Online Holiday Shopping: How to Avoid Rip-offs

You may be getting ready to shop online and do some holiday shopping. That's how more than 40% of shoppers will buy their gifts. But you need to be careful. The Better Business Bureau says nearly 30 people have recently filed complaints saying a local internet company has not sent them the products they paid for. We'll show you how to protect your purchase online in this Seven On Your Side Consumer Watch.

Said online shopper Tina Logan, "My fiance, he just got into paintball and he wanted to order a shirt, a protection shirt. It's called a ground pounder chest vest."

Logan says she found one on Outdoorsuperstore.com, a Greenville based company selling recreation gear. She says they even sent her an email, thanking her for her order. Said Logan, "They're offering a ten percent discount on the next purchase, but I don't think we'll be doing that."

Logan says she was told to expect her order a few days. But she says after waiting about a month and placing emails and phone calls to the company, the shirt has not arrived. Said Logan, "The money was taken out of our account, we paid for it. And we never received the merchandise."

Kathy Barrett, President of the Better Business Bureau, says its received nearly 30 complaints from customers telling a similar story. Said Barrett, "They're paying for the product but they're not getting anything."

We went to the office for Outdoor Superstore. It's gone dark. Some phone numbers we tried are disconnected. We sent emails and left messages at other phone numbers for Outdoor Superstore and its parent company, Outdoor Interactive. We have not received a response back.

Now that it's holiday shopping season, many people will shop online. There are some steps you can take to make sure you get what you pay for from any online store.

Said Barrett, "Make sure the company has good information on how to contact them and it's a physical address, not a mailbox drop, not a P.O. box."

Barrett says go directly to the store's website, not through a link to it, so that you know who you're dealing with. And shop with a credit card that will refund your money if you never receive your order.

That's what Logan did and her bank has credited her account.

Here is more advice for safe online shopping from the Better Business Bureau: Check out a company first with the Better Business Bureau and the S.C. Department of Consumer Affairs. Look for the yellow lock at the bottom of a website. That means your transaction will be encrypted to protect you from identity theft. And print your receipt so you'll have a record of your purchase.

Click here for more safe online shopping tips from the BBB: http://bbbonline.org/OnlineShopTips/