subject: How to buy slimming products without getting scammed [print this page] How to buy slimming products without getting scammed
There are a lot of sites on the internet promising prices on slimming products that are almost too good to be true. Here's how to go about making sure you're buying a genuine product rather than waving goodbye to your credit card details.
Search carefully, using Google or Yahoo for the particular product you want. Open several of the sites which come up so that you can compare them.
Does the site you are looking at appear professional? Or does it look like a teenager's school project? Examples include: using cartoons or clipart instead of photographs, highly-coloured graphics or text, using several different font styles on one page. Close any unprofessional looking site.
Does the site publish an address and phone number? Is the phone number a cell phone? If so, that's a red flag.
Go to maps.google.com and type the address into the search box. Use Google Streetview to have a look at the street. Does it appear to be residential? If so, that's a red flag too.
If Google doesn't have Streetview for that street, zoom into the map. Check if there are any other businesses nearby you will see them appear on the map when you are zoomed in close enough. For example, a restaurant will show as a knife and fork icon, hotels with a bed, dentists with a tooth, general businesses with a briefcase. If it seems to be a residential area, then forget this supplier.
Go to the Better Business Bureau at www.bbb.org. Enter the exact name of the business as it appears on the website, and the location, into the search box. Check the report which comes up. The business doesn't have to be accredited, but if it is then that's a great sign. You will find a table of complaints received against the business. Obviously the less complaints, the better.
Scroll right down to the end of the page for more information. Near the end you'll find a section giving dates for how long the business has been on file with the BBB, and how long it's been operating. If it's been on file less than a year, that's not so good.
The final step. This one is a little tricky. Go to internic.net and type the main part of the website address, plus the ending, into the search box and press the search button. The next page will show some data which probably won't make much sense. Look for a line called "Whois server". This will give you a URL which you now need to copy and paste into your web browser, then search the name again at that site. I know this is a little complex, but it can be quite revealing. You should now be looking at the registrant details in other words, the person who bought the domain name and presumably owns the website. If the details come up as "Privacy hosting services" or similar, that is a huge red flag. Do not ever consider doing business with a website registered like this. Check the details do they match the address given on the website? It may not be a huge deal small companies often hire web designers who register websites in their own names and addresses. But if the website is registered outside of the US, Canada, Australia or UK, I would treat it with utmost caution.
You may be wondering why I didn't advise you to Google the company name and the words "review", "scam", "complaint", etc. The reason is that it's very easy for anyone online to pay people to leave made-up reviews and testimonials all over the web. It's equally easy to pay those people to leave fictional complaints about your competitors everywhere! That's why I rely primarily on the BBB and domain registration services they cannot be swayed by opinion, and deal only in facts.
Good luck in your search for slimming products and stay safe.
