7.1. How to Shop Online Online shopping's a lot like regular shopping, except you can do it in your pajamas (without risking being stared at). The online shopping experience is pretty universal, give or take some quirks and variations in Web sites' designs. When you go to an online store, you can search or browse for products displayed or listed on the site. When you click the link for a cable-knit sweater, a ferret cage, or whatever you're looking to buy, you get a full product description on screen. Here's the typical online shopping routine once you find the item you want to get: -
Select your merchandise When you landed on a product's page, you find out more about it (price, material, physical dimensions, all that) and have the chance to select a size , color , or style. -
Click the Buy or "Add to Shopping Cart" button . You've just placed your selection into a virtual shopping cart, which, like a real-life shopping cart, holds everything you intend to buy until you hit the checkout lane. Online, the shopping cart is just a Web page that memorizes each item you've chosen so far; it lets you go browse for more things to buy without worrying that the Web site will forget what you've already picked out. -
Proceed to checkout . Once you've added enough stuff to your cart, look for a link that says something like "Proceed to Checkout." -
Enter your shipping, billing, and credit card information . This part makes some people nervous. After all, you're typing personal and account information into a Web form. What if some hacker sees it and swipes it and runs up a huge bill at FerrariOnlineAutoSales.com ? Fortunately, any good shopping Web site comes with built-in high-security measures that scramble (encrypt) any text you send from your computer, so thieves can't read it while it's in transit across the Internet. Such sites are called secure sites or servers. Two signs let you know when you're on a secure site. First, the URL in your browser's address bar changes from http:// to https :// (the extra s stands for secure). Second, a tiny padlock appears in your browser window (Figure 7-1). Depending on your browser setup, the padlock icon may appear at the bottom of the screen rather than the top. If you don't see the secure address or padlock, don't shop there. See the box in Section 7.3 for more information. Figure 7-1. That extra s in the http:// part of the Web address and the icon of a padlock both tell you that you're on a site that's secure for financial transactions to travel between your computer and the Web store.  -
Finalize the transaction and get your receipt . Once you submit your credit card billing and shipping information, the site processes the transaction just like the clerk at Macy's who swipes your MasterCard at the register. In a few seconds, you should see a receipt, complete with order number and purchase summary. You can print this out for your records. (Most shopping sites send you an email copy, too.)
Tip: On the Macintosh, don't bother wasting paper and ink by printing out the final "This is your receipt" page. Instead, choose File  Print and, from the PDF pop-up button, choose Save PDF to Web Receipts folder. Safari saves it as a PDF file into a tidy little folder (in your Home Documents folder) called Web Receipts, so youll know where to look for it (and where you can find it easily using the Mac's Spotlight feature). Nice touch!
Then, just wait for your order to arrive . Some online shops send you another message when they've actually loaded your item onto the UPS truck or dropped it off at FedEx, and give you a tracking number so you can monitor your package's progress and get a delivery date. Now that you know what to expect, it's time to get to the fun part of this chapter: the stores. |
