Topic 5 Transacting
Technologies have created a new concept of marketing. Always more often, buyers and sellers do not see each other and the goods or services are bought without seeing them physically. In this case, all parts of the business relationship is carried out online with the help of new technologies. The process is made by three main steps:
- Pre-purchase/Sale: In this stage, the product or service is advertised online with some details for the customers.
- Purchase/Sale: When a customer likes a particular product or service, they buy it and make the payment online*
- Delivery Stage: This is the final stage where the goods purchased are delivered to the consumer.
*Online payment: When a customer would buy something through e-commerce, usually also the transaction will be online using an electronic fund transfer. Almost all websites require registration before the purchase (using an ID, email, password, etc.) to have all the information about the buyer. After the registration, the product has to be paid. The website can offer different options. Here are the most used:
- Cash on delivery: the customer pays when they receive the product
- Credit or Debit Card
- Banking Transfer
- Payment services: Payments are handled through a payment gateway. It is a payment processor that manages the transactions and keeps secure the customer’s information. Example: PayPal
- Scammers pretend to be from an organization you know, for example the company you work for or a governmental agency
- Scammers are able to use technology to change the phone number that appears on your phone or the name of the person from whom the e-mail is received. So always check the email address
- Scammers say there is a problem or a prize.
- Scammers pressure you to act immediately
- Scammers tell you to pay in a specific way that usually is a non-traceable and a non-returnable payment method
- Block unwanted calls and text messages when you recognize that they could be a Scam
- Never give personal or financial information unless you know and trust the person/company you are sending them to
- Always prefer trustworthy and well-known online shops
