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Is It Safe to Buy on Amazon India?

Sankar Shubham

Amazon.com is the world’s biggest online marketplace; you can get just about anything on this shopping portal, from almost anywhere in the world. However, most shoppers do have concerns about the safe of shopping on online portals, especially Amazon India. 

Well, here’s the answer: Yes, it is safe to buy products on Amazon India. And here are all the reasons why.

Information Security

The first and foremost concern that people have is about the safety of their personal information – their names, addresses, and (most critically) their banking details (credit card or debit card details, bank account or other payment details). This is where Amazon is one of the safest online shopping portals in India. 

This online shopping giant uses something called SSL – Secure Sockets Layer – as a part of their information protection protocol. This software encrypts your debit and credit card details so that it would very difficult for a hacker to steal this information from your account. 

We also need to warn our readers that there are also clone sites that look almost exactly like Amazon’s website. These websites have been created by scammers who want to use Amazon’s reputation to get people to buy products from their sites, and a lot of times those products are either poor copies or they just don’t exist. So, you think you’re buying from Amazon, when you’re actually buying from a clone entity. And then you end up either being scammed or having a really bad customer experience – and Amazon gets the blame! 

This is the reason why it is imperative that you check that you actually are purchasing your product from an Amazon portal. The best way to do this is by checking the URL. A real Amazon URL will end with an India country code. So, the Amazon address for India will be https://www.amazon.in. 

And if you’re still not convinced about sharing your credit card information on Amazon, then you can always make sure that your banking information is not stored on Amazon. This way, you will need to input your credit or debit (or other banking details) every time you make a purchase, and click on the option that you don’t want your information saved. 

Third Party Safely

Another reason that makes Amazon India safe is the way the company vets and monitors their third-party sellers. Due to regulations in India, Amazon cannot sell directly to customers in the country. Instead, the company actually operates as a massive marketplace in which third-party sellers list their products. 

To ensure that their customers still have an excellent experience while shopping from Amazon India, the company has put a stringent set of rules in place by which all third-party sellers have to abide. 

  • All third-party sellers have to present a certificate of authenticity on the brands that they are selling. If they do not do so, they are not allowed to even enter the Amazon India platform. 
  • Customer ratings and reviews are critical for third-party sellers’ survival. Over a period of time, only those sellers that have good customer ratings will be kept on the platform. 
  • The Amazon search algorithm is designed in such a manner than only those sellers with the best rating will be shown on your search query. 
  • Amazon promises 100% buyer protection, not only for the products on their platform but also for the Pay with Amazon option (which is an available payment method on third-party products). Thus, if you really are facing an issue with the seller or the product, then your money will be refunded to you. 

Overall, if you look at many public forums, the feedback about customer experience is largely positive. However, it would not be right to say that all third-party sellers are legitimate. With such a massive marketplace, there are bound to be some scammers who are selling counterfeit items, or sellers who give customers poor experiences. 

This is where your research is necessary. You need to ensure that you go through the reviews and try and spot fakes (there are a few dishonest sellers who will post fake reviews in a bid to bump up their products on the search or to fool customers into believing that they are selling a good product). Here is how you can spot fake reviews: there will be many reviews that will be identical, or very poorly worded. It would also be wise to use the search tool and enter keywords such as return or customer service or bad or any other keyword that you want to know about in relation to the product or customer experience. This will tell you about what issues buyers encountered while dealing with a particular seller.

Some Tips for a Safe and Happy Customer Experience on Amazon

Here are a few more tips to help you have a safe and positive experience while you shop on Amazon India:

  • To find out more about the seller, click on their name which appears as a small blue link under the product title. When you click on this link, you will be able to see the entire list of products that this seller has and also provides information about the company. If there is not enough information, then you can Google that company and find out more. If there is still not enough information, then it would be best to find another vendor to buy from. 
  • Check the product specifications and manufacturer before you buy any product. 
  • Check if a product is Fulfilled by Amazon, which means that the seller stores their products at an Amazon warehouse or distribution center.  
  • Before you buy a product, do check the full list of sellers and see which one has the best customer reviews and most purchases. 
  • And finally, if you are still not sure about whether that product is safe to buy on Amazon, then it would be best for you to visit a brick-and-mortar store and buy it from there (if that product is available in India).