Question:

How much business is really being done over the Internet?

Answer:

$80,000,000,000 (EIGHTY BILLION DOLLARS - that's "Billion with a "B"). That’s the value of global on-line revenues last year, based on data from Forrester Research of Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Question:

I like your site, and I like the idea of on-line shopping, but I’m not comfortable giving out personal or credit card information over the Internet. What if my credit card information is copied or stolen by hackers and I get unwanted charges?

Answer:

ShopDome’s secure shopping site actually provides you with more security than you have when you use your credit card at a restaurant or gas station. First of all, our e-commerce servers (the computers that control transactions on our website) have been made as secure as possible. They operate behind a firewall that protects them from unauthorized attempts to access data.

Second, when you transmit sensitive information to ShopDome, the information in automatically encrypted, to prevent access during transmission. Also, we minimize the number of times your information needs to be transmitted by our log-in procedure, which identifies you each time you come to shop at ShopDome.

Third, your credit card information is not forwarded to our Merchants. All transaction processing is handled by ShopDome, so when you order a product and make your payment, ShopDome only forwards the payment to the Merchant when we are notified that your order has been shipped to you.

Fourth, ShopDome guarantees any credit card charges resulting from fraud, to the extent that they are not guaranteed by the credit card issuing company. If you discover unauthorized charges, you report them to your card issuer, following their procedures. If they charge you a deductible, ShopDome will reimburse you.

This adds up to better security than you have when using your card directly!

Question:

How is ShopDome different than those other Internet Shopping sites?

Answer:

1. ShopDome provides a wide range of entertaining and useful services, in a secure environment.

2. One of ShopDome’s goals is to develop an on-line community which extends beyond shopping, to provide our members with useful and timely information and entertainment.

3. As a ShopDome Member, you benefit from ShopDome’s Advantage Plus, Community Membership, and other programs.

4. You can interact with, make contributions to, and participate in programs designed to benefit your favorite charitable and non-profit organizations. As ShopDome believes in giving back to the community, we help charities develop on-line promotions and also contribute to our Member Charities.

Question:

How do I place an order with a Merchant? Is it confusing? I’m a bit new to computers.

Answer:

Customers purchasing items from our Merchants using our 100% secure "shopping-cart" technology. This ShopDome feature allows you to shop conveniently at any Merchant location throughout ShopDome in a manner similar to grocery shopping. It’s really no more complicated than browsing through a store and adding products you want to buy to your ‘shopping cart’ which is done at the click of a button.

Note: you haven’t actually bought anything until you proceed to the checkout, again, just like grocery shopping. You have a number of opportunities to confirm, change or delete your order before submitting it. Each step is explained on the page in the site, and an overview is available in the First Time Help and Detailed Shopping Instructions pages.

Once you finish shopping at a Merchant’s store, you place your order, arrange shipping and payment, and receive confirmation of your order, on-screen and by email. You may then decide to shop at other stores, or perhaps visit some of the Community Center sites.

Your purchase is confirmed by email, first by ShopDome, then by the Merchant. You may always inquire about the status of your order. Remember, the Merchant does not receive payment until your order is shipped.

The entire shopping procedure is designed to be straightforward and easy to follow. If anything, it’s perhaps a bit tedious. That’s because it has to be really easy to follow.

Question:

If there’s a problem with my purchase, can I return it?

Answer:

Absolutely! You return your purchase directly to the Merchant, in the original packaging, within 30 days, and ShopDome guarantees that you will receive a full refund. In addition, some Merchants may offer additional or extended warranties, and each Merchant has his own returns procedure, which you will find on your confirmation email from the Merchant. All our ShopDome policies may be viewed on our Policies page.

Question:

I’d like to find out more about ShopDome. Who do I contact?

Answer: