Have you ever been in a scenario where you needed to push the “Buy now” button but were hesitant because you didn’t want to pay $47, $97, or even more just to discover that you had chosen the wrong thing again? Let me tell you that I’ve been in that circumstance several times and that I finally found a 5-step plan to get out of it.

Step 1: Locate your product.

Assume you look up “dog training” in a book. The first step would be to visit the Clickbank Marketplace (http://marketplace.clickbank.net) and use the freshly created search option. By default, the results are ordered by popularity, which implies that the first match will also be the best-selling product on Clickbank. Simply browsing a few websites can give you an idea of which product would be your favourite.

Step 2: Product evaluations

When you want to acquire a new car, what is the first thing you do? You don’t just go to the dealer and hand up your hard-earned cash. Typically, you will look for a potential model and then look for testing or reviews in magazines or on the internet. That is precisely what you should do next.

Assuming you’re interested in the ebook “Sit, stay, fetch,” you’d go to your favourite search engine and key in the product title in quotes, followed by the magic word “review.” The results may not be entirely relevant, but you will ultimately find some reviews on “Sit, stay, fetch.”

Hint: It is always advisable to check multiple reviews on a product because some people would offer you heaven on earth only to make a sale.

Customer feedback is the third step.

Customers provide testimonials to the author of most Clickbank goods whether they liked the product or not (but would a reputable businessman actually publish poor testimonials on the product website?!). Assuming the product creator is a trustworthy individual, the testimonials will be genuine, and you will gain a good understanding of how delighted the buyers are with the product they purchased.

Most published testimonials contain the author’s email address or website URL. Whether you are doubtful about a particular testimonial, send the writer an email and see if you receive a response.

Step 4: Additional content

Of course, you’ll be most interested in the product itself, but it’s always wonderful to have some extras to go along with it. If any bonuses are offered, they are usually listed at the bottom of the sales page. Simply browse to the product’s website and see what extras you’ll receive if you buy.

Refund policy is the fifth step.

In October 2005, Clickbank issued an official refund guarantee for any product, allowing you to receive a complete refund within 8 weeks of purchase. After 8 weeks, the purchase is final and you will not be able to get your money back. To ensure customer satisfaction, several shops extend their refund policy beyond the 8-week maximum, some even up to a full year. Others are even willing to give you a 200 percent refund since they are so confident in their goods.

Step 6: Other options

While Clickbank has many truly exceptional and wonderful products, there are those that simply cannot compete with a hardcopy of a book, retail software, etc. To be honest, why would you want to pay nearly a hundred dollars for an ebook that is just 40 pages long and contains half as much information as a product available on Amazon or retail stores for around $30?

Hint: The internet is the most comprehensive source of knowledge available today, and if you spend some time looking, you may discover that the vital information you require is also available for free on a website or message board.