Show 35: Fostering Independence, Online Shopping and Giving to Your Charity
We talk about how to foster Independence with Dr. Byran Korth, Tricia talks to us about her favorite online shopping tips and we introduce you to the Clubco Christmas Challenge–a FREE way to give 5% back to your favorite charity just by shopping online this holiday season.
Dr Korth’s ideas on how to foster independence. Check out this great handout Dr Korth helped to create and gave us access to: Foster Independence
How to shop Safely Online
(provided by www.Microsoft.com and www.safeshopping.org)
If you don’t know an online retailer by its brand or reputation, these tips can help you determine whether they’re operating a secure and trustworthy Web site before you enter your credit card number or personal information.
Before you select a store
•Do a background check. Look for a physical address (not a Post Office box), request a catalog by mail, or call and talk to a company representative.
• Explore the Web site for third-party seals of approval such as:
BBBOnLine (Better Business Bureau Online)
or
TRUSTe
Companies can put these seals on their sites if they abide by a set of rigorous standards—such as how complaints and disputes will be resolved and how personal information can be used. If you don’t readily see these seals on the site, look in the privacy policy or “Terms & Conditions” which should be clearly posted on the site.
Tip: If you do see the seals above, click them to make sure they link to the organization that created them. Some unscrupulous merchants will put these logos on their sites without permission, and they’re less likely to get caught if they don’t link back to the site.
• Find out what other shoppers have to say about an online store on comparison sites such as Epinions or Bizrate. These sites have customer evaluations built into their design with a number of smiley faces or stars.
• Review their shipping methods and policies to determine what carriers they use, their shipping rates, and if they provide tracking and insurance. Also find out where they ship from—goods are sometimes sent from international locations, which require customs and extra time.
Before you enter your credit card number
So, you’ve found the perfect item at the perfect price and you’re ready the purchase. Before you enter your credit card number, make sure the store you’ve chosen abides by the following rules.
• The company should only require personal information that’s necessary to complete the purchase. You will probably enter your credit card number, address, and telephone number. Be wary if they ask for other information such as your Social Security number, bank account numbers, or your mother’s maiden name.
Note: Some reputable companies might ask for your interests by having you check certain boxes. This information should not be required to complete the purchase.
• The Web site should use secure technology. When you get to the screen where you enter your credit card number or other personal information, make sure that the Web address begins with https (for example, https://www.tailspintoys.com/) and check to see if a tiny locked padlock appears at the bottom right of the screen, as shown in the following image.
Example of a Web site that uses https in the address and a secure site lock icon.
Trust your instincts
If a site matches all the criteria above, then there’s a good chance that the site is both legitimate and reliable. But as with most things online or off, if you get a bad feeling about a store, skip it and shop somewhere else.
Tricia’s Personal Resources:
Websites for great Online Coupons to the most popular stores:
If you know the product you need but don’t know where best to purchase it:
o http://www.dealcatcher.com (this site also has online coupon listings also)
o http://www.shopzilla.com
Receive money for spending:
o These two sites offer rewards back to you every 3 months for using them as your shopping portal. http://www.ebates.com and http://www.mypoints.com Plus, the bonus is you can also use the online coupons at the same time!
o Best of all, at Clubco.com you not only receive money back but you can help a non-profit organization of your choice at the same time
Find coupons for offline purchasing:
o http://www.valpak.com
o You can purchase many coupons on Ebay for products to be purchased offline.
If there is a store you frequent often, i.e., Children’s Place, Old Navy.com, sign up to receive their e-mail coupons. You receive great coupons and notices on special deals! Most of the time you can request this email at checkout time during your online purchase.
Of course my all time best resource is GOOGLE! You can Google anything! Just make sure that you aren’t too specific or too vague! Keep searching until you get the best search results. It take practice but it’s worth it!
If you have any comments or great tips, please add to the blog!!! We’d love to hear them!!
CLUBCO Christmas Charity Challenge!
Tired of Holiday Commercialism?
Make this year different!
Join your neighbors and friends in a commitment to make this season different . . .
Take the Clubco Christmas Charity Challenge
Between now and the New Year, COMMIT to do ALL your shopping ONLINE and retailers will give 5% cash back to your favorite charity. Together our goal is to turn the commercialism of holiday shopping into giving.
Besides giving The Christmas Charity Challenge gives you the benefits of shopping online. Shopping online saves
you . . .
Time - forget about the lines, have it delivered to your door!
Money - get the best deals from the best stores with a couple of key strokes on the computer.
Natural Resources - think how much gas/oil you use while driving around to find the perfect gift.
How Do I Get Started?
(downloadable flyer with instructions)
Fostering Independence, Online Shopping Giving with No Pain [55:00m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
