Buying gift baskets online does not have to be a traumatic experience! In truth, buying gift baskets online can be a rather easy and rewarding experience, as long as you know what to look for. It is as convenient as logging into your computer on your lunch break!
Here are some tips to help you when you are looking for and buying gift baskets online:
Be sure to brainstorm beforehand. What sort of gift baskets do you want to give? If you type “gift baskets” into a search engine, you will see more than 20,000 results and that can be overwhelming! If, on the other hand, you type in something more specific, like “wine country gift baskets” or “princess gift baskets” or even “Spiderman gift basket,” you are going to get narrower results. A few other favorites have the theme of kitchen supplies, games, movies or baby.
Ask your friends which are their favorite websites for buying gift baskets. Find out if they have been unhappy with any baskets they have bought or the service they received, and be sure to avoid those stores! If you cannot find personal feedback, look on the website itself. Most have areas where recent customers have left comments and concerns.
One of the great benefits of buying gift baskets online is that you can easily do price comparisons. If you find a gift basket that you absolutely love on one website, first see if you can find that same basket on another website for less money. Some gift basket stores sell baskets that are either exactly the same, or very similar. This can be extremely helpful when you are on a budget.
When you find a store that you think you like, be sure to check its warranties, guarantees, and return policies. A good store will have this information readily available. Check with the Better Business Bureau to see if any complaints have been filed against the store. Also, make sure you are not paying an arm and a leg for shipping and handling. You want to be sure that the basket that you order arrives on time and quickly, especially if it contains perishable products. Some websites that sell perishable products may only ship them on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday (so that there is less chance of the product getting stuck in a post office over the weekend). Be sure you know if this is true, it may change when you order it. Many website also give you the option of delaying shipping. If you have any doubt as to when your basket will arrive, be sure to call customer service and ask. In fact, call customer service whenever you have any questions whatsoever.
Make sure that it is a secure site. A secure website is one that use a form of encryption when transferring data across the internet – in this way, you can be sure that it is only you and the merchant who can see your credit card number and other information. A secure site will often have the symbol of an unbroken lock or key. A secure website will also often have SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) which is a cryptographic system that uses two keys to encrypt data.
