Tips for Safe Online Selling

If you've decided to sell your art online, here are a few tips to keep you safe and protect your privacy. Despite what you may be told, setting up shop online does not mean that you have given up your privacy, and professionalism doesn't demand that you let your buyers into your life and home.

Get a Post Office Box. They are inexpensive ($42 for 6 months) and enable you to send out your products while keeping your home address private. A PO Box is a must for any type of online selling. Plus, if you wish to participate in business card swaps, Christmas card swaps, post card exchanges or trades with friends online, you don't have to worry about someone showing up unexpectedly on your doorstep!

Keep your town or city private. When filling out public profiles on shopping sites or setting up your own website, give only your state and country. It's no one's business what town you live in. Contrary to what some people may believe, potential buyers have no right or legitimate need to know that. All they need to know is the state that their purchase is coming from. You don't need an over-enthusiastic fan or someone who doesn't like what you said in an online forum dropping in on you! If you are filling out a public profile that seems to require a town or city, try putting in "State, US" instead. Remember, this only applies to info visible to the public, not to site administrators.

Use your cell phone number instead of your home phone number when dealing with customers or websites. You can turn off a cell phone if you don't feel like answering, and someone trying to find you won't have success Googling a cell phone number.

Selling online and making online friends is fun and rewarding, but you have to keep your safety in mind at all times. You're the only one looking out for you.