Article of Interest - Policy Issues
Ethics of E-Business
by Dan Skeen
Karen Post, president and co-founder of recently launched Bodyflash.com, has everything in place for an e-commerce legacy. But while the suggestive jewelry site flicks all the right libidinous buttons, she and other Web merchants find that customers' inhibitions foil sales.
In a sales forum where cubic zirconia can glisten like diamonds and blurry gem photos mask more flaws than a Microsoft beta program, it's easy to understand why shoppers are wary.
"The majority of our sales have been in the lower prices," Post says. "As there are more jewelry sites, consumers will open up to the ease of buying online."
In the meantime, online retailers face the challenge of converting the skeptical. Thankfully, the Better Business Bureau has drafted a code of online business practices to help vendors build customer trust and earn that holy grail of e-commerce, loyalty.
Here's a summary of the code's five basic principles:
Disclose the facts. Provide accurate information about the goods or services available. If your one-inch photos of clothing are actual size, let shoppers know.
Tell the truth. Don't mislead people to draw them to your site. Clearly show all tax and shipping rates before purchases are approved.
Respect privacy. Maintain an accurate and descriptive privacy policy on your site. Most people won't read it, but those who do will be meticulous. Allow users to select or deselect their inclusion on mailing lists or promotional campaigns.
Resolve disputes responsibly. It's a big issue. Many disillusioned shoppers have received faulty merchandise and had to pocket the shipping cost to return it. Word of mouth suffers if you leave a bad taste there.
Be careful with kids. If you're marketing to kids, remember: Even in Beverly Hills most 7-year-olds don't have credit cards. Web merchants have yet to develop effective age screening. It continues to be a sticky point on the Web, particularly as parents puzzle over their $500 credit card bill from Pokemon.com.
