If you purchase good or services from a local company then your internet purchase is subject to the same rules as if you had bought at a local store. Shopping with a non New Zealand company gives you fewer rights and makes it much more difficult to resolve any problems.
July 2007
Before purchasing anything online you should do some research into how reputable the seller is. Do they have good contact details (including a physical location somewhere), do they speak English, do they have an extensive web site, do they have client testimonials, what does a Google search reveal about them?
Make sure that any private information you give will remain private – if they are asking for any personal details this information should be secure and you should not be facing the risk of being placed on email mailing lists. Make sure your credit card details are safe and that they are only ever given through a “secure” page of a website. If you are planning to do a lot of internet purchases we recommend you consider using a special Credit Card used only for this purpose with a low limit.
Check what currency the sale is being charged in and whether there are any hidden fees or exorbitant postage and packaging fees. Also make sure you know EXACTLY what product it is you are buying. If you are buying something that is already sold in New Zealand make sure it has the exact same product number in case the New Zealand model is different from the overseas one.
With electrical items, be extremely careful to make sure that they will work on our voltage and that they legally comply with our electrical laws. With all other goods, make sure that the warranty is valid globally and will be honoured in New Zealand even though the product was bought in (say) Singapore. Make sure you don’t accidentally import something that is illegal to be imported such as ivory or other banned animal products.
Check out whether you have the ability to cancel the order or return the product before you agree to purchase. Remember, even in New Zealand you cannot return something simply because it wasn’t what you thought it was (unless it has a money back guarantee). Trying to do this with an overseas vendor could be completely impossible.
Keep copies of anything that you do electronically and/or in a paper format – at least until you have received the goods and have confirmed that they were what you ordered. Also be aware that customs might take an interest in reasonable size (say over NZ$250.00) or regular purchases from overseas; under a complex set of laws you might have to pay import duty or GST or both if customs do become aware of your purchase.
Internet shopping is extremely convenient and can provide good value. Just remember to go into it with your eyes wide open.
