My friend lives in Box Hill and he does his shopping online. He visits different web sites and buys from them every now and then. I call him a shopaholic. This means that he spends too much money and time on buying different things. He does not even go to the local supermarket and does his shopping online. My friend gets the food he buys delivered to his door. He tells me that he is very careful when he buys items online because people can sometimes have very unpleasant surprises when they shop online. My friend says that he uses trusted web sites to do his shopping. He bought a medical book from Hong Kong for $60. The same book is sold in Australia for $150. My friend saved a lot of money.
Now it is easier than ever to do your shopping online. For example people can visit real estate web sites to have a look on houses and units before buying their own.
Sometimes people have problems when they buy goods online. They pay the money but never get the goods they paid for. Sometimes they buy things from companies that are not in Australia and they can’t have their money back. This is called a SCAM. If they buy an item from a company in Australia, consumers are protected by the Australian law. The police can help in some situations too.
Sometimes a person can contact the company that runs the web site and they can help him or her get a refund.
In Australia there is a web site to help consumers and give them advice. It is called the Consumers Affairs web site. You can find it at www.accc.gov.au. This web site has a lot of information to help you.
As for me, I don’t like online shopping. I hate using my credit card to buy things. I only use my credit card when I pay my bills. I pay the phone bill online using my telephone company’s web site. I also use my electricity and gas companies’ web sites to pay the bills.
