steadily in the past few years.

When ordering online, there are some things you can do to make the process easier as well as keep your information more secure. Here are some tips for making Internet purchases:

- Shop around

With so many websites to choose from, make sure you are getting the best price before you buy. Use sites like Yahoo! Shopping or Amazon to compare vendor prices. Also, check a retailer's shipping fees before ordering - you may find a product cheaper on one website, but end up spending more after shipping and handling charges are added in.

- Get rewarded

Sign up for sites like MyPoints.com that give you points for buying things online. These sites usually give you a set number of points for every dollar you spend, and when you get enough points you can redeem them for gift cards or products. If you're going to spend the money anyway, you might as well get a little more for your dollar.

Make sure you have a credit card that reimburses you as well. Many credit cards will give you 1% back for everything you buy, and sometimes you can get up to 5% for buying specific products or shopping from certain vendors. Some credit cards (like Discover) will base your cash back on how much money you spend every month. Depending on your credit score, you should be able to get one with a low interest rate (or none at all) and no annual fee.

- Know what you're getting

Before you buy anything, be sure that whatever it is you're paying for is actually the product or service advertised. If buying a used item from eBay or another auction site, email the seller with any questions you may have before placing a bid. Once you've agreed to buy the item, you may have little or no recourse if there was a miscommunication of the item's quality or condition.

- Protect yourself

PayPal is a great online service for buyers, offering consumer fraud protection and secure transactions. Sign up for a free PayPal account and use it whenever possible.

If you don't use PayPal, make sure your credit card offers fraud protection so you don't have to pay for any fraudulent purchases. Many credit cards offer this service for free.

When shopping online, check to see if the website you're buying from is secure. An easy way to verify this is to look at the web address (URL). If it starts with "https://" rather than "http://" then it is a secure site, and your information will be safer than it would be when transmitting it to a non-secure site.

In addition to these suggestions, use common sense when shopping online. Don't click on links to websites sent via email, unless you're absolutely sure it's actually that website and not a phishing or scam site. Double check the web address of the link to be certain. For more tips on online safety, see Citibank's guide to safe online shopping.

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