Ever wanted to buy stuff on the internet and wondered how to do it? Well, worry no more because I have broken it down in this article.Why buy onlineHigh quality products which may not be available locally, original products, good prices, (local dealers tend to markup their products heavily, hard to find items e.g gifts, jewelry, books, CDs Taxes Note that any item above $50 in value is taxable. So be prepared to give RRA its cut Buying from ChinaAlibaba and Aliexpress a sister company is the biggest Chinese (business to business) marketplace, you will find anything from building materials, construction equipment, clothing, electronics, toys, and anything imaginable A word of caution when dealing with Chinese suppliers; do your due diligence (background check) on the supplier, visit their website, do a google search, request for product samples before making a big order. Many suppliers on these website are scammers. They will take your money and you will never hear from them or in some instances they will send counterfeit products or sub standard goods Potential for big savings on things like building materials, clothS, stuff to sell in your business ebayThe world’s market place; you can buy almost anything imaginable on ebay , from cars, to phones, stereos, TVs, clothes, name it. You will get some of the best deals on ebay. Ebay is basically a market place where buyers and sellers from around the globe sell and buy goods. You will find individual sellers, big corporate stores and even membership is free and open to anyone interested. Ebays payment system, paypal allows you to pay for goods on ebay and some other websites without disclosing your sensitive bank details. Paypal gets funds from your bank account through your debit card and forwards the money to whoever you want to pay without disclosing any information about your bank account. This protects you from online fraudsters and credit card thieves. Once you have identified a product you want, there are likely to be multiple sellers of the same item. Study the offers closely. Some items may be new, used, damaged or even refurbished. Narrow down your search to the sells with the most suitable item. Then look at the seller’s shipping rates and policies. Some sellers may not want to ship out of the USA, while others may quote exorbitant shipping fees.Once you have zeroed in on suitable sellers, and are ready to make payment, remember some items can be bought instantly with the ‘buy now’ option whereas others have to go through a bidding process, where the highest bidder wins.Before you let go of your hard earned cash, look at the sellers’ transaction history using Ebay’s rating system. Sellers with zero feedback cannot be verified, so avoid these. Avoid sellers with a lot of negative feedback. Sellers you can trust with money are those who have many transactions and positive feedback of above 90 per cent.Other online sellersThere are items you definitely won’t be able to buy off ebay e.g. expensive home theater systems, big screen TVs, high end camerasHowever that does not mean you cannot buy them and import them into the country. For such valuable items, it is necessary to deal with a shipping agent who would receive the items on your behalf and forward them by air or sea.Whenever making payments online; avoid sellers who insist on Western Union/Moneygram transfers. Try to deal with reputable sellers and use secure payment methods like paypal. AmazonThough the largest online store, Amazon can only ship books, CDs and DVDs. Other items such as electronics, clothing, shoes, and household appliances cannot be shipped out of USA due to customs and delivery issues. However, ebooks and downloads are an exception. Shopping on Amazon is very easy, all you need is a delivery address and credit/debit card.Digital downloads Buying stuff online is not limited to physical items. You can also purchase digital content including music, movies, ebooks, TV shows from stores like Amazon, Itunes, and Barnes & Noble. Digital downloads unlike physical products can be consumed instantly as soon as payment and download is complete.
