Safest Way to Pay
Why is paying by credit card safer than paying by check, cash, or debit card?
If you have an unauthorized charge on your credit card, under federal law your liability is limited to $50. In fact, some credit card issuers and web site operators say that under certain circumstances they will even pay this amount for you.

Can paying by credit card help in a dispute?
You may be able to dispute the seller’s charges if the goods don’t arrive or if you aren’t satisfied with them and return them. However, under the federal Fair Credit Billing Act, you can only effectively dispute charges billed to your credit card (but that you have not yet paid) if ALL of the following are true:

1. You have made a good faith attempt to resolve the dispute with the seller;
2. The dispute involves the amount of $50 or more; and
3. The dispute arose within the state of your credit card billing address, or within 100 miles of your address; AND
4. The seller of the goods (for example, a department store) has not issued the credit card that you used to pay.
5. If the seller of the goods has issued the credit card you used to pay, as when you use a department store credit card, you may be able to dispute the seller's charges as long as you have first made a good faith attempt to resolve the dispute. The $50, 100-mile requirements do not apply where the seller and card issuer are the same company.

Be aware that if you buy goods or services from a seller through a web site, there may be some legal uncertainty about where a dispute arose.
(Source: BBBOnline.com)