Is Amazon safe to use for online shopping?

[Wild]

I've never tried shopping online before but now that I need specific pens etc, I pretty much have to.

Btw, ebay is kinda like that as well, right? How about that, safe or not?

Thanks in advance!

[Ryan]

Both are fine. If you're in the U.S., jetpens is also a good online store for pens (i'm not sure how expensive the international shipping is since they're based in the U.S.)

[Suuper-san]

depends what you mean by "safe", but I would say they both are good to use.
I use both and almost never have an issue, sometimes an item is damaged and it needs to be replaced but that's about all the issues I've had.
If you find an item that's priced too good to be true then it's likely to be a knock-off brand though, so make sure to read the description carefully so you get what you want.

[Wild]

Sorry that I wasn't clear in my OP. I meant safe mostly regarding possible account hijacking or something. I guess, general scamming/frauding/hacking and what not.

@Ryan I live in Greece but still, all info is welcome. Like I said, I'm new to this so anything I learn will be useful  one way or another.

@Suuper-san Yeah, I wasn't clear enough but your post is already what I need.
I happened to read online that, in case of a damaged item, the return can be tricky (not being believed that you recieved it damaged for instance). Wil I have to record on video the unpacking or something? @_@

Thank you very much both of you for your help!

[Suuper-san]

normally a photo of the damaged item is good enough as proof
although if the main packaging is damaged then take a photo of that as well before opening
chances are low that'll happen though

as for hacking and whatnot, I recommend not saving your card details to the site so you can't lose money in the unlikely event of a hack. but that's equally unlikely.

[Wild]

Good to know Suuper-san, I really appreciate it!

[anonymous]

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[Wild]

Isn't amazon the same regardless the country?
Glad to know these things! There's a chance that what I read back then was about direct shipping or something instead via amazon. From what you guys say, it seems quite a problem-free service.

[Suuper-san]

yup UK here myself as well.
@wild from what I've seen global companies conform to the standards (even culture etc) in each country so the operations will vary. For want of a better phrase, they'll get away with whatever they can. (paying only the minimum wage for example when some countries have a higher minimum wage than others) (apparently the macdonalds in japan make perfectly assembled burgers for another random example)

you can always buy a couple of small cheap things first to get used to using it

[Wild]

I never really had a clear idea of amazon so I thought the...physical aspect (how should I call it anyway? )of it is in just one country. Now I see.

Yeah. Better start as simple as possible.

I think that's all. Thank you all for your help!

[Coryn]

Amazon is as safe from being hacked as any mega-corp which holds your credit card info. Personally I find the biggest issue with them (as has been pointed out) is that sometimes the stuff they sell is absolute garbage. That being said, sometimes they're the only ones who sell what you're looking for because so many smaller operations run through them these days.

Personally, I try buying direct because you'll find that Amazon takes a decent cut from their sellers, so I try and support the sellers more directly when they have their own webstore. That being said, if you can't find what you need locally, it's a fine option.

[Wild]

I'll probably keep amazon as a backup option then since I ,too, try to back the stores (especially the smaller ones) whenever I can.

Thanks a bunch Coryn!

I'll review my options and take it from there.