CLEARWATER, Fla. — Cyber Monday deals, just like the weekend of deals we just experienced, are out there as more people are expected to shop online for the online deal day.
This holiday season, the National Retail Federation says more than 158 million people will have shopped between Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday. According to its survey from early November, 62.8 million will shop on Cyber Monday.
10 Tampa Bay wanted to find out the best way to protect yourself and your purchases and what to do about buyer’s remorse.
To get a sharper insight, we spoke with Monica Eaton-Cardone, the co-founder of Chargebacks911. She works with clients in 87 countries to protect millions of digital transactions — what you buy with your credit or debit card and how the disputes you make are handled.
First, she always recommends shopping with a credit or debit card because she says it offers you additional protections even if your shipment doesn’t arrive on time as promised.
“Things can go wrong, maybe you didn't receive your purchase, maybe you didn't receive your merchandise, even if you receive your merchandise if it got sent late. That isn't very helpful either and you could have ended up buying something else, even the same exact item just to get you through the holidays,” she said.
“If you have a return policy that isn't fair, then really keep in mind you always have your bank to fall back on or your credit card company.”
What about buyer’s remorse? You bought something in a store, small or large, but just found it for a better deal online. She says give the initial store the chance to make it right.
“Let’s face it, we all operate on budgets. If you find something that's dramatically lower, and it's the exact same product, the exact same quality, then I think, you know it, it makes sense to give the original retailer an opportunity to meet or beat that price,” she said.
Eaton-Cardone says it is best to work with the retailer first before filing a dispute with your bank or credit card. In fact, in cases where consumers abuse the process, it can lead to you being “blacklisted” from using that card to shop in certain stores.
She also offered the age-old advice: watch your budget and be aware of the return periods.
We checked and many companies have extended their return periods for holiday shopping as a lot of you started early and shipping delays are expected.