Online shopping can save you time and money. It is a great way to find bargains that you may not be able to get locally.

The only trouble is how do you know you will get your online order? Many have heard the horror stories of fly by night websites, companies never shipping their items, etc.

When you shop locally you are able to get your item the same day and you know the store will be there if you have a problem with your item. Today I am going to provide you with some safe online shopping tips.

1. Make sure you can contact the business if a problem arises. Never order from a website that does not provide contact information. The website should provide a telephone number, a physical mailing address and an email address/contact us form.

2. If the offer seems too good to be true it probably is. If you find the latest electronic gadget for $150 online and local stores are selling it for $750 walk away. Most likely you will never get the product or you will find out it is a stolen item.

3. Make sure the website order form is secure. You should see https:// in the web browser window. This means your data is secure.

4. Check out the website shipping, exchange and returns policy. Beware if they don't have one. You could run into trouble if your item arrives broken or the shirt does not fit.

5. Another good thing to do is go to Google and type in the name of the online store and the word complaints. If other people have had problems with the store you are likely to find complaints online.

6. Last of all check out the websites privacy policy. Many websites will sell or abuse your information. Make sure you check out how they handle your personal information: including your name, email address, telephone number and mailing address.

I hope you found our article on online shopping useful. Good luck and happy bargain hunting!