Thursday, October 1, 2009

Beware of Hidden Fees When Ordering Online

I just happened to be in need of a particular item that I have to special order. Of course, ordering online is always faster and more convenient than ordering by mail or telephone. I have a regular company that I have used several times successfully, but I happened to see an offer in a newspaper ad that I thought I would try out instead this time. It was a coupon code for a "buy one get one free" deal. I was happily going along, glad to be getting such a great deal, until I got to the total bill page. It seems that my "buy one get one free" was turning into not such a great deal when they added a rather large handling fee, plus a high rate for shipping. In the end, what it was going to cost would probably be the same as what I would pay to buy two of the product I wanted at regular price. The only difference was that the company wanted me to think I was getting a bargain, when in actuality, they just tried to tack on extra fees at the end to try to recover whatever cost they got me to think they were discounting. I emptied my online shopping cart with that company and went back to my regular old standby. Sometimes the place that has already been giving you good customer service is still the best deal. Be aware of the psychological tricks companies try to use to lure you into doing business with them. If you see something odd, or wonder about extra fees, don't close the deal!

thethriftyhousewife

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