News-Record.com

Black Friday? Why bother.

Millions of shoppers plan to avoid the holiday crunch at malls and shopping centers this year in favor of shopping from their homes, online. I'm certainly one of them (shopping in pajamas? with hot chocolate? what could be better), though I'll probably be hitting the stores for work come Nov. 24.

If you're planning to shop from home this season, here are some tips from the local Better Business Bureau.

1. Update your spam filters, anti-virus and anti-spyware software. And make sure you have a solid firewall. Download and install any security updates and updates to your operating system. All these steps take a bit of time - but they'll ensure that you have the best protection.

2. Be in the right frame of mind. You don't have to buffer yourself to deal with crowds, but you do want to make sure you're ready to shop savvy.

3. Check out the seller's reputation. Look for customer feedback, or run Web searches. See if the seller has a profile and record with the BBB, and survey the Web site to see whether there's a seal from the BBB or another approving business group. You can search for BBBOnline merchants using key words or gift types here.

4. Don't trust retailers who don't give you an address and a customer-service phone number. Make sure you know how much the product costs, what the shipping charges are, the delivery time-frame, whether there's a warranty or guarantee, the seller's privacy policy and cancellation and return policies, the BBB says. Print out a copy of your confirmation page and keep it for your records.

5. To make sure your purchase is secure, look in the URL address box for the 's' in "https://" and the lock symbol in the lower right corner. Right-click on the page and check out the Web site's properties - you can see the real Web address and whether the site is encrypted or not.

6. Read the site's privacy policy to find out how your personal information could be used.

7. Follow your instincts. And don't believe offers that are too good to be true.

8. Be wary of e-mails that ask for additional personal information. If you receive such an e-mail, call the customer service number from the Web site and talk to a real person about whether there were problems with your transaction.