Foxglove Goods

Checks, guides and letters for shopping safely online

Online shop safety checklist

Found a bargain on a shop you have never heard of? Answer these questions before you pay. Each answer updates the verdict, and the warning signs it finds are listed so you know what to look into.

Keep going · 0 of 15 answeredSee verdict

The website and who runs it

  1. 1Does the site give a full business name and a real postal address?
    Why it matters

    Honest shops say who they are and where. A contact form with no name or address makes it hard to complain, return goods or take any further action.

  2. 2Is there a phone number or an email at the shop's own domain, and do they reply?
    Why it matters

    Send a short question before you buy. A quick, specific reply is a good sign; silence or a free webmail address on a big-brand shop is not.

  3. 3Does the web address match the shop's name, with no odd spellings or extra words?
    Why it matters

    Copycat shops use addresses like brand-outlet-sale or a letter swapped for a look-alike. Read the address in full, not just the logo.

  4. 4Has the domain been registered for more than a few months? key check
    Why it matters

    Fake shops are often set up weeks before a sale season and vanish soon after. A domain lookup shows when the address was registered.

  5. 5Does the address start with https, with no browser security warning?
    Why it matters

    It protects what you type on the way to the site, which matters, but scam sites have it too. It is a minimum, not a sign of honesty.

Prices and offers

  1. 6Are prices in line with other shops, rather than 60 to 90% off everything? key check
    Why it matters

    Huge discounts on popular or sold-out items are the most common lure. If no well-known shop can sell it that cheaply, neither can this one.

  2. 7Are offers free of pressure tricks such as timers that restart or 'only 2 left' on everything?
    Why it matters

    Fake urgency stops you checking. Reload the page: a countdown that starts again or stock that never changes is a script, not a sale.

Policies and delivery

  1. 8Is there a clear returns policy that says where to send returns and who pays postage?
    Why it matters

    Vague or copied policies, or returns only to a distant country at your cost, make a refund unlikely in practice.

  2. 9Are delivery times and where the goods ship from stated plainly?
    Why it matters

    Weeks of delivery time can be a tactic to run past the window for disputing a card payment.

  3. 10Do the terms name the company and the country whose law applies?
    Why it matters

    Terms copied from another shop often still carry the other shop's name, or name nobody at all.

Paying

  1. 11Can you pay by card or a payment service with buyer protection, not only by bank transfer, crypto, gift cards or a money-transfer app? key check
    Why it matters

    Card payments can be disputed and some payment services have buyer protection. A bank transfer, crypto or gift card is usually gone for good once sent.

  2. 12Does checkout stay on the shop's site or go to a well-known payment page?
    Why it matters

    Being sent to an unrelated address to enter card details is a classic way to collect card numbers.

Reputation

  1. 13Can you find independent reviews of this shop that go back more than a few weeks?
    Why it matters

    Search the shop's name with the words review or scam. Reviews only on the shop's own pages, or all from the same week, prove little.

  2. 14Do its social media pages have a history beyond recent adverts?
    Why it matters

    Pages created last month, with comments switched off or full of complaints about missing orders, are a warning.

  3. 15Is the site's text specific and consistent, without placeholder text or another brand's name?
    Why it matters

    Rushed copycat sites keep template text, mismatched brand names and descriptions copied from elsewhere.

Verdict

Keep going

–/ 1000 of 15 answered

High riskCarefulReasonable

Answer at least 6 questions for a verdict. "Not sure" is a fine answer when you cannot tell.

How the verdict is worked out

Every question is worded so that Yes is reassuring. Each one carries a weight: the key checks (domain age, believable prices, a protected way to pay) count three times as much as minor signs such as the padlock.

The score is the share of the weight of the questions you answered that came out well, with Not sure counting half. From 80 the shop looks reasonable, from 55 to 79 be careful, and below 55 it is high risk. Two failed key checks make it high risk whatever the score, and a shop that only takes bank transfer, crypto or gift cards gets "do not pay this way" straight away, because those payments are so hard to recover.

No checklist can prove a shop is genuine: a careful fake passes many of these. Use it to slow down and notice, then pay by card or another method with buyer protection. If an order does go wrong, the chargeback timeline shows how long you have to dispute it.

More from the garden

Guides and letters for before and after you buy.

Questions

The shop passed. Does that mean it is safe?

Not for certain. A passing score means no obvious warning signs from your answers. Pay with a protected method and keep your order confirmation either way.

Are my answers saved?

Yes, in this browser's local storage only, so a reload does not lose them. "Check another shop" clears them. Nothing is sent anywhere.

I have already paid and think it is a scam. What now?

Contact your card issuer or payment service straight away, because dispute windows are limited, and report the site to your national fraud or consumer body.