TikTok Shop Safety: The Questions To Ask Before You Place An Order

While TikTok is primarily known for being a seemingly bottomless pit for viewing content, its ventures into the e-commerce realm is nothing to scroll past. Launched on September 12, 2023, TikTok Shop is the social media giant's integrated online storefront, giving creators and brands the ability to sell their products directly to users on the app. Given the platform's hundreds of millions of users, it shouldn't come as a surprise that TikTok Shop saw immediate success, bringing in around $7 million a day by February 2024. 

This offers users new ways to earn on the platform, outside of relying on creator funds or running ads. Nevertheless, it's understandable to be suspicious of the legitimacy of a massive social media platform pushing its own storefront. Thankfully, TikTok Shop is a largely reputable shopping source, with many comparing the experience favorably to Amazon once they got the hang of it. But just as with any other online shopping experience, there's always the potential of running into a scam if you're not careful. In order to avoid any possible problems, it's important to take the time to analyze where you're shopping and the product itself before hitting that "Place Order" button. 

This analysis, while important, isn't all that difficult. By simply asking yourself some simple questions and using your best judgement, you'll be able to discern what TikTok Shops are the real deal and which ones aren't. Here are some of the most important questions to ask yourself before buying from a TikTok Shop. 

You probably wouldn't want to eat from a restaurant that looks neglected and that you've heard nothing but bad things about from friends and family who've eaten there. That same line of thinking should also apply to your online shopping habits. Before buying anything from a TikTok Shop, you should thoroughly investigate the reputation of whoever you're shopping from before a purchase, rather than finding out after being scammed. 

It's important to note that TikTok Shop owners don't need a blue check next to their name to start selling on the app. So long as they are over 18, provide the proper business documents, have at least 1,000 followers, and adhere to the platform's community guidelines, they can launch a shop. While these safeguards are put in place to give buyers peace of mind, it's still important to investigate further before buying from anywhere. 

Take the time to look through the seller's TikTok profile as well as any accounts they may have elsewhere online to get an idea of their overall reputation. When inspecting their shop, look at reviews from previous buyers. A few complaints here and there aren't unusual, but negative reviews and low ratings significantly outnumber positive ones should immediately raise red flags. 

Keeping your data and information secure during a transaction is something not to be taken lightly. If questioning the legitimacy of a TikTok Shop, you'll want to get an idea of how they perform business. When ready to pay, you should never be prompted to use any third-party services. Even more concerning are any forms of payment that require you to enter in information or links directly to your bank account. Going along with these or similar methods can put your personal and financial information at risk, which can become a messy ordeal to clean up.

If using a credit or debit card to make a purchase, make sure you're using TikTok's integrated payment system. This way your data won't be stored, better encryption technology is used to keep your information safe, and if a problem does arise, it will be easier to resolve by reaching out to TikTok's support team. However, some experts recommend using a platform such as ApplePay, Venmo, or PayPal to complete a transaction. Given that TikTok uses services such as PayPal to process transactions, this makes sense as these systems are thoroughly regulated to prevent data from being mishandled. Nevertheless, you should still take caution to avoid scam tactics common across most money-sharing apps.

When shopping online, everyone is looking for the best deal possible. Finally coming across a jaw-dropping low price on your dream product after hours of searching is a rewarding prospect, but that doesn't mean you should bite right away. On TikTok Shop, a deal that's too-good-to-be-true may very well be just that. 

Due to not having the same kind of maintenance fees and overhead costs of other e-commerce platforms and heavy competition with other shoppers, it's common to come across various sales and promotions on TikTok Shops. This is great for buyers seeking to save on their favorite items, but caution should be taken when coming across some of these deals. Oftentimes, high-demand products with exceedingly low price tags can turn out to be counterfeit items of poor quality. 

To avoid this, be sure to see how the product you're considering buying is priced elsewhere to get a well-rounded idea of how realistic the offer is. Additionally, make sure that you are never rushed into a transaction and that you have proper information to keep track of your delivery such as an order confirmation email and functioning tracking number.