Reflection on E-commerce (Activity 6)

 ChrisGPT 4.0 mini

What are your considerations to avoid or mitigate risks in E-commerce?

Here are the results:

As an online shopper, I cannot deny the fact that there are various risks about online shopping. Though online shopping was created to ease our life, there are scenarios wherein it can become a burden. These scenarios include being scammed, receiving defect products, and more. Therefore, in order to avoid these concerns, I have various techniques to ensure that I do not experience the risks of E-commerce. 

First, I only shop in stores that have multiple good feedback from the customers. One way to determine that a shop is credible and provides good service is through its store rating which is rated by customers. If a store has a rating of greater than 4, I considered that shop as trustworthy. Moreover, I shop at stores that are recommended by my friends. With this way, I can ensure that the owner of the store is not a scammer which gives me confidence to shop online.

Second, I always check the ratings of the product. There are certain cases wherein a product has good ratings from 6 customers which I considered not reliable since some of these ratings can be altered and modified. I only put my trust in products that have more than 50 ratings to ensure that the rating is authentic and not manipulated. Moreover, the importance of checking the rating of the product is the commentaries by the customers such as the packaging and the status of the product (if there are any defects). This process is important because it gives me a sense of security when the product is well-packed; resulting in avoidance of temporal risk when the product has been damaged. 

Third, I always communicate with the store's owner, before, during, and after any transaction. This is always my habit when it comes to purchasing online because I want to make sure that my expectations are met. There are scenarios wherein I ask for what the packaging is so that if I think it is not sufficient to protect the product that I am purchasing, I ask for additional and willing to pay for it. This habit is beneficial for me since all of my purchases arrived safely. In addition, I always ask for proof of transactions from other customers or ask for their Identification Card and Business Permit. In addition, I only provide personal informations such as address and phone number if they provided their information as well. 

Lastly, I only purchase from stores that allow Cash On Delivery as their mode of payment. I am hesitant when it comes to payment first method since there are scammers in the field of E-commerce. However, there are rare scenarios wherein I pay a 50% downpayment first and then the remaining amount is to be followed after I have received the product. I only do this type of payment if I trust the store owner or if I have completed multiple transactions from them.