Looking for safer online shopping? Turn to classified ads online

When it comes to safety and privacy on the internet, it's not surprising that the average internet user can get suspicious. After all, there are various ways in which your private data can be accessed from your PC and, whether it's your bank details, your home address or your private emails, you'll definitely want to keep your personal information exactly that. And while many sites are completely trustworthy and will do their best to keep your bank details secure, the extra-cautious among you may still harbour a certain amount of suspicion over handing out your private information online.

However, there is one way to minimise the dangers of online shopping and put your mind at rest. The advent of online classifieds, for instance, provides the vast majority of internet shoppers and web users with a bustling array of marketplaces from which they're able to acquire any number of goods, services and more. In fact, online classified ads possess a range of benefits over the medium's traditional printed form.

While printed classified ads are only a few column inches in length, and advertisers are forced to stick to a certain word limit, classifieds on the internet do not generally user per-line-pricing systems so tend to be much longer and more descriptive. What's more, online classified ads are much easier to search, so users will be more likely to find exactly what they're looking for. They are also easier to place, and therefore quicker to find, so responses are likely to be faster and higher in number.

Many of the most successful online classified ad networks are free, mainly as a result of their self-policing and low-cost nature. Importantly, if you're a keen internet shopper, buying your items via classified ads means that you only share your bank details with one merchant who will use them and then dispose of them. This way, your bank details won't be saved in a vast database of information with the bank and personal details of hundreds and thousands of other customers. You'll also be able to have one-on-one contact with the merchant in question - whether by phone, via email or face-to-face - so, if a suspicious circumstance does arise, you'll be able to contact the possible offender directly and deal with the problem yourself.

Online classifieds can provide the newbie and the seasoned internet shopper with a variety of options - whether you're hoping to buy electrical goods, musical equipment or gardening items on the internet, along with a host of other options. Many classified ads sites will also provide services, such as advertising hobbies and interests clubs in your area, as well as listing property for sale or rent, jobs across a range of sectors and singles ads - although, of course, love comes for free!

Andrew Regan is an online, freelance journalist.