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The mainstream press and tv news love to talk about online
ripoffs. This has made a lot of consumers very reluctant to use the
internet for money saving purchases.
Here are some tips to help with the process:
1. Has the chinese quad website been on the internet for some time.
A domain name search will reveal a person's name and address and the
date the domain name was registered. If a company claims on their
website that they have been selling and shipping for 3 years their
website name should not have been registered a couple of months ago.
Websites can change and a company can start a new web presence under a
new domain but a domain name registration of more than a year is a sign
of permanency.
2. Does the chinese quad company have an 800 number?
An 800 or toll free phone number indicates a real company. If you are
buying from an individual, does the phone number work and does someone
answer?
3. Does the chinese quad company have an address listed on the website?
If you have a physical address for the company, a search on Mapquest or
some other map website will reveal if the address is a residential home
or is actually located on what appears to be a commercial street.
Again, an individual dealer may be drop shipping out of a residential
location but at least you know more about who you are dealing with.
This also will work for the address revealed in step one domain search.
4. Does the chinese quad dealer offer a warranty? Most chinese quad
deals feature a parts only warranty from 30 to 90 days with some
dealers extending the engine to a full year. Is the warranty explained
in detail on the website?
5. Does the chinese quad dealer have a record with BBB? Try searching
online or calling the Better Business Bureau in the state where the
dealer is located to find out about complaints and ratings of the
dealer.
6. Does the dealer accept credit card payments for your new chinese
quad? Credit cards offer fraud protection as part of their service.
Don't use a debit card or check card as these do not provide the same
fraud protection and offer a route into your bank account.
7. If buying on eBay, check the seller's feedback rating. The rating
should be well over 100 and be over 99.5% positive. Be cautious if the
feedback shows many negative or neutral ratings.
8. Does the eBay seller have a Square Trade rating? This is an indication of the seller integrity and performance.
9. Will the eBay seller accept PayPal payments for your chinese quad? PayPal has a very good dispute resolution service.
10. Does the chinese quad deal seem too good to be true? The wholesale
price won't vary much from one dealer to another so the price of your
dream chinese quad should not be very much different from one online
deal to the next. A business has to operate with a profit margin and
shipping costs are about the same across the board for everybody. Ebay
auctions are a bit different in that the final selling price is binding
and the seller is obligated to provide the merchandise as stated but
beware of inflated shipping costs to offset a low purchase price.
These ten tips will not guarantee that you won't get burned. After all,
a determined con artist can make the offer seem very legitimate and
real but they will go a long way toward raising your comfort level when
buying a chinese quad online.
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