My success while ordering online....

[Illini_Coastie]

I have yet to be scammed, ripped-off, or have money taken without the delivery of a product.
I do this for every single on-line transaction I make, not just e-cig products.

I would like to share my information with everyone else, and if somebody else has something to
add to improve on my/everybody else's success, please do so.

#1 Research the business and see if there are any reviews. Both Positive or Negative.

#2 Look around the website and see if they at least have a Phone number AND an address listed on the website. If they don't have an address and phone number - they aren't getting my money and in my opinion, they are trying to hide something. I slightly understand the option to remain private, but they are a business and selling to the public.

#3 follow up on #2 by calling the number and asking about the product you are interested in and verify the address in google maps (sometimes not accurate). While on the phone (if they answer) ask them where they are located and verify that the same address corresponds to the one on their website.

#4 lookup how their domain name is registered. If they are using a Domain Privacy Service (in my opinion) they are hiding something for a reason. If they are listed as private, and they are a business that is taking money from consumers, this should raise red flags. Any legitimate business should have no problem telling you, who they are and where they are located. A Domain Privacy Service is an added service cost on top of their domain purchase. Meaning they are paying extra money to be private.

This is what you should see. I am using a forum sponsor to show how it should look.

mstsbakery.com WHOIS domain registration information from Network Solutions

That is what you should see. An actual address, telephone number and e-mail address.

 

[SilentScreams]

I just read reviews from others that have purchased from them. If I see negative reviews about people not receiving merchandise or otherwise being ripped off even if its just one I wont order from them.

 

[Illini_Coastie]

I use my 4 steps as a fail safe. Sometimes a business hasn't been around long enough to have reviews. I don't want to be the first person they ripoff or to write a bad review.

 

[tidegirl]

Good info and good tips. Thanks for providing it.

 

[JonnyRoBato]

That is good advice, thanks. I also tend to make sure they have an actual brick and mortar store, or building. I have seen a few places that have a house, or storage for address.......... great info thanks.

 

[Illini_Coastie]

That is good advice, thanks. I also tend to make sure they have an actual brick and mortar store, or building. I have seen a few places that have a house, or storage for address.......... great info thanks.

Stores that are actual brick and mortar are becoming a thing of the past. Specialty stores have a lot of overhead costs and having just an online business is a way to allow profit right off the bat. I understand this, and that is why I have chosen to follow my 4 simple rules regardless of how bad I want something or how cheap the product is.

 

[1BRC]

One other thing you can do is pay by credit card.. not a bank card, but an actual credit card. Then, hold off on paying the bill until the item actually arrives. Credit card companies are pretty good about protecting their customers from getting ripped off... well, at least by anybody but them!

 

[TimAce]

Just so you are aware this is common in a lot of domains. I was emailed earlier that some one saw this post and told me i did not pass step#4 LOL. I have changed my privacy settings so it will not be hidden any more, as of this time i am told it can take up to 24 hours to be shown. FYI there are a few risk in doing this. Read below about the privacy.

Domain Privacy is a service that helps to protect your personal information on the web. Without Domain Privacy, when you register a domain name, ICANN (the governing body for internet domain names) requires you to provide accurate contact information, which they then make available in a public WHOIS database. This makes it easy for spammers and other undesired parties to obtain your personal contact information.

Domain Privacy service acts as a shield -- instead of showing YOUR personal contact information in the public database, the database will show contact information for the hostmonster Domain Privacy service. This allows you to keep your information accurate and up-to-date with our service, as demanded by ICANN regulations, but still invisible and shielded from the public.

Domain Privacy protects you from:
Spam and other Unsolicited Email
Unwanted Phone Calls & Postal Mail
Identity Theft
Fraudulent Domain Transfers
Competitors being able to look up which domains you own
and much more

There are a lot of good companies besides mine that are honest and hard working. I don't think that they are trying to hide something but do it to protect themselves. I know when i purchased the domain name i was asked if i wanted this service and was told it would help prevent hacking, spam and identity theft. Hearing them say that i sure as heck said yes. I'm sure there are a few if not a lot of companies out there that are scamming people and being dishonest. All i am saying is don't discredit a company for having their personal information hidden. They were probably told the same thing i was. What got me was that this information that the sites display about the sites domain is located in the contact us page of many sites so why would that mean they are hiding anything? Are you just checking to make sure that they match the registered domain info?

I look forward to reading your comments about this

 

[patsfan1130]

Very good advice! Should definately help a few people out

*golf clap*

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk 2

 

[Illini_Coastie]

Just so you are aware this is common in a lot of domains. I was emailed earlier that some one saw this post and told me i did not pass step#4 LOL. I have changed my privacy settings so it will not be hidden any more, as of this time i am told it can take up to 24 hours to be shown. FYI there are a few risk in doing this. Read below about the privacy.

Domain Privacy is a service that helps to protect your personal information on the web. Without Domain Privacy, when you register a domain name, ICANN (the governing body for internet domain names) requires you to provide accurate contact information, which they then make available in a public WHOIS database. This makes it easy for spammers and other undesired parties to obtain your personal contact information.

Domain Privacy service acts as a shield -- instead of showing YOUR personal contact information in the public database, the database will show contact information for the hostmonster Domain Privacy service. This allows you to keep your information accurate and up-to-date with our service, as demanded by ICANN regulations, but still invisible and shielded from the public.

Domain Privacy protects you from:
Spam and other Unsolicited Email
Unwanted Phone Calls & Postal Mail
Identity Theft
Fraudulent Domain Transfers
Competitors being able to look up which domains you own
and much more

There are a lot of good companies besides mine that are honest and hard working. I don't think that they are trying to hide something but do it to protect themselves. I know when i purchased the domain name i was asked if i wanted this service and was told it would help prevent hacking, spam and identity theft. Hearing them say that i sure as heck said yes. I'm sure there are a few if not a lot of companies out there that are scamming people and being dishonest. All i am saying is don't discredit a company for having their personal information hidden. They were probably told the same thing i was. What got me was that this information that the sites display about the sites domain is located in the contact us page of many sites so why would that mean they are hiding anything? Are you just checking to make sure that they match the registered domain info?

I look forward to reading your comments about this

I can easily debate this, as I have been running various domains since 1994. I originally set up a website (in 1994) to keep friends from high school connected before Myspace and Facebook became popular. I no longer have the time to do so, especially since there are so many social networking venues available now. I also ran my own DNS servers, POP3 servers and SMTP servers. Where I grew up there was a creek by all of our houses named Stoney Creek. Therefore, I chose the domain name stoneycreekkids.com. It also happened to be the name of a very popular clothing line that is based out of New Zealand that is sold in many, many countries. They also just happened to have a childrens clothing line as well. Since I designated a specific email account to take care of the SPAM, I did not have anything to worry about.


SPAM and other unsolicted Email: Can easily be avoided by registering with a designated email account for spam when you set up your domain that can easily be checked every few days.

Unwanted phone calls & Postal Mail: My phone number that was listed on my domain listings were registered with the do not call registry. On the very rare occasion that I received unsolicited phone calls, they were made aware very quickly that the number was registered and I politeley hung up. Mail that was unsolicited made it's way to the trash before it hit the kitchen table.

Identity Theft: I really do not see how the information contained on a domain registry can lead to identity theft. The same information is also contained at the State/County/City level depending on which Business License you have and can be freely obtained (in bulk) with a FOIA request and is is done so more frequently than most think by such businesses as R.L. Donelly so they can add to their "DEX" Business White Pages which also contains the same information on a domain registry with an exception of an email address.

Fraudulant Domain Transfers: Domain Transfers can be blocked. As in, designating that your domain be prohibited from transfer.



Now, for the reason why I choose to verify if they have a privately listed domain or a public domain. I will use 2 seperate hobby shops that are unrelated to the e-cigarette realm. One of which has been in business since 1971. The other, probably not much longer.

Tower Hobbies
towerhobbies.com
Domain Whois:
Registrant:
Tower Hobbies, Inc.
1608 Interstate Dr
Champaign, Illinois 61822
United States

Reseller Ratings of Tower Hobbies: 10/10


XHeli
xheli.com
Domain Whois:
Admin PrivateRegContact
PO Box 61359
registered post accepted only
Sunnyvale
94088
CA
US
contact@myprivateregistration.com
+1.5105952002


Reseller Ratings of Xheli: 2.27/10


Like I stated before, I choose to use these steps to prevent myself from being scammed, taken advantage of, or have money taken from me without delivery of a product. I have this right as a consumer. I also understand that there might be other businesses out there that would like to keep their information private for some reason or another. However, those businesses will not be receiving any funds from me. Like I said, this is my right as a consumer to protect myself from being taken advantage of. I sometimes make high dollar transactions online, for example, I made a transaction online that was just over $2000 for a Christmas gift for my wife. If all else falls through, I know where I can initially send a "Demand Letter" or later on down the road, have an attorney contact them. I am simply sharing how I stay successful. Those that read this can either heed my suggestions or ignore them, that is their option as a consumer as well.

 

[TimAce]

That is perfectly understandable. I get where you are coming from i take precautions also while ordering online. Especially since i do a lot of large orders overseas Like i said i understand what you are saying and that is why i took off the domain protection and now allow my info to be displayed in sites that pull this information up.

I believe a lot of vendors that set up sites are not well educated about what this does and what others think about it. The person who emailed me was great and possibly helped me to get the trust of a hand full of those that rely on that information. You are smart and if more people did a bit of research they could save them self from loosing money or getting them self in a bad situation.

It also wouldn't hurt to email the company and explain why you did not order from them. They might have done the same thing i did and overlooked the privacy feature.