by Technophobes;the Kicking;Screaming Is This Thing On?: A Computer Handbook for Late Bloomers
Let’s Make a Deal
Before you pay top dollar for an item, perhaps you should shop around for the best deal. The same item is often sold on several different websites. Could it be that there is competition on the Internet? You bet your bottom dollar! Competition breeds competitive pricing, and that’s good news for all of us. Comfort and/or loyalty may lead you to shop at a tried-and-true website. There is nothing wrong with that. But, if you want to buy a particular item and you have no website allegiances, why not find the best deal? There are search engines to hunt the World Wide Web in its entirety (e.g., Google, Yahoo!, Ask) and there are search engines that specialize exclusively in shopping.
shopping.com
shopzilla.com
pricegrabber.com
mysimon.com
CLICK AND GO
1. Click in box.
2. Type hammock.
3. Click Search.
Try any of these on for size. Each site allows you to type in the item you seek by name, product number, or description. The site will look up the item. If it finds it, it will let you know the different websites you can purchase from and let you see an estimate of the price.
• Use the scroll bar to see the results of your search for a hammock.
Feel free to also experiment with Google, Yahoo!, Bing, or any other search engine. The results, however, from a general search engine will be less specific than a search engine designed specifically for shopping. Shopping search engines usually hit on the type of product you seek (e.g., microwave) and list the various models, with a link to direct you to the websites selling that product. Remember to take shipping costs into consideration before you decide where to make your purchase.
Coupons
There are many websites with coupons for the printing. Here are a few to try: coupons.com
couponcabin.com
bargainshare.com
thecouponclippers.com
Do not pay for coupons. That is not a coupon. That is a rip-off. If registration is required, give your secondary e-mail address. Registering will likely result in you being added to an e-mailing list which may lead to you receiving advertising and spam. Not to worry, as long as it doesn’t clog up your personal e-mail account. There’s a new twist to the “coupon” world—Groupon. For more information, see page 363.
Going Once, Going Twice, Sold!
There is an alternative to paying a set price asked for an item.
You can decide to do your shopping on an auction website such as eBay. These sites operate very much as a live auction does. If there is an object you are interested in purchasing you place a bid on the item. You watch the bidding to see if someone bids higher and then you can decide if you want to go higher, and so on. This goes on until the deadline for the bidding is reached. The highest bidder then pays for the item and it is shipped to them.
Many people buy and sell on auction sites with happy results all around, but you must have your guard up. It is extremely important that you click on and read the Terms of Use, Rules, or Policies. The rules of the auction site must be perfectly clear to you before you become involved in buying or selling.
• eBay policy page.
Although you view an auction item on a given auction website, who is responsible if the item doesn’t arrive, is broken, or is not what it appeared to be? Often that responsibility is with the seller, not the auction site. How comfortable are you with that situation? Who is this seller anyway?
These issues illustrate why it is so important to familiarize yourself with an auction site’s policies and stick with reputable auction sites. Although eBay may be one of the best known auction websites, it isn’t the only good one.
Here are some other auction sites to visit:
ubid.com (a general auction site)
skyauction.com (specializes in travel auctions)
biddingforgood.com (a portion of the proceeds goes to charity)
For now, let’s use eBay as our gold standard. Visit ebay.com (no need to type the b in caps). Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on Policies. Take the time to read everything this page presents. The policies for whatever site you use to buy or sell should be as clear and specific as eBay’s.
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
Why “eBay”? Rumor has it the founder of the site, Pierre Omidyar, wanted to name it echobay.com after his company, Echo Bay Technology Group. Someone had already registered that domain name, so he settled for eBay and the rest is history.
Standard Procedures
Auction sites usually charge a fee to the seller. The fee may apply whether your item sells or not, or the fee may only apply if the item sells. There is a time limit for how long an item is at auction. If you really want the item, get your final bid in just before the bidding closes. My heart is racing just writing about it! The reserve price, which is typically unknown to the bidders, is the lowest price, the seller will accept. Some sellers also list a “buy-it-now” price, eliminating the hassle and nerve-racking auction process. Frankly, I would rather buy the item outright than play the auction game. The suspense is too much for me.
Both sellers and buyers are required to register with the auction website. (Use the same registration and password guidelines that I suggest throughout the book.) As a matter of fact, you will be using a lot of the same skills discussed previously to get the most out of your auction experience. For example, use the internal search engine of an auction site to compare prices on what you want to sell or buy. Also, be on the lookout for a list of categories at the top or sides of the window to narrow your search.
Armed with the preceding information, find and buy the vintage Louis Vuitton handbag your mother gave away before you were old enough to appreciate it. Sell the awful lamp your sister-in-law gave you, because there is someone out there who will think it’s beautiful. Bid on the missing Hummel to complete your collection. Good luck!
• You can either browse a site’s categories or use the internal search engine to find what you want.
Advice for the Buyer
Before you decide to participate in an auction, watch a few auctions online from start to finish. Get the lay of the land. Here are some more helpful tips for buyers:
• Do not be lured away from the auction site you know and trust by the promise of that same item at a lower price by a private seller. That is called “bid siphoning.” Once you leave the auction site, you leave the protection it guarantees.
• Stick with the top price you set for yourself. Sellers may have “shills” who drive up prices with no intention of buying. (Shills are a violation of most auction policies.) They rely on buyers to get caught up in the moment and overbid.
• Take heed of other people’s experiences. Usually a website offers a place where people can review their experiences with a particular seller. The rating scale (another term for review) should be near the ID or e-mail address of the seller.
• Do not assume the rules are the same from one auction site to another. Some websites offer a tour of how the site works or a tutorial on how to use the site. If there is a bidding tutorial offered, take advantage of it.
• Investigate shipping costs, warranty, and return policy.
• You name a collectible and you can find it on the Internet.
Advice for the Seller
Before you list your baseball card collection on an auction website, get familiar with how these websites work. There are as many shifty buyers as there are sellers. You need to have your head about you as a seller. Here are helpful tips for sellers:
• Be as specific as possible about the condition of the item. You don’t want to give the buyer the opportunity to return something on the excuse that the description was inaccurate.
• A good photo will save you a thousand words about the object.
• Be clear about who incurs the shipping expense. If you’re selling a large or heavy object, you may not want to be the one to pay to ship it cross country.
• Decide and
post a clear return policy. The more transparent your policies, the less wiggle room for the buyer.
• If the buyer suggests an online payment service that you’ve never heard of, check it out with a phone call or a visit to the website before you agree. Don’t accept a payment arrangement that makes you uncomfortable. The standard website to facilitate payments is PayPal.
• Be on the lookout for fraudulent checks or money orders. If there is any question about a check’s authenticity, bring it to your bank and ask a bank officer to have a look before you ship to the buyer. Most sellers stipulate a seven-day waiting period, to make sure the check clears, before shipping an item.
THE CLASSIFIEDS
Just as your local paper lists classified ads, the Internet offers the same convenient way to advertise to sell or buy a used car, rent your apartment, or find a masseur. All of the same precautions we’ve discussed previously should be taken here. If the website or transaction seems fishy, walk away. If it all seems right, go for it!
Some better-known classified websites for you to visit:
craigslist.com
skepter.com
classifiedads.com
Born Free
The Internet is sort of a mixed bag when it comes to what is free and what appears to be free and ends up not free at all. Here’s a good example: You want to design an invitation for Bastille Day. You search on a search engine (i.e., Google, Yahoo!, etc.), as described in the previous chapter, hoping to find free clip art that relates to Bastille Day. Holy smokes! More than 165,000 websites come up. I don’t want to disappoint you, but most of the clip art sites in your results aren’t free at all. Sure, you can use some of the (how shall I say this and remain polite?) “less attractive” clip art, but the good stuff? That you’ll have to pay for. It’s a sneaky technique. Based on principle, I don’t buy from a website that touts “free” and then doesn’t live up to it. I find it underhanded and disingenuous.
Here’s the good news… there are websites that offer free advice, free information, and, yes, free stuff for free. One of my all-time favorite websites is freecycle.org. At freecycle.org, you’ll find all kinds of things that people want to dispose of and are willing to give away rather than sell. The whole spirit of the website appeals to me. (Although there is no law governing the use of .org, it is intended to be used only with nonprofit sites. If you type freecycle.com, you will arrive at an entirely different website.)
Even though the site is full of free stuff, become acquainted with their site procedures by clicking About Us or FAQ (frequently asked questions).
• Freecycle.org’s home page.
Up, Up, and Away
The Internet offers you not only the opportunity to research where you might want to go on vacation, but what is the best way to get there, where you should stay, and how you should get around while you’re there. What more can you ask?
There are several really good travel websites that you might recognize because the same companies that supply the travel books host them:
fodors.com
frommers.com
lonelyplanet.com
If you don’t find the hotel you desire with the resources cited here, you can either search on google.com or try hotels.com. Most hotels have their own websites with a photo gallery, the location of the hotel on a map, and the capability of making reservations online.
One of the more intimidating transactions to complete online is the reservation and purchase of airline tickets. Almost all airlines have a web storefront where you can purchase airline tickets directly from the carrier. There are also websites that compare airline, hotel, and rental car prices for you. You can make your reservations through these websites and be offered some great discounts. However, be aware that you may be subject to the website’s policies and not the airline, hotel, or rental car company’s policies.
Being able to track down the flight that best meets your travel needs is miraculous. (You could stop the process there and call the airline or your travel agent with the flight information to finalize the purchase. I did that for years before I decided to take the plunge and actually purchase the airline tickets online. But now that most travel agents charge a fee to issue tickets, I almost always buy online.)
Before you take the plunge, it’s best to have a printer—as likely as not you already do—because the common practice on the part of airlines is to e-mail you an e-ticket (electronic ticket), which you print and bring to the airport in lieu of having the airline mail you a ticket. You don’t have to print out your e-ticket—you can pick it up at the airport—but I get nervous without some acknowledgment I can carry in my hand to the check-in desk. There are kiosks in most airports where you can use your credit card to get your boarding pass, or if you have proper identification the representative at the ticket desk will print your boarding pass for you.
There are many travel sites out there, and new ones sprout up all the time. Here are some of the better known discount airline websites:
orbitz.com
expedia.com
flights.com
kayak.com
travelocity.com
A PENNY SAVED…
Airline carriers have taken to charging a fee for tickets purchased over the phone, so if you buy your ticket online rather than over the phone, it’s almost as if it’s discounted.
When I shop for airfares, I experiment with several sites to compare prices and flight times. Once I decide on the flight, I usually visit the airline carrier’s website to check if they can match the lowest price. Be sure to add up any fees and taxes before you decide which is the better deal.
Take your time filling in the search form. Click on Expand Search Options, Advanced, or More Search Options to specify one-way, round-trip, multiple stops, and so on. When you type your destination, avoid abbreviations unless you know the airport code; otherwise, type the full name of the city, state, and country. The more specific your departure and arrival dates and times, the leaner your results.
• Some travel websites.
The list of available flights can be sorted by price, departure times, and/or length of flight. Pay attention to whether there are stopovers. How long is the stopover? Too tight for the connecting flight or so long that you lose a day of your vacation?
In the event that you need to cancel or change your reservation, the change fees with discount tickets can run over $100. If there is an opportunity to buy travel insurance at the time of purchase, you may want to consider it. Investigate travel insurance when making hotel and car rental reservations as well.
Happy trails!
The Buck Stops Here
At some point, the day of reckoning arrives and you have to pay for your purchases. That’s where online banking comes in handy. No more writing checks, licking the yucky envelope, or paying postage. In one fell swoop you can pay all of your bills online in a few minutes. Contact your bank and find out if they offer online banking. You may be pleasantly surprised to learn that because online banking saves the bank money, many banks share the savings by not charging a fee to pay bills online. Ask if that’s true at your bank.
If your bank does offer online banking you will be able to go to their website to view your account balance, see any recent transactions, look up past transactions, order checks, transfer from one account to another, and pay both monthly bills and onetime bills. Other than actually getting hard cash in your hands or making deposits to the bank, there isn’t much that can’t be done with online banking.
* * *
“I no longer have to spend hours balancing my checkbook at the end of the month. I view my balance online every day and always know the status of my account.”
—Marlena
* * *
Do I Need the Payee’s Account Number?
Whether it is your telephone company or your local florist, the bank can make a payment from your checking account to the payee online. All you need to give to the bank is the mailing address of the payee alon
g with any account number you may have with them. You do not need any bank account information from the person or company that you want to pay online.
• The bill payment window of Bank of America’s website.
Register with Your Bank
Access your bank’s website to register to view your account and pay bills, among other things. Some banks issue an ID and password. Others let you choose it yourself. (I will resist reminding you again about password protocol.) This is one of the rare times that you may be asked to type your Social Security number. The bank uses that number to confirm your identity. Once you have gotten past that stage, you should never be asked for your Social Security number online again. If you are, call the bank directly to be sure it is a legitimate request.
• The registration page of HSBC’s website.
After registration, you will log on to your account with your ID and password.
Follow your bank’s instructions about how to input each payee for bill paying. Double-check everything you type (account name, account number, mailing address, and telephone number) to be sure it is correct. A typo can cause a payment to go astray. Eventually the problem would be corrected, but extra care during account setup will prevent possible difficulties.
I know for some of you there is too much uncertainty with banking online. Will my payments really go through? How can I be sure? What if I make a mistake with a transaction? Do I get a receipt?
• The Sign On window of Citibank’s website.
CLICK AND GO
1. Click in box, type your User ID.
2. Click in box, type Password.
3. Click on Sign On.