[OT]
well, if you watch "Lost" you know that seemingly random numbers can actually have a huge amount of importance
[/OT]
Otherwise, a little bit more on topic. People often ask me "how do I know if an online shop is legit?" Well, I would suggest the following:
1. Call them during business hours
2. See if they have an address and phone number listed online
3. Check out local forums (like this one, or the magazine forums, or systemshock.co.za or even forums.prophecy.co.za) and see what people are saying about them.
4. Check out HelloPeter to see how many compliments / complaints there are about them
5. See how long they have been around for.
6. Google for their URL or name to see what people are saying on blogs etc, and if there is any press coverage of them.
To me, if a company has generally positive comments on local forums, has some positive posts on hellopeter, have their address and phone number up, and have been around for a few years, you can be very confident that they aren't a scam. Sure, things could still go wrong, but at the end of the day you should be safe.
With a newer company, I personally believe a lot in trying to get a feel for what the founder is like - because if the business does go under, it's going to be up to him or her to decide how much after sales service he or she provides. I've had one PC related business that no longer exists (closed it when we started PH), and although I have no legal obligation to provide after sales service on those components, I personally make sure that anything that can be done is done.
Artagra
well, if you watch "Lost" you know that seemingly random numbers can actually have a huge amount of importance
[/OT]
Otherwise, a little bit more on topic. People often ask me "how do I know if an online shop is legit?" Well, I would suggest the following:
1. Call them during business hours
2. See if they have an address and phone number listed online
3. Check out local forums (like this one, or the magazine forums, or systemshock.co.za or even forums.prophecy.co.za) and see what people are saying about them.
4. Check out HelloPeter to see how many compliments / complaints there are about them
5. See how long they have been around for.
6. Google for their URL or name to see what people are saying on blogs etc, and if there is any press coverage of them.
To me, if a company has generally positive comments on local forums, has some positive posts on hellopeter, have their address and phone number up, and have been around for a few years, you can be very confident that they aren't a scam. Sure, things could still go wrong, but at the end of the day you should be safe.
With a newer company, I personally believe a lot in trying to get a feel for what the founder is like - because if the business does go under, it's going to be up to him or her to decide how much after sales service he or she provides. I've had one PC related business that no longer exists (closed it when we started PH), and although I have no legal obligation to provide after sales service on those components, I personally make sure that anything that can be done is done.
Artagra
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