#SPONSORED
I feel a bit like a parrot right now because I’ve written a similar blog post every year for the last three years. But it is an important message that I think deserves to be repeated numerous times. The holidays are my absolute favourite time of the year but I also go on a spending spree. I absolutely love giving gifts and finding all the small little specials that people are desperately wanting. I’ll search high and low for the perfect gift.
But that doesn’t come without risks
Because of my need to go to great lengths I tend to find myself on random overseas online stores that appear to stock the perfect gift. However, by now we’re all well aware of the dangers of online shopping and the mission to get stuff imported from overseas. Which is why I always, without fail, suggest people set up a PayPal account. It is a far safer and easier means of transferring money. You set up your account on the PayPal website and link your credit or debit card. Then when you’re shopping you simply select to pay with PayPal. Instead of having to input private card details and risk having them skimmed, you just use your email address linked to your PayPal account. PayPal does the rest.
There’s also a misconception that you’d need to fill your PayPal wallet before you shop but this isn’t true because the account is linked to your card – so it does the heavy lifting in the background. You basically only have to set up an account, link your card and you’re ready to go.
Buyer Protection
For me, the biggest perk of PayPal is their Buyer Protection offering. When you purchase something online and pay using PayPal there are a host of benefits that come with it, all of which are covered in their Buyer Protection. I’ll summarise the main perks here for you. If your goods arrive but they’re damaged or not what they ordered (this happens more often than you realise) PayPal will help you get them returned and swopped out for the correct items. They also assist you in getting a refund on return shipping costs and, if your order never arrives (very possible with SA’s postal service) they’ll help you get a refund. It makes the whole process of online shopping so much easier. Obviously there are some terms and conditions that apply but you can read up on those here.
Do you know how hard it is to ship stuff in from overseas?
Well, yes. I do. I struggled for a long time trying to purchase items online and bring them in to South Africa. Then I found Aramex Global Shopper and it became so much easier. I’ve written about that experience here. As part of PayPal’s Holiday promotions they have a host of great deals on offer on various online stores. One of those deals is a discounted Aramex membership. If you have a PayPal account and sign up for an Aramex Global Shopper Account it will cost you only $1 instead of the usual $45. You can take advantage of that here. It isn’t the only deal that you can shop with PayPal. Take a look at all their festive specials (my credit card is already crying a little bit).
#ShopWithPayPal
I’m sharing all of this with you because I want you to spoil yourself and your loved ones this festive season without putting yourself in a dangerous position or losing money with credit card fraud or not having your items arrive (which is heartbreaking). As I mentioned at the start of this blog post – I’ve endorsed PayPal for three years now and I’ll keep doing it because the service has never let me down. PayPal also agrees with me that it is time for you to be a little bit spoilt so…
I’m giving away $200 in PayPal credit to one lucky Tech Girl fan! You’ll be able to use it to shop online to your heart’s content and feel safe while doing it. If you want to win it is really simple:
- You’ll need a PayPal account. Go sign up, it’s free!
- Then you’ll need to send out a tweet. This one is simple. Tell me what you’d spend your $200 on. Be sure to tag @TechGirlZA and @PayPal in the tweet. You’ll also need to include #ShopWithPayPal
- Please be sure to include those tags and the hashtag so I can track your entry. Then, come back to this post and comment on it with the link to your tweet.
Easy right?
The PayPal team and I will choose the most creative entry. So what are you waiting for? Get shopping!
