How do I know if a Website is For Real? 5 Red Flags Telling You When to Run and When to Buy.

It's happened to all of us. You are looking to buy something online, and you come accross this website with awesome prices. It's almost too good to be true! But in reality, it is too good to be true. Read on for warning signs of bad websites and how to avoid them.

Red Flag #1 - No Telephone Number

First things first, if the site doesn't have a telephone number anywhere, that is not a good sign. MrWatch has a telephone number, and it is shown in large font at the top of our website. Even better, we man our telephones with customer service staff. How does this prove anything? Well, many websites which are not reputable do not have any customer service staff, and good luck finding a telephone number at all anywhere on their website. Additionally, they will not respond to your emails, etc. Basically there is no way to contact them.

We at MrWatch offer three separate ways of contacting us. You can reach us via telephone, toll free. We also have a livechat feature where you can instant message with a customer service representative. Lastly, you can email us at any time. We resond to 99% of our emails the day they are received, pending it is received during business hours. 100% will be responded to by the next business day at the latest. (Our customer service team is available Monday through Friday, 9AM to 5PM EST)

Red Flag #2 - No Policies or Information Listed Regarding the Company

Many websites where the prices are very low will not have customer service staff (as mentioned before), they will not take the time to have real policies and will not tell you anything about their company. To be a real, functioning company you must have return policies, shipping policies, etc. MrWatch has all of our policies listed, has an FAQ section and has an "about us" section.

Red Flag #3 - Just a Plain Bad Website

Website design is another factor you should watch out for. If the website has a very simple, rudametric design, and just doesn't look very good, this can be an indicator of a site you should run from. However, if you view our site, http://www.mrwatch.com/, you can see that we have a great design platform and have a lot of detail, brand information, and the like. This is something that is important in separating the good websites from the untrustworthy.

Red Flag #4 - The Company Hasn't Been Around / Has a Bad Reputation

Reputation and longevity of the business is something else that is very important when making a buying decision. For example, we at MrWatch sell on Amazon.com. Our feedback rating on Amazon.com is 98% positive feedback. Additionally, we have a high customer service satisfaction rating on bizrate. MrWatch has been in business since 2003 - almost nine years. If we weren't reputable we would not still be in business!

Red Flag #5 - No Secure Checkout

This is a big one, and a very concerning one at that. If the checkout is not secure, basically your information is not secure either. How do you know if a company has a secure checkout? That's easy. First, the URL address at the top of your screen should change from http to https during checkout. Secondly, you should see an icon of a lock at the end of the URL. Both of these factors indicate that it is a secure checkout. Here is a screen shot to show you what to look for:




Hopefully these tips will help you stay safe and buy from the right companies online. Feel free to post below any tips you may have that we didn't mention. We always want to hear from you!!