Shopping season is approaching and I get tons of email asking me about various websites that are trusted or not. Unfortunately, there is no clear definition of trusted sites on the internet. However, there are some really popular sites that are trusted by millions of online users. This makes them generally trusted sites across the web.
These sites are backed by legally registered business and take customer care and security seriously. This list is based on my research and growing. Please suggest your trusted site in the comments section and I can research about it to add it here.
These sites are safe to browse and shop(in the USA). You can always trust on them before trying a new unknown website.
Some Ground Rules For Online Shopping
- Do not use your credit card on a new / unknown website.
- Ensure the website is using HTTS.
Most Trusted Websites To Buy Electronics and Accessories
Electronics and accessories are most commonly shopped items online. These items require a lot more research and awareness about a product before purchase. Online shoppers like to read wide variety of reviews and compare few alternatives before they really make a decision
- ebay.com – My favorite place to shop for good deals with free shipping. My recent shopping on eBay has saved me a lot of money on brand new electronics items.
- Quick Tip 1 : Select Free Shipping + Buy It Now + New on sidebar after searching for an item on eBay.
- Quick Tip 2 : Buy from top rated sellers to get reliable service.
- amazon.com – My favorite place to shop with prime.
- bestbuy.com – Most popular retail store for buying electronics in store and online.
- newegg.com – You can find some good deals on this site too.
- apple.com – Many Apple fans love to shop directly at the apple website, especially for pre-orders.
Most Trusted Websites To Buy Laptops
Looking to buy a good laptop? You may find these online stores handy to do research and purchase. Most of these stores will provide extensive details about the Laptop specifications and other details with plenty high-quality images showing the products.
Don’t forget to read reviews before you buy. I prefer to look at some of the negative reviews to evaluate my options.
These websites may often provide good deals on accessories too.
- dell.com – Dell often has good deals on laptops.
- lenovo.com/us/en – Lenovo laptops are known for high quality and durability. You can find good options on their website.
- system76.com – This site can send you a pre-assembled Linux laptop. I just love Linux and it can not get better than this. They also offer Ubuntu based custom configuration servers.
Trusted Websites To Buy Mobile Phones and Accessories
Online shoppers may find very good smartphone deals on below websites. These websites are more popular than stores for smartphone purchase.
Most Trusted Apparels, Clothes, and Accessories Websites
What are your favorite places to shop clothes and other accessories? I am sure you visit a lot of stores and buy a variety of stuff at various retail stores, factory outlets, and shopping malls. This may be fun for shopping lovers. However, it does take a lot more time than online shopping. When I know what I need to buy, I go online and find the best deals on different websites.
- costco.com – Membership based wholesale market. Clothes are typically available at much lesser price than any other retail store. However, this requires an annual membership fee that may be too much for infrequent shoppers. There are many online sellers who shop at Costco and sell it online on eBay or Amazon.
- Quick Tip : Take store pickup to avoid shipping charges.
- target.com – One of leading retailers who also offer very good online shopping experience. There was a security breach on target.com recently, however, they have taken is very seriously. Recently they have implemented stronger security measures to protect the shoppers.
- Quick Tip 1 : Use Paypal checkout instead of adding a credit card.
- Quick Tip 2 : Take store pickup to avoid shipping charges.
- walmart.com – Take store pickup to avoid shipping charges.
- macys.com
- jcpenney.com – Take store pickup to avoid shipping charges.
- kmart.com – Take store pickup to avoid shipping charges.
- kohls.com – Take store pickup to avoid shipping charges.
- etsy.com – This is an online only store but with a wide variety of creating designs.
- gap.com – Gap is known brand with online and physical store presence worldwide.
- levi.com – Levi is also a known brand of clothing that has a online store.
- ninewest.com
- hm.com/us
- us.asos.com
- forever21.com
- mrporter.com
- modcloth.com
- menswearhouse.com
Most Trusted Online Stores For Shoes
Most people prefer to shop in store for shoes, mainly due to size and fitting needs. However, if you know your exact size and brand of your shoe you can fetch very good deals online. These are my favorite sites for shoe shopping.
- zappos.com
- aldoshoes.com
- toms.com
- payless.com
- dsw.com
- asics.com
- nike.com
- adidas.com
Most Trusted Home and Garden Shopping Websites
Shopping for home and gardens needs can be difficult online due to shipping constraints. However, you may find free shipping deals on few occasions.
- homedepot.com
- lowes.com
- ikea.com
- bedbathandbeyond.com
Trusted Tax Filing Websites Online
When you tax filing is not complicated you can actually do it yourself very easily using these online providers. They also provide customer support call center numbers to speak with a professional. It does not require any extra cost.
If you can file early then you may find very good deals from some of these.
Quick Tip 2 : Compare
Visit multiple sites to compare your return number before actually filing it. I compare TurboTax return numbers with TaxACT and file with the one with lowest fee or offer.
- turbotax.intuit.com
- taxact.com
- hrblock.com
Trusted Investing Websites
These websites are the best for Investment in stocks, mutual funds, bonds and any other types of financial investments.
Trusted Banking Websites
Below are the banks I trust for online banking. I use them for bill payment, money transfer and check deposits.
- dcu.org – My favorite credit union to do banking. It is a reliable and low cost with no surprises. Has mobile app too.
- bankofamerica.com – Very good online presence with advanced security features likes two-factor authentication. Search on google about two-factor authentication on the bank of America. This is an extra layer of security.
- wellsfargo.com – Very good online banking experience with good security measures. Supported by mobile apps too.
- citibank.com – Citi bank is not one of my favorites, but it has been trusted by millions of people worldwide. They may surprise you with charges that are not very pleasant. However, they are a genuine and secure business that can be trusted for online banking transactions.
Trusted Websites To Buy Books
Apart from amazon, there are many other good websites that offer deals on books.
- hpb.com – Half price books is owned by a family and is one of the largest marketplaces for used books.
- betterworldbooks.com
- chegg.com
- barnesandnoble.com
- rakuten.com
Most Trusted Payments Websites And Solutions
- google.se/wallet
- paypal.com
- skrill.com
- squareup.com
- stripe.com
- venmo.com
Most Trusted Sporting Goods Websites
- dickssportinggoods.com
- eastbay.com
- kobebryant.com
- paddlepalace.com
Most Trusted Websites To Buy Video Games
Most Trusted Entertainment, Events, and Other Tickets
Buying tickets for events, parking and shows may not be easier than this. Most people prefer to buy tickets online for these reasons
- It is cheaper online
- There are no surprises of facing we are sold out on reaching event location.
Market leader in even tickets buying and selling. Yes, you can sell your event ticket on this site. Some people do it since they can not make it to the event. Others do it to make some money since sometimes popular ticket sell over the actual prices.
ticketmaster.com
Yet another regular event tickets website.
seatgeek.com
Yet another event marketplace that offers to buy and selling of tickets.
Most Trusted Health Care Products Websites
These sites are considered good to buy healthcare related products.
- drugstore.com
- walgreens.com
- cvs.com
Most Trusted Websites To Buy Digital Goods
- fiverr.com
- themeforest.net
- shutterstock.com
Most Trusted Travel Booking Websites
- expedia.com
- priceline.com
- hotwire.com
- kayak.com
- orbitz.com
Other Trusted Websites
Automation
- ifttt.com IFTTT is good for watching prices and setting alerts on various e-commerce portals.
Business Tools
Summary
This is the age of online shopping. Many people are not visiting stores as often as they used to. At the same time there are many fraudulent websites on the internet, therefore be careful while shopping on the internet. What is your favorite website to do shopping?