Tips for buying electronics safely online

The online electronic market is very diverse but also very confusing and many people end up making bad decisions when they decide to buy some electronic products online without having the slightest idea of the quality or functionality of the product. The purpose of this list of tips is to help you choose electronics online wisely.

1. Don’t rely on written reviews as your only source of information, find video reviews on YouTube, My Dailymotion, Vimeo, and others. If you're shopping at Amazon, some users often leave video reviews as well. These are best when you consider buying an electronic product because you can see for yourself how the product works, looks and feels.

2. Avoid buying products from China, Japan, Indonesia and other parts of Asia. Most vendors in these areas are selling imitation products and not the originals. These products usually have several manufacturing defects or may not work for long if they even work at all.

3. Avoid buying refurbished products! These are products that have been used and returned under a warranty or removed from warehouse and store lots due to equipment problems or product malfunction. Although these products are usually very cheap they’re not worth it and will last very little time on your hands.

4. Avoid buying laptops, tablets, phones and other products with complex operating systems that have been discontinued by the company. Once a company discontinues manufacturing and distribution of these products, the technical support for them ceases to exist.

If you have problems with your computer, you'll have to solve them on your own. Other equipment such as cameras, camcorders, music players, radios and others can be purchased after being discontinued without problems.

5. Take advantage of clearance sales and the dates when new products enter the market. When a new product arrives, the older ones fall in price.

If you're not looking for the latest model and just want an electronic that works, this is a good practice to buy good and cheap electronic equipment.

Be sure to follow these general rules: check the reviews of the store, compare the prices available at other stores, using secure payment methods, and keep all receipts of online shopping and you can receive the products.