This was a phrase, former president Ronald Reagan coined. He was referring to his relationship with the Russia over nuclear arms. But as we have all come to know so well when shopping online, we have all adopted this idiom.
If you don't check your sources you run the risk of getting scammed. Building trust takes time but it hard to check your sources, confirm some basic information and make an informed decision before purchasing from an online company.
- Search for other sources. Search google for the name of the company: a search for Your Team Sports on Google will bring up our store profile and business page with our hours, products, reviews and more
- If there is a phone number, call it. That is what it is there for. If it is a legitimate business then you should either get a voice mail or you might even reach a person.
- Check to see if they have an online presence on social media or other places. This isn't 100% for sellers of low quality, counterfeit goods, because the more sophisticated con-artists will know to open Facebook pages.
- Don't trust reviews directly on a website. Most business aren't going to share the worst reviews. For example: Google custom football jersey or custom baseball jersey. Then when you see the search results come up Google the name of that company with the word Review after it. The two top companies in my Google search that show nothing but 5 star reviews on their website, currently have 3 out of 5 star reviews. Also keep in mind that 50% of sellers on Amazon manipulate reviews. They will hire people, valid consumers in the US to "buy" products and leave reviews. The "buyer" gets a free widget, the seller gets a glowing 5 star review. There are companies that advertise on Facebook in China promoting these scams.
Here at Your Team Sports we have been in business since 1997 under our parent company HK Sportswear who also has a store on Etsy with tons of 5 star reviews. Your Team Sports has a Facebook page and a Pinterest Page. It's not hard to do a little legwork and trust that it will pay off in the long run in the headaches you will save.