The Washington Times

December 11, 1999

SHOPPING BY MOUSE HAS PITFALLS

The experience is called dot com shopping, e-commerce or cyber-buying. One purchases stuff, in other words, via the Internet. The sheer scope is dizzying. Thousands of Web sites offer swank geegaws, fancy lingerie, chocolate-covered curiosities, Christmas wreaths, cookbooks, dog tuxedos, inflatable boats, vintage cuff links. On-line retailers are giddy over the fact that Americans will triple the amount they spent in 1997, pointing and clicking their way down gift lists this season.

The whole phenomenon has pitted those who woo these shoppers against those who warn them.

"There's lots to love about shopping in a house - with a mouse. No worrying about weather conditions, store hours, waiting in line," said Michael Kessler, a New York-based fraud investigator. "Let the buyer beware," Mr. Kessler said. "The Internet enables fakes to participate on the same playing ground as established companies. Computer-savvy criminals can reach an enormous audience simply by constructing an attractive Web site."

During Thanksgiving week alone, the Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Reports and the Consumer Federation of America warned would-be buyers.

The National Association of Consumer Agency Administrators announced a new Web site (www.nacaanet.org) D- that lists corporate contacts and samples of consumer complaint letters for those who want to complain.

And complain they do.

Complaints about on-line shopping have risen 39 percent this year, rife with tales of lousy and nonexistent merchandise, exorbitant shipping fees - sometimes up to 50 percent of the item cost – and unrealistic delivery claims.

The FTC issued on-line shoppers' guidelines that cautioned people to check with the Better Business Bureau, protect passwords and credit card numbers, and only use secure servers that show a little padlock icon somewhere on the screen.

Ironically, electronic shoppers are encouraged to rely on hard-copy printouts of their transaction to "serve as an insurance policy."

On-line retailers, however, are striking back by presenting a user-friendly image.

Some 80 companies, including America Online and Time Warner, have joined the new Online Privacy Alliance, vowing to protect their users' precious particulars. Hundreds more have agreed to comply with the tenets of "TRUSTe," the Good Housekeeping seal of cyberspace.

Many offer complex descriptions of security and privacy policies.

The Better Business Bureau Online, meanwhile, has set up new privacy standards and now accredits retailers who play by the rules.

Then there are the aesthetics of the shopping act itself. Computers just don't have the tactile reward or pleasant hubbub of reality-based shopping in a store or mall.

On-line retailers are spending millions to pump up the e-commerce shopping experience through sophisticated print, radio and TV ads, painting it as an easy and sophisticated liberation from the woes of malls and crowded schedules.

Smiling parents order beloved toys for their offspring from cozy kitchens; the young and restless wallow in the Web's endless possibilities.

But this idyllic world is not all it's cracked up to be.

Rather than a satisfying sale, on-line shoppers can instead encounter "try later, server busy" greetings, or the more dreaded "sorry, item out of stock."

A survey of on-line retailers by Jupiter Communications, an industry analysis group, revealed that just 10 percent of the retailers felt their sites could handle a quick doubling of volume - common during the shopping season.

"The lesson here," noted one analyst, "is that Internet commerce is much more than a Web site and a marketing plan."

POINT-AND-CLICK POINTERS

Tempted to shop on line? The Federal Trade Commission advises:

* Know the vendor. Check with the Better Business Bureau or the state Attorney General's Office if there is any doubt.

* Protect privacy. Buy from a vendor with established, posted privacy policies, and only provide a password, credit card number and shipping information.

* Use a credit card. Under federal law, liabilities for unauthorized charges are limited to $50.

* Use a secure server. Look for an "unbroken key or padlock" icon somewhere on the site.

Check delivery dates. An FTC rule requires sellers to ship items no later than 30 days after the order is made, or notify the buyer and give them a chance to cancel the order.

* Check shipping and handling fees. Designate a preference - standard, two-day or overnight - or the seller may decide for you.

* Track purchases. Print out and save all electronic transactions, seller's address, legal terms and any e-mail messages.

For more information, call the FTC toll free (877/382-4357) or visit its consumer Web site at www.ftc.com.