CELL PHONE GIFT PURCHASE: If purchasing a cell phone as a gift, you need to know that the trial period and return deadline start the day the phone is activated. Most phones are activated at the time of purchase. So if you plan on giving the phone more than a day or two after purchase, make sure the sales person does not activate the phone. The user of the phone will have to activate the phone themselves, however, the small inconvenience should be outweighed by the value of having a trial and return period. There are no extended deadlines on returns.

WARRANTIES: It is believed that consumers must return the post card or form to a specific address by a target date. This belief is a myth. The truth is that by sending in your information, you are giving your name and contact information for purposes of future marketing lists. If products are purchased from stores or the Internet, make sure you know whether the store or the manufacturer will be honoring the warranty. You are strongly encouraged to keep all receipts and boxes of any purchases during the warranty period.

PAYMENT METHODS: Make all payments by credit card so you can dispute any goods or services not received for the holidays. Most major credit cards, like Visa, MasterCard and American Express, have zero-liability. This means you won't have to pay for unauthorized purchases.

INTERNET PURCHASES: Make sure you have an online seller’s physical address and phone #. If you receive an email or pop-up message from the seller asking for financial information, do not reply to or click on any links in such a message. The FTC warns us “legitimate companies don’t ask for this information via email or pop-up ads”. In addition, print all receipts, confirmation #s and the like.

COUPONS: You can save money by taking advantage of promotions offered by online retailers. You can earn discounts and other rewards like free shipping even if you aren't a regular customer. Check out these sites for some free codes: Coupon Cabin, RetailMeNot, Current Codes, and Naughty Codes.

COMPARISON SITES: One of the best ways to save money is to comparison shop, and the holiday season is no different. Take advantage of these websites to ensure you don't end up paying for a product you could get cheaper somewhere else. A quick word of caution: while comparison shopping is important, you still want to buy from trusted retailers. If a company is offering a product for a 1/100th of the price of everyone else you've seen, it's probably a scam (or at least a misprint). Here are a couple sites to try: Amazon, Froogle, PriceGrabber.com, Shopping.com, and PriceSCAN.com.

PRIVACY POLICIES: Make sure you know the privacy policy for on-line or store purchases so you always know what personal info you are asked to provide, why and how it will be used. If you are unable to find this policy and after asking, the company is vague about it, you might want to consider taking your business elsewhere.

GO 007 JAMES BOND WITH EMAIL: Leave your regular email address on the shelf and go undercover for the hollidays. Shopping with your main address could leave you with some unwanted presents in addition to the ones you order, like tons of neverending junk mail. There are many free email services available, so create at least one to give to online retailers, remember the password (because you may have to confirm your order), and let it expire full of unread junk messages...it's the best Christmas gift you could give to your regular email account. Here are some free email services to choose from: Yahoo!, Hotmail, AIM, Inbox.com, and Gmail.

MORE INFORMATION

See the following websites if you have a dispute with an online retailer:

Federal Trade Commission

Internet Fraud Complaint Center

National Fraud Information Center

Follow these links for more information on Internet shopping:

Shop Safely Online Internet Index

Internet Fraud Tips Privacy Tools from EPIC

Refund and Return Policy