With a few notable exceptions, he has a point. Cybershopping is still in its infancy, even in the United States.
Shoddy service is the norm.
Tales abound of rip-offs, misleading advertising, inaccurat e billing and orders never arriving. Giving credit card details over the Net need not be more risky than handing plastic to some anonymous shop assistant. The key is trust. That way you can reduce your risk of exposure. Incompetence is a greater risk than fraud, with overpricing and multiple charging being typical foul-ups.