How to check an online store before you buy

A convincing storefront is easy to build. Check who's behind it before you pay.

The answer in 2 lines. Before buying from an unfamiliar store, check who actually sells the item, how to contact them, and where returns must go. Search the seller's name with “complaint” or “scam,” and read reviews outside its own website. Compare the total price, including shipping and fees. Read shipping and refund terms before paying, preferably by credit card. A polished design, an advertisement or an encrypted connection doesn't establish that a seller is legitimate.

Start with these checks

Identify the seller: look for a business name, usable contact information and a clear explanation of who fulfills the order. Check whether those details agree across the storefront, checkout and return policy.
Investigate independently: search the seller's name with “complaint” or “scam.” Read accounts of delivery, refunds and customer service rather than relying on the store's star rating.
Read before paying: confirm the item description, total charge, shipping promise, return destination, return shipping costs and any restocking fee. Save copies of the terms.

Stop: danger

Pause the purchase if the seller insists on gift cards, cryptocurrency, a wire transfer or a payment app as the only way to pay. These demands can make recovering money difficult.
Stop entering payment information if the web address looks wrong or the checkout unexpectedly redirects somewhere unfamiliar. Independently verify the seller before continuing.
If you've already paid a suspected scammer, contact the payment provider immediately. Follow the FTC's recovery guidance by choosing the payment method you used and requesting a reversal or refund.

Read reviews as evidence, not a guarantee

Look beyond the overall score. Do reviews describe the actual product and delivery experience? Are there repeated complaints about missing orders or refunds? A burst of vague praise or reviewers with little history deserves closer scrutiny.

The FTC's review checklist explains how to examine review dates, reviewer history and possible incentives. Use it to compare comments across independent sources. Positive and negative reviews can both be manipulated, so a single glowing recommendation or angry complaint should not decide the purchase.

What not to do

Treating a padlock or HTTPS as proof that the merchant is trustworthy: it describes the connection, not the seller's intentions.
Assuming a social media advertisement has been checked for honesty. A fake storefront can be promoted through an ordinary-looking ad.
Letting an exceptionally low price or pressure to pay immediately replace basic checks.
Saving payment details on an unfamiliar site or sharing personal information unrelated to the purchase.

Returns, overseas sellers and payment protection

Don't assume an online purchase comes with a federal change-of-mind cancellation period. The FTC's Cooling-Off Rule explanation excludes transactions made entirely online; read its exclusions before relying on it. State law may provide additional rights.

Check the seller's return policy before ordering, especially for clearance items or goods shipped from abroad. Find out where a return must be sent and who pays postage. A domestic-looking website doesn't tell you where the seller operates.

The FTC's online shopping guide recommends credit cards when possible and explains purchase records and disputes. Read its payment section before checkout. Credit and debit card protections differ; don't assume every payment method offers the same remedy.

If the order never arrives

Contact the seller using the details saved with your order. Ask for an explanation and the remedy you want, and keep the response. Save the listing, receipt, shipping promise and payment record before the website changes.

Contact your card issuer promptly about goods you paid for but never received. Ask how to preserve your billing-dispute rights, including where written notice must go. Don't let repeated seller promises delay that conversation.

Report suspected fraud through the FTC's reporting portal: describe the purchase, seller's website, payment method and what happened. Reporting helps enforcement; it does not itself reverse your payment.

Good to know

The Florida consumer agency's shopping-scam guide describes temporary social media stores and urgent payment demands. Compare its warning signs with the offer you're considering.
An absence of complaints isn't a clean bill of health: an unfamiliar store may have little independent history.
Keep a purchase folder with screenshots, correspondence and receipts so you can explain a problem without relying on access to the seller's website.

Illustrative example: Maya finds a deeply discounted kitchen appliance through an ad. The return policy names a different seller, the return destination is unclear, and checkout requires a bank transfer. She closes the checkout and looks for a seller whose identity, payment options and return terms she can verify.

A made-up story, for illustration.

Bobby

Sources, verification, confidence

Verified on November 5, 2026, for the United States. Confidence: high for the screening steps and federal guidance; medium for an individual purchase's remedies, which depend on payment method, facts and state law. No checklist guarantees that a seller is legitimate.