Online Shopper's Survival Guide

Jacquelyn Lynn
Entrepreneur Press (2006)
ISBN 1599180243
Reviewed by Joanne Benham for Reader Views (1/07)

These days you can stay at home and never venture out to a store again.  You can buy insurance, pay your bills, order groceries, furnish your house, get your prescriptions filled and even buy your pet food, all from the comfort of your own chair.  All you need is a computer and a modem.

But how safe is shopping online?  How do you find the items you need?  What questions do you need answered before you buy from and unknown store?  You can get the answers to all these questions simply by reading the “Online Shopper’s Survival Guide.”

Originally conceived as a book to teach people how to sell on eBay, the focus changed when a seller told her what was really needed was a guide to teach people how to buy online.  His reasoning was that there were plenty of sales sites, tens of thousands of them--what was needed was more customers for those sites.  This book is the result of that conversation.

Written for seasoned shoppers as well as the neophyte, there is sound advice to be found for everyone.  Jacquelyn Lynn has the book set out in an orderly process; beginning with the ancestors of online stores, the brick and mortar shops we all grew up with.  Part two takes us into the field, explaining the ins and outs of online auction sites with a few tips many people don’t think of, such as poor spelling may be your best friend in an auction (Page 46).  She also discusses the pros and cons of buying items such as tobacco, liquor and firearms online.  A short section I found interesting and had never given any thought to before was buying from another country, which could entail a duty fee or customs tax.

There is a large portion of the book devoted to online safety; how to keep your credit card information safe, how to protect yourself from scammers, tips to make sure a sale site is legitimate, and, if the worse should happen, how to deal with being defrauded.

And finally, near the end of the book, a great listing of all the websites mentioned in the book, listed both alphabetically and then by category. 

I keep “Online Shopper’s Survival Guide” next to my computer just to visit some of the sites listed.  I thought I was a savvy shopper, but I learned many new things that I use everyday…especially the poor spelling tip, probably my favorite, since I bought three pairs of ladies jeans for $3.00 each.

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