Placing orders online has become second nature for many Internet users. But even the most seasoned buyer can sometimes fall into web traps. Here are three reflexes to adopt to only get good deals on the Internet.
Between the end-of-year holidays, sales, Black Friday and all the other promotional events that take place month after month, there are numerous opportunities to order online. Buying in just a few clicks is convenient, and millions of French people do not deprive themselves of it on a daily basis: you are probably even one of them if you are reading this article!
But have you ever wondered if you have all the best practices to get good deals and, above all, to avoid being fooled by the traps that abound on online sales platforms? Before pulling out your bank card, try to adopt these three reflexes.
Check the legitimacy of online sales sites
An advertisement on a social network, a sponsored search result at the top of Google, a suggestion from an influencer… Today, there are numerous requests associated with original and useful products offered at attractive prices. After all, this gadget only costs a few euros, what are you risking?
First of all, you risk not receiving it at all! Then, a lot of these products come from China and are unfortunately of poor quality. They are generally shipped by ephemeral platforms which practice what is called dropshipping: this approach consists of making people believe that a quality product is sold by a French e-commerce site, when in fact it is reality of an often poor quality item sent from China. Its value is often well below what you pay…
To avoid falling into a trap of this type, it is important to check whether the online sales site has been around for a long time or not, or whether the product is sold elsewhere at a similar price. To do this, you can photograph the photo of the product in question with a tool like Google Lens, in order to do a visual search on the Internet. Finally, you can also look for customer reviews on sites like Trustpilot, for example.
Secure your transactions on all your devices
With a smartphone, you can treat yourself to a shopping session anywhere: in a station, a train, an airport, a café, a waiting room… You may even connect to public Wi-Fi to take advantage of ‘a better connection and validate your purchases. Please be aware that while such practices may seem harmless, they put your personal data in a vulnerable situation! Indeed, a poorly configured network or server can allow hackers to recover your personal data, including that associated with your payment method, when you use it on e-commerce sites.
One of the most effective ways to protect your personal data and avoid online scams is touse a VPNthat is to say a private and encrypted network, intended to make your personal information irrecoverable.
Indeed, a VPN creates a secure connection between your device and the site you are visiting by encrypting your data. This means that the information you send, such as your banking details or login details, becomes unreadable for hackers. Think about it the next time you’re shopping online away from home!
Make sure you pay the best price
For certain types of products, notably plane tickets, hotel reservations or even car rental, the prices charged can vary greatly depending on the country from which you are connecting. It is possible that a plane ticket costs more if you buy it from France than from a country where purchasing power is lower.
In this kind of situation, using a VPN can once again help you. This can allow you to virtually change your geographic location in order to compare prices offered in different regions of the globe. At the same time, the VPN prevents your connection from being identified and tracked by the sites you visit, which prevents them from changing prices if you visit them several times in a row: this attitude can, in fact, show your interest in a product or service, and therefore encourage the site that sells it to offer it to you at an increasingly higher price.
Note also that a VPN can also be useful to you abroad, if you want to make online purchases which are, for example, only possible from your country of origin. Even at the ends of the world, by selecting your country from the list of available servers, you can surf the Internet like at home.
Take advantage of Surfshark VPN’s winter deals
Using a VPN is an effective way to secure your browsing on e-commerce sites, protect your personal data and take advantage of the best offers. And speaking of great deals, you can turn to the winter deals from Surfshark, one of the most popular VPN services at the moment. A single subscription allows you to secure an unlimited number of devices.
Until January 5, 2025, Surfshark offers up to 87% reduction on its various offers including 24 months of commitment. The most accessible is called Surfshark Starter: it costs €1.99 per month for 24 months, and it is supplemented by 4 additional months of subscription which are free. So, the 28 months of access cost you only €55.72. This offer includes access to Surfshark’s secure VPN, as well as a full adblocker.
To go further, you can turn to the Surfshark One offer, which costs €2.49 per month for 24 months and which also benefits from 4 additional months free. It all costs you €69.72 for 28 months of use. In addition to everything included in the previous subscription, this plan includes a whole set of tools to protect your online identity as well as your devices with a powerful antivirus. This is Surfshark’s most popular offering.