How To Research An Online Retailer

Found the terabyte hard drive you've been lusting after for only $100 online? Before you send your credit card info off to cheapterabyteharddrives.com, it pays to do some research first to make sure you're not going to get scammed. The Consumerist has a great list of things to do to evaluate unknown online retailers before you buy. Among the smart things I had never thought to do include noting:

Does the checkout process use an encrypted HTTPS page?

Check if the company has a yellow pages listing and street address. If you have a phone number, a company with a street address is a lot more reassuring. Check the address on Google Maps to see if it is a vacant lot or an address in a housing tract.

it's also a good idea to test a retailer (buy something cheap) before dishing out the real bucks.

(Photo via garethjmsaunders)