Is Online Shopping Safe?

Many of our customers want to know if it’s safe buying flowers from us online. After all, you pay first and receive the flowers later. What if the flowers never arrive? What if you receive something a different bouquet than the one you ordered? Are there any ways for you to recover your hard earned money?

Our team at FloralGarageSG has put together a short little guide to show you how safe it is to order online. Read on!

Here’s what you need to know:

Nowadays, shopping online is safer than ever. One of the safest ways to shop online is through PayPal, which is the biggest online transaction company in the world. PayPal offers a “Buyer Protection Policy” which allows buyers to be reimbursed should anything go wrong with their purchase.

To be eligible for PayPal Buyer Protection, you have to satisfy these criteria:

• Pay for the full amount of the item with one payment from your Account.
• Open a Dispute within 180 of the date you sent the payment
• Have an Account in good standing
• You have not received a recovery related to such purchase from another source
• Buy Physical Goods that can be shipped

Simple, isn’t it? This simply means that should you purchase any physical goods from online retailers, if you have not been involved in any PayPal disputes before, you are eligible for PayPal’s Buyer Protection.

Eligible for Reimbursement

You are eligible for reimbursement if:

1. The Item you ordered never arrives.

2. Item you received was significantly not as described. This refers to items that arrive with a condition that meaningfully deviates from what you paid for. An example would be if you paid for 10 Pieces of something and received 9 Pieces. In this case, you would be eligible.

However, there are some goods that are not covered under PayPal Buyer Protection; here is a list of them:

• Real estate
• Buying a Business
• Vehicles
• Custom made items
• Items which you collect in person, or arrange to be collected on your behalf, including at a retail point of sale
• Industrial machinery used in manufacturing
• Cash equivalent items
• Personal Payments

We Love PayPal

PayPal got to become the biggest online transaction company in the world by honoring their promises of Buyer Protection. They’ve built up a golden reputation as the go-to firm for any online transactions. In case you are wondering, the reason that PayPal is able to afford to keep to their promises of Buyer Protection is due to the higher transaction rates that they charge to SELLERS. Yes, we are paying for your safety 🙂 PayPal charges significantly higher transaction rates than other third party credit/debit card companies. It’s something like an insurance that your SELLERS pay for you!

PayPal recently changed their dispute filing window from a 60 days to a 180 days. This means that within 180 days, if you discovered anything wrong with the product you’ve received, you can file a dispute on their website and they’ll look through your case and compensate you if applicable.

Double Layered Protection with Credit Card Chargeback

Even though we have PayPal, there is another layer of protection which is the Credit Card Chargeback. Credit Card Chargeback is when the person using the credit card requests for a return of funds. Though the decision to honour the chargeback depends on the bank you use, most of the times, the bank stands on the buyers’ sides.

The stats: only 21% of chargebacks lodged globally are decided in favour of the merchant.

Chargebacks can cover many of the items not eligible for PayPal Protection. Unsatisfactory items and intangible items may be covered too.

Usually, when you contact your bank to ask for a Chargeback, the full amount is refunded with hardly any questions. Most of the times, merchants do not even challenge the chargebacks as these banks are very serious about protecting the interests of their customers.

Chargeback Procedure

So you’ve just got scammed by an online retailer. Here are a few steps that you might want to take to recover your money.

Step 1: Contact your retailer to ask for a refund

The first step to take is to contact the retailer, and ask for a refund or compensation. You might need to provide some photo proof or bank statement to prove that you’ve been cheated. If your retailer is honest, you’ll be appropriately compensated. However, if they refuse, move on to the next step.

Step 2: Call your Bank

Call your bank and say that you’ve been scammed, and need a chargeback. At this point, your bank might ask some details and try to get you to settle peacefully with your retailer. For some banks, a simple call will do, but for others, you might need to file a formal complaint.

Step 3: File a formal complaint

If all else doesn’t work, just tell your bank that you want to file a formal chargeback request. They might ask you to fill up some forms.

Step 4: Sit back and wait for your refund.

Do note that it’s not every time that you will get a refund. If your bank is a very customer-oriented one, you’ll likely get your chargeback refund with no more than a few formalities. AMEX is known to be very chargeback friendly. However, some banks are not very customer-oriented. (We don’t want to give any examples), there might be more than a few obstacles you might have to go through.

Should you pay through PayPal if a website accepts credit card?

Yes! Always choose to pay through PayPal. PayPal’s website is very secure as they have advanced security features on their website that protects your credit/debit card information. If you enter your credit/debit card information on your vendor’s website or on other less reputable third party websites, there is a chance that the website might be liable to being hacked, or that your vendor might misuse your credit card information.

PayPal is always the safer option.

What about Bank Transfer?

No. Never do Bank Transfer; the buyer is not protected from fraud in any way when using bank transfer. Unless you trust the seller of course.

Western Union?

NO!

Ok, that’s about it. Here are some further tips to make your online orders even safer. Note: To be eligible for PayPal’s Protection, do not self-collect your item unless you trust the company you are dealing with.

Tips for Ordering:

 Before purchasing:

1. Check with the seller/vendor if the product description is unclear.
2. Ask if the product mentioned is available.
3. Make sure to state with specific details what you are purchasing
4. Read seller’s terms and conditions thoroughly to make sure you know what you’re getting
5. Do not use common passwords if you are required to register an account before buying.

Purchasing: Use a credit card to pay through PayPal. This will ensure that you are doubly protected from fraud. Always make sure that you are entering your information on PayPal.com.

Lastly, do not abuse PayPal’s Buyer Protection and Credit Card ChargeBacks. If you develop a history of always getting refunds and reimbursements, your bank might not remain on your side anymore. Always be honest when purchasing online.

Thanks for reading! If you have any questions regarding online transaction security, feel free to leave a comment below or email us at floralgaragesg@gmail.com.