Choose companies and brands you know and if you choose a store online that your not familiar check their accreditation or look them up on the companies house website if they are in the UK.
Not all small businesses will be accredited, check for reviews and customer feedback. Visit their shop if they have one, maybe contact them first by phone or email before purchasing.
If you find on offer that sounds ‘too good to be true’ it probably is, be wary before proceeding.
Check for payment options if they accept major credit cards at least you will have some protection if things go wrong. If you come across a business that insists on bank transfer or cryptocurrency payments only I would suggest you don’t purchase anything from them.
In todays world every shopping website should look professional, with full details about payment options as above, terms and conditions, a privacy policy and a returns policy as a minimum. If you visit a poorly designed website with bad spelling, bad grammar and broken links it’s probably not from the UK even if it is .co.uk and should be avoided.
Just because you may receive a link from someone you trust to a shopping website doesn’t necessarily you can trust it. Use your own judgement before offering payment details on their website.
Check the guarantees/warranties as you may end up paying a recurring annual fee for something you don’t want to continue paying protection for. If you do have a guarantee/warranty for an expensive item make sure the parts that you are most concerned are covered. For example if you buy a laptop that has no screen cover and it gets smashed then you will have to pay for the repair.
The choice of vendors has increased and changed in recent years, people in England regularly buy from the likes of Alibaba and Temu for example and pay in sterling. The prices are cheap and so are the products usually, but you get what you pay for. However, they are legitimate businesses based in China. Just because a business is based in the UK doesn’t necessarily mean it can be trusted, but returns will usually be much easier and you can always check them out before purchasing.
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Big Companies
As for the likes of eBay and Etsy they are major brands operating on behalf of all sizes of business from home run to major corporations. When purchasing please bear in mind that guarantees/warranties will vary greatly between them. They all have to meet the company standards of sales and returns, but if you’re not sure just ask.
The vast majority of English retailers online are legitimate and trustworthy businesses, if you are buying from abroad I would suggest sticking to the larger well known businesses. It’s not to say small boutique businesses based abroad aren’t perfectly safe, but I would checkout their feedback and reviews first unless you already know them.
Summary
Online shopping is a fun and often exciting experience that should be enjoyed by all. But common sense still applies and if something doesn’t feel right either don’t go ahead with the purchase or check them out first.
