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Shopping safely on the Web

Smita Tripathi

Have you always dreamt about shopping for books and music from home and avoiding the hustle and bustle of Connaught Place or Spencer's Plaza? And have you dreamt about a cyber-shopping expedition but were deterred by the fear of e-fraud?

Take a look at 25-year-old executive Swati Sharma who has just been on her first cyber-shopping trip. Sharma is a Kishore Kumar fan and she's just bought a CD of the singer's top hits from Saregama's website hamaracd.com. <>What's stopped her buying on the Net before: she didn't want to hand over her credit card details. But hamaracd.com has other arrangements. Says Sharma: "I never shopped on the Net before because I was afraid of giving my credit card number. But this site gives me the option of paying by cheque or cash on delivery. So shopping is safer."

Sharma, is not alone - and neither is hamaracd.com. More people are buying books and music on the Net. But the big deterrent has always been the fear of credit card fraud. So, many of the top sites are now offering different payment options.

Customers can now pay by cheque, demand draft, direct payment to partner banks and even cash on delivery. Of course, all the sites have the option of paying by credit card and they all say it is safe and that there is no scope for misuse. Says Vikram Singh, a Delhi-based lawyer, "Sites which have the Verisign logo are considered safe for they have taken all possible precautions against fraud. However, the fact remains that you never know when a hacker may strike where."

In India the idea of buying vegetables or the weekly provisions on the Net still hasn't caught on. But people are slowly embracing the idea of buying books and CDs. And the top Indian shopping sites - like indiatimes.com, rediff.com, hamaracd.com, firstandsecond.com and fabmart.com - are coming with bigger and better offers to lure customers.

The simplest transaction is, of course, cash on delivery. Here the buyer pays for the order only when it lands on his doorstep. Most sites calculate the COD charges based on the weight of the item. However, some sites charge COD on value of the items purchased. For instance, indiatimes.com charges Rs 30 if the order is below Rs 400 and nil if it is above Rs 400.

In case of COD, it is necessary to tell the company when you will home to receive the delivery. Most sites have different time slots and you are required to click on the appropriate time. For instance, hamaracd.com has time slots starting from 8am to 8pm.

Since you need to pay for the product on its delivery, cash on delivery restricts the option of presenting the book or CD to a friend. If you would like to do that, then you can pay by cheque or demand draft and give your friend's address as the shipping address.

Paying by cheque slows down your order because companies do not ship your orders until they receive your cheque/demand draft and your payment is cleared by the concerned bank. Local cheques take two to four business days to be cleared while outstation cheques take five to 10 business days to be cleared. Once the cheque has been cleared, your product is shipped within seven working days.

While mailing the cheque to the concerned company it is necessary to write your email id and order number behind the cheque. Also, there is a form that must be filled in, printed out and sent with the cheque. Sites also give you the option of depositing the cheques with any of their partner banks. For instance, firstandsecond.com has tied up with Global Trust and Centurion Bank and so you can deposit a cheque with any branch of these banks.

If you wish to present a book or CD, the sites will also send it gift wrapped. Firstandsecond.com charges Rs 15 for gift wrapping.

Most sites charge shipping costs separately. For instance, fabmart.com charges fixed shipping costs of Rs 20. On the other hand, firstandsecond.com charges shipping costs based on the value of the order.

Shopping on the Net for books, music and VCDs is very convenient if you know exactly what you are looking for. For example, if you are looking for a particular title then you can simply order it and it will be delivered home or presented to a friend. However, if you want to browse through a book before buying, then it's not such a good idea for most sites do not give you sufficient reviews of the book.

But, there are some very good bargains on the Net. For instance, indiatimes.com is currently selling 20 books at 40 per cent off. These include the Love Sonnets of Ghalib which is available for Rs 597 instead of Rs 995. Similarly, firstandsecond.com sells the week's 15 best selling titles at 30 per cent off every week. Rediff.com is presently selling Charlie Chaplin VCDs for Rs 99 and that too under the buy one get one free scheme. Thus for Rs 99, you can get two films.

If you would like to customise your CD, then hamaracd.com is a must see. For Rs 275, the site allows you to custom-make your own CD from its collection of Indian songs. You can select up to 60 minutes of your favourite music from a large variety of songs which have been categorised under languages, singers, musicians, lyricists and styles. You have the option of hearing a song before selecting it.

The site also allows you to customise the CD cover. You can choose the CD title, image on the cover and a message which is printed on the inside cover of your CD. The CD is shipped within seven working days and there are no additional shipping charges.

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