Anyone who can type has the ability to set up a website or advertise their wares on an online auction site; you can't tell who's on the other side of the computer accepting your money. How can you tell whether a seller is reputable, or whether they'll take your money and run?

Shop at Reputable Outlets

If you stick to major retailers online: Sears, Macys, Boscovs, Target, etc. - you should have absolutely no worries about your online purchases. Major companies understand the value and importance of customer service and they also realize that as time goes on, more and more of their business will be coming through online sales.

Major retailers know how to treat customers and will stand by their product through the entire process to ensure that their customers are satisfied with the transaction.

Major Auction Sites

The world's biggest auction sites want to remain that way, the only way to really do so is with quality control. If customers are going to continue to shop there again and again, they need to feel safe in doing so.

E-bay has a rating system allowing users to rate a particular transaction (whether buying or selling) once the transaction is complete. The ratings are public, so potential buyers can read what other customers of selling members have had to say (good or bad) about their experience. You'll know if the item was received as described, whether or not it was worth the money, how timely the shipping and receipt of the items was - before you even bother to bid.

In an effort for total (or as close to total as possible) security and piece of mind for its users, E-bay also employs hundreds of security personnel to track and hunt down potentially fraudulent transactions.

All of this makes the online auction patrons feel secure in their shopping experiences, which is why sites like E-bay will continue to flourish even when other online retailers are faltering.

Online Marketplaces

Large online marketplaces, like Amazon, have a rating system similar to E-bay's, where users can answer a few questions after a transaction is complete describing their level of satisfaction.

Potential buyers get to see the percentage of customers that have been satisfied with both the products and service of each vendor before entering into a transaction. If a vendor has a ninety percent satisfaction rate potential shoppers can click on the percentage and view the complete ratings, both good and bad, to see why a vendor is rated at a particular percentage.

Online Review Sites

With the tremendous amount of criminal and fraudulent activity going on in the world today, several online review sites have cropped up in an effort to keep the public safe. The sole purpose of these ventures is to review customer experiences at all different types of outlets - you'll find reviews of everything from dining to construction and tattoo parlors to online shopping experiences.

These sites are generally free to join and consumers can go on and read detailed reviews of the first hand experiences that some customers have had with a business. If you've a dealing, good or bad, with a particular business, you are invited to share your experience as well so that others may benefit from it.

All shopping experiences can seem uneasy, but online shopping experiences can seem particularly dangerous because you have no idea exactly who you are dealing with. Staying safe has become a good deal easier in the recent past with the addition of customer reviews directly assessable on many sites, and online review sites dedicated to producing satisfactory experiences. The bottom line to staying safe when shopping online is to do the research on the vendor before you buy - if there are no reviews on the site and you can find no information what so ever on the only business - use extreme caution before making a purchase.