If you are going to buy online, do not forget these seven tricks

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Seven out of ten Internet users have bought online at least once in the last year and most cite the saving of time and comfort as reasons why they prefer to make certain purchases through the screen rather than in a physical store.

And yes, buying online is comfortable and fast, without a doubt, but it is an activity that is governed by different rules than those of traditional commerce and that comes with new risks . If you are going to shop online, these seven tips and tricks can help you do it much more safely and profitably.

Incognito purchase or as a new customer

Surely you've heard it sometime. Some merchants, such as airlines, adjust prices based on the cookies existing in the user's browser, raising them if they detect that they have been interested in a particular destination or dates in particular.

It is, for the most part, an urban legend . Yes, the price of many products, including that of airline tickets, is dynamic and takes into account many factors, but previous searches do not influence the final price and fluctuations have more to do with the searches of other customers in a certain moment

But that does not mean that deleting cookies or searching prices with the incognito mode of the browser is not a good idea . Many online businesses have special offers for new customers who are only active on the first visits.

Leave your purchase a few days in the cart

If you are not in a hurry to buy a product, try leaving the virtual shopping cart for a few days. Some stores have special offers and promotions for customers who have not decided to buy but who might be interested in doing so . Think that you have to be registered (the merchant must have access to your email) to receive these offers and remember that not all businesses use this type of tactics.

Search discount coupons

Virtually all merchants usually have discount coupons in their online stores and you can use coupon websites to find them easily. They are not always valid (many are expired) but it is usually not difficult to find at least one code that allows you a small discount or save you shipping costs. Cupon.es, coupons.es cuponation.es, oportunista.com or chollometro.com are some of the websites for the Spanish market that collect coupons for online stores.

Use virtual cards, especially with small merchants

Some banks have started offering virtual credit cards that are created instantly and associated with an account number. This allows you to generate a unique card number for each transaction and can be a good solution to protect us from possible network fraud . If you can access this service, buy at each store with a different card number and delete it after using it to ensure that no one else has access to it.

If you cannot access this service, using Paypal can also give you some additional protection when shopping online or requesting a return for shipping problems.

Use email aliases for your profiles

If you have a gmail address, it is possible to use email aliases simply by adding the + symbol (for example: tucorreo+uber@gmail.com). Although the address is different, the messages are received in the main account in the usual way.

When you create a new profile in a store or service, use a different alias and so you can filter much more easily the communications you receive from that store or website.

Some shops also include discounts and promotions for registering for the first time. If you use a different alias each time, you can take advantage of the discount several times , but keep in mind that you will multiply the amount of mail that you will receive from those merchants.

Always compare prices

It is easy to think that an e-commerce will give you a better price than a traditional store but it is not always the case. On many occasions traditional stores are willing to make more aggressive sales or have access to prices better than those of the online store.

Comparing prices between online stores is also a good idea. Although many promise to have the lowest prices or match competitive prices, they often only refer to the normal retail price , not merchandise with discounts.

When buying furniture or clothes, you can perform a reverse image search . Often companies use the same suppliers and all sell under their brand similar products but at different prices.

Look closely at the website where you buy

At this point there is no excuse for a store, no matter how small, does not offer a secure payment gateway for online transactions . Do not give your card number or your personal data to any website that is not secure.

When you receive an offer in the email, carefully check that the address to which you have been taken is that of the merchant and not an attempt to impersonate it to access your data (phishing).

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

• Internet

Privacy 93% of porn pages sell your data to third parties

Technology When AOL commanded: this is how the pages with the most visits have evolved since 1996

CrimeMore than 6,000 pedophiles, unpunished in Spain for the lack of police and resources