With the increasing use of internet, online buying is gaining popularity among most of the people. Nowadays, many people prefer to shop various items online which they used to buy offline. Moreover, online buying saves time and a person can buy anything he wants at the comfort of his home. And buying jewelry on internet is no exception to this. But there are certain risks of buying jewelry online. Following are the risks associated with buying jewelry online.
1. No physical inspection of the items - Though it is comfortable to buy jewelry online but the buyer is unable to inspect the item right way. He can’t check the item by having the piece in hand which is possible during offline shopping. The picture of the pieces shown on the site may not match with the actual pieces.
2. Stolen jewelry - There are chances that you may get the jewelry exactly as described on the website but it might be a stolen piece. This may invite police and investigation at your home leaving you angry and frustrated.
3. Missing information - Most of the times the jewelry listed on the site matches with the specifications mentioned on the site regarding the weight, carat etc but when you get the piece on delivery, you find that it contains cracks and damages which make you depressed.
4. Fake pieces - Many times the photos and pictures of the jewelry listed on the website match with the product delivered to you but the pictures of the jewelry may be listed as natural ones while you may be delivered artificial pieces. This makes a big difference of cost.
5. Less chances of refund - If you buy the jewelry pieces from online outlets there are chances that you won’t get refund if you are not satisfied with the product unless the payment option includes credit card or PayPal option. Many sites sell jewelry for cash and there is more risk of not getting refund.
6. High shipping cost - Many sites sell jewelry at cheap rates but when the item is delivered to your doorstep you may be charged high shipping charges. This is the most common way of recouping low prices by many online outlets. Moreover, if the item is flawed, you will have to bear double shipping charges to send back the item.
Thus online buying invites a number of problems. However, it is possible to deal with most of these risks by dealing with merchant websites that have better business bureau affiliation.