Internet & Tech: Have you ever bought anything online?

1) I don't shop online that much, perhaps if I want a new game that I don't wanna go out to the shops for. I would say about once per month.

2) I've ordered the most from eBay, but thats because of the diversity and the joys of a bidding war! Im growing on Play.com. Thats where I got my Xbox 360 from and recently I got the wireless adaptor from there as well.

3) Erm, I had a bad experience with eBay and Alibaba but those don't really count because its not a 1 on 1 shop with the "e-tailer". But then again I don't use e-tailers that much...

4) Erm, definitely a freephone number, an address, a name of the person who you can contact and email, an excellent returns policy (I lost an order from Play.com and I sent them an email and within a day they had sent another one to make up for the 1st that got lost in the post). For me reviews don't cut it as some of these big eshops get so many visitors its hard to seperate the good from the bad. And many of the people that did have a good experience cant be bothered to write a review (like me ;) ).

5) A crappy looking website - makes me think that the seller can't be taken seriously. An out of date SSL certificate. An 0870 phone number (thats a toll number in the UK). Paypal - if you're a serious online store owner you should have your own credit card management facility.

I hope the above have helped and I can't wait to see the finished site!

I was wondering the same thing when I bought a pico z rc helicopter - and its great fun.

Keep in mind that this was an impulse buy. I googled for local shops after reading the Uncrate Pico Z Review and their link didn't ship to Australia. Uncrate reviews rate very highly in my opinion, the reasons for that are a whole other thread worth though.

I'm reflecting now to see what I liked about it.

1) Big product picture and a video of the thing flying.
2) Very clear information overall.
3) Clear "in stock" or "3-4 week wait" etc.
4) Free shipping in Australia.
5) I actually like being able to use Paypal, but I know this is a touchy topic. I probably like Paypal because I know it is secure, and I like to see that a smaller site is leaving the important security stuff to experts.
6) They link to related products I might like instead of this model.
7) They have a local phone number. (I wouldn't know if it was a skype line and they were actually on the other side of the country, but it is reassuring still)
8) The email address is andre@ instead of sales@ which makes it look much more approachable and less corporate.
9) They have a .com.au domain which again makes it look local. If I can order from Australia or Russia/Hawaii/German I'm gonna choose Australia.
10) All of their privacy policy stuff sounds good. They ship quickly if the stuff is in stock. I don't generally read this but it's necessary to have.
11) The 'in stock' and the flashing 'new' on the pizo z makes it look like the site is updated regularly. (Although a heads up to everyone here to check your copyright dates at the bottom of your pages, its 2007 guys!)

What I'd improve:

1) The video is great to have, but the product text is very generic and doesn't tell me heaps as a first time rc chopper person. For your normal enthusiast it probably tells you everything you need to know but I want to know how do I fly it or some other basic beginner user information. I googled for more information about this model and it was very generic across all the online shops. Remember that I came from the Uncrate review which had a very personal spin in the copywriting.
2) The thing needs 6 AA batteries and they included them as a gift because I had to wait a month while their shipment arrived (they kept me well informed of this though which was good, they sold out just as I ordered before they had time to update the site). I don't care if you sell me more stuff, I just want to be able to play with the thing as soon as I get it. If I had the option I would have ordered the batteries. I don't have spare batteries laying around at home. "It comes with batteries so it is ready to go" is up there with "free shipping" in my view, I like to see that but I'm happy to pay.
3) The header graphic isn't that professional, but obviously in this case the other information was so good that it didn't matter.
4) I never visited the homepage when I ordered but I did just then and it is really bad. It redirects after 20 seconds, but I would just point people straight to that page. The smiling guy doesn't add any value to me as a visitor.
5) American's get the thing for $40 while Aussies pay $70-80 which sucked at the time, but that's what we get for being down under.

Well, I wasn't planning on doing such a detailed review but it happened. I hope something from that helps Travis - and I'll forward this feedback to Andre from the RC site.

If anyone wants a cool little toy to play with for a few hours get one of these helicopters!

Let me summarize mine a bit :P

1) Be contactable and appear local. Remember that my alternative is to go to a local shop, and if something goes wrong I want to be able to yell at somebody about it.
2) Show and tell me what I'm getting (big pictures, lots of content)
3) Let me know when I'll get the thing. Keep me updated through the whole sales to shipping process (and maybe even check that I got the package alright?).
4) Give me everything I need to use it when I get it.

Posted By: Travis

1) How often do you shop online? At least a few times a month

2) Which website do you order the most from? Amazon.com probably - and Apple.com

3) Have you ever had a bad experience with an e-tailer? Yes, eBay all the time but that's a little different. I'd say 1 out of every 5 transactions I do online is crap

4) What makes you comfortable buying from an online store? (ssl, reviews, phone number, etc...) Reputation, definitely SSL, and I won't buy from an online retailer w/out a phone number. This excludes eBay where 90% of the bad transactions I come across stem from.

5) What makes you not want to buy from an online store? If the design is rubbish and it doens't look reputable, forget it. Price. SHIPPING!!!

Thanks again everyone. All of these responses have been a huge help.

Ross, that was a great article on SEOmoz. I appreciate that.

There were quite a few things that everyone said were mandatory, one of which I'd like to get a bit more feedback on: SSL.

I had long conversations last week with Verisign, Digicert, and GeoTrust.

When it comes to the best sales pitch, Verisign's rep was much better than the rest.

I got a guy that just started working at Digicert a few hours before I called and would say yes to every question I asked without having the slightest clue.

GeoTrust didn't seem to care whether or not I used them once I mentioned MediaTemple recommended them. Guess he thought I was a sure deal without the need for any salesmanship.

The prices varried quite a bit. Digicert was the cheapest at $99/year, GeoTrust is $249/year, and Verisign is $995/year.

Each of those plans are equal in general specs, but when you look at the additional features GeoTrust is much better than Digicert, and Verisign is a bit better than GeoTrust.

I asked the Verisign rep why they're so expensive, and she honestly said because they created the industry, have been around a decade longer than anyone else, and their name commands a premium.

So my question is, which of those three icons/certificates would make you feel more secure? Is Verisign worth the extra $750?

The shared ssl plans provide *up to 128-bit* encryption. The Verisign woman said that means on average, you'll get 32 or 64-bit security, which is very susceptible to hacking. Depending on network activity, you'll have 128-bit security at times, but its not guaranteed.

I don't give a crap what icon I see on a site. I don't even look for that, I look for the lock/secure icon in the web browser. If it's encrypted, I'm good to go.

I just had to replace all my credit cards that I ever used at Marshall's and TJ Maxx because their systems got hacked and all the CC's stolen. This isn't just for online buyers, this is for people who used their CC's in the store.

What I'm getting at is that no matter what you do to protect your CC, some lame ass accountant can get his laptop jacked from a Starbucks and that $995 premium you paid for Verisign didn't mean jack. Encrypt the info with the most wal-mart-esque cert you can get and worry more about protecting the unencrypted data that ultimately ends up in your hands.