Ormny - an online reputation management firm takes a look at the reputation of various marketplaces and sellers online.  Who should you trust to buy from online?  Who handles the transaction for the purchase?  Are fraud rates online increasing?  These are some frequently asked questions about purchasing an item online.

• Who should you trust to buy from online?

There are various sites today that have credentials from trustworthy companies.  These credentials show that the seller is in good faith - a reputatble seller.  Some credentials you may see are Better Business Bureau, Authorized sellers, etc.  For auction sites and other marketplaces you can check sellers ratings.  An example of an ebay seller is below.

• Who handles the transactions?

Our company believes you should use a large processing company with great customer service.     Therefore we recommend companies such as PayPal and Google Check Out.

• Are fraud rates increasing?

Yes and No - There is no definte answer although statistics show that there has been an increase, the amount of purchases also increased.  Therefore the % of fraud is less then just a few years ago.  This has due to increase in online security.  Fraud will also flucuate - malicious attackers will always find new loopholes to perform fraudulant actions.

Summary:

We recommend buying from large vendors - even if the price is just a few bucks higher.  This will keep your sanity and you will have better support just in case somethings do go wrong.  Watch your credit card statements and watch your identity this holiday season.  Keep safe - and always turn to reputatble companies when dealing with shopping online reputation.