Note to Online Shoppers
By Sasha Manuel
Online shopping is an answer to Manila’s traffic and highly condensed malls. Holidays or not, it seems like Filipinos are in a continuous shopping fever mode. Fantastic news for shops, goodbye college tuition and next day’s meal for some. LOL. Of course, I had blown it up a bit to add a dash of humour. I hope at least one of you laughed. Hehe.
Go Online or Hit the Mall
If you haven’t noticed, the online shopping community has been growing in an alarming rate. You can either blame or commend Multiply for making things easy and affordable for these sellers. Though shopping carts is still not part of the picture for most, and payment methods available to customers are still a bit tiresome, there’s still an increasing number of individuals who patronise these online stores. You can’t really blame them cuz it’s actually a lot more convenient and less stressful to place an order for something, make the payment then just wait for it in the mail, than to go to a mall, browse through hundreds upon hundreds of selections then queue up to pay for it. Because you have to brave the traffic, fight for a parking slot, make sure that you reach the mall while it’s still open (for all you working folks), and tire yourself with walking around huge malls while the former takes place in the comfort of your own home and usually takes just a few minutes of your time.
Online Shopping in Brief
There are a variety of ways in which a shopper can purchase a product online. One, browse and buy. Two, browse, issue custom specs and buy. Three, browse and pre-order. Oh, some online sellers have actual physical stores which is another preference of mine. Payments are usually done in the following forms: Bank deposit (my preference), GCash, or COD for meetups.
Are you protected?
Everything sounds really simple, yea? This process of doing business online has become a norm. You can see it being used by most, if not all, online sellers. Kudos to these sellers who actually took the time to make the ordering process easier on their Multiply websites. However, everything’s set up to protect the seller.
I hardly see sellers post their “promise to serve you the best way possible” spiel on their sites. What I do see often are disclaimers and/or “adhere to my site’s policy or else you will not be served” sort of message. Charming, isn’t it? They’ve even set up a so-called “black list” for bogus customers, shared amongst themselves. I couldn’t believe it at first until someone mentioned that that list actually does exist.
So, how about the online shoppers — the customers? Don’t we deserve some sort of protection, too?
My Share of Online Shopping Nightmares
Even after a few online transactions that went sour, it didn’t turn me off from the trade completely. I’m still a willing patron. In fact, I’m either a loyal customer to those sellers I’ve already done business with (they can expect me to keep coming back), ones who have shown appreciation for my business, OR I’ve decidedly shunned off the ones who didn’t (not worth the effort).
One experience includes miscommunication on their part then dismissed me. Ouch. Another is failure to apply a reservation policy on my order, hence, my losing it. And the last one was a pre-ordered item with 100% of the payment already sent, after close to 2 months (and still counting) my order hasn’t arrived without a word of when it will arrive. Moreover, the girl emailed teh boyfriend behind my back (didn’t even bother to CC me on the email), made arrangements to send him my money even when I didn’t ask for a refund. She didn’t even stop and think to just send me my order when it does arrive. Makes me think that the order was never placed at all. I just tried to tell myself that these things happen, that I’m not the only one to have gone through such an ordeal. Am I right?
The Final Note
This post has been brewing in my mind for quite a while now and with a gentle push from friends, I’ve finally decided to air out the laundry, dirty ones at that. I just want to bring it out in the open so you guys can take precautionary measures and learn from my personal online shopping experience. Get a feel on how the seller transacts with his or her customers. Ask yourselves, “will it be easy to get in touch with the seller?”, “is the seller hiding his or her identity?”, “would you really want to give your money to a rude seller?” so on and so forth. Every customer deserves the right amount of good service. Sometimes, it’s best to be wary. Esp since there’s no regulating body to govern over these online sellers.
How about you guys? How’s your online shopping experience so far? Are there changes you wish to see happen in the near future? As for the rest of you folks, if you have other online shopping tips to share, please do. We’d all appreciate it!
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I’ve always made it a point to do some check on the seller ( such as rely on my friends’ recommendations) before making a purchase because there are just alot of bogus sellers out there. It’s hard-earned money, and besides the “money”, I don’t want to be frustrated that there are kinds of people like those around who seek to dupe people. For honest sellers who just had a twist of fate with pre-ordered purchases, I just hope they handle it more tactfully, or be crystal clear and inform buyers if the purchase ( from their supplier ) would be unsuccessful.
there are too many scammers scattered in multiply now and i have a couple of friends who were victims of scam pre-ordering. i only buy from sellers whome i trust and i already made friends with and are good communicators. it would be best to browse all the pages in the multiply account and look for details like buyer’s comments or payment posts. if the account owner has deleted a lot of customer comments, think twice. that person may be a scammer and in a day or two, who knows, the account may will suddenly be inactive. in ebay too, a seller may be labelled as a “power seller” but may not be transparent with their buyers. even if their feedback’s 100% i still get scared if they don’t reply to my inquiries after i won the bid. after that experience, i made a point not to pay for my winning bid yet(either through bank dep or gcash) until the seller has sent me an invoice and replied to my messages. i know for a seller its frustrating when somebody reserves an item, then doesn’t pay. bright side is, the item being sold is still with the seller. the seller can just re-post or re-sell it. but what about the buyer who has sent their payment and didn’t receive the item they payed for??
Sophie
One of the things that saddens me is the fact that I’ve recommended them to friends (as you would know!) and to my readers.
When these things happened, I had chosen to keep silent at first until I noticed that my customer experience with certain sellers has gotten worse and worse. I now feel that I have a responsibility to make sure that sellers and customers alike know that they have respective responsibilities that they should honour. Esp since I’ve learned of others’ bad experiences with [insert name of sellers here], too.
Carmela
It’s sad to find out that there are scammers in the local online shopping community. I had noticed that some sellers delete comments but I didn’t know it’s a sign of dodgy-ness.
I had been thinking that there should be a way to rate both the seller and the buyer but I guess Multiply isn’t really built like eBay. That’s why I prefer disclosure for both parties.
About the last bit, I know what you mean. Customers should really ask that question cuz at the current set up, most of the trusting is coming from us. We deal with them in good faith. We entrust our money to them, our personal particulars like full name, address, phone numbers. Heck, that’s important, too. I don’t think it’s too much to ask for some decent customer service together with the item bought, right? Whereas for the sellers, some even treat you like you’re some ditzy shopper just because they’ve “pegged” you as one. Heh.
Hi im che.
I initially started in Ebay, then Multiply and eventually i opened my own .com store.
It really is important for a seller to establish her/his online store’s credibility bec as you said it really is the buyers hard earned money.
Before buying anything, just make sure you review the sellers history well. Like some multiply sellers have feedback blogs from their customers. Ebay has the feedback rating.
Check mode of payments. The more options, the more chances the seller will deliver. Anything that has paper trail. Because recently, there has been a law about cyber crime.
There are some occassions that i purchase online too. i have encountered na mataray na seller. Sometimes naman kasi, its so hard to buy in Multiply, kasi the prices and infos about the items aren’t provided. So you cant help but be makulit and send PMs tapos sometimes ang tagal ng sagot. By the time they get back to you, you loose interest na.
Some Multiply sellers will say kasi takot sila sa competition kaya no price is indicated. But they have to consider first their buyers, bec thats the reason why they are selling online in the first place.
I am guilty of having a blacklisted list. Initially, i didnt want to do that because there are really some occasions na busy lang talaga the buyer. But parang habang tumatagal, padami ng padami and yung iba balik ng balik to buy more pa tapos they dont pay.
I try to understand my buyers always, but there was a time na talagang i had this buyer who multiple items amounting to almost 3k dated November. Requested to hold payment till sweldo daw. So i did and she kept on extending until New year na wala pa din. That wa the tipping point for me. Some naman deny that they purchased and didnt pay. So para din may file ako i made one. With their purchase date, order number, time, details generated from my site.
Also, before you purchase anything. Try to read the sellers buying policy and if you think you still have doubts, try asking questions. Okay lang makulit, siyempre you are paying for it.
We still encounter a lot of newbies sa online buying, kaya there are times talaga you really have to inquire lalo pag hindi mo kabisado. Usually its questions about payment, delivery and return/exchange.
Speaking of return / exchange. There are times na hindi talaga maiiwasan ang damaged goods. Sometimes, hindi namin napapansin. But for whatever reason, its really our fault and least to say, nakakahiya sa buyer. As much as possible iniiwasan din namin ito bec its added cost for us since we have to shoulder the shipping of exchange back and forth. Mas grabe pag switched packeges, since two buyers are involved dito. I could just imagine na mas nakakaloka pag yung buyer needs it on a certain day tapos may case na ganito.
In unfortunate cases like this, just make sure your seller will accomodate exchanges or refunds. Take a picture and email it to your seller.
i hope these tips help
For the sellers : It really is for the convenience of the buyers thats why we are here. I really take my hats off to my buyers. They really are the backbone of my online biz. They have given me a chance to quit my job and do something i really love full time.
online shopping should be fun for everyone!
Cheers and more power to all!
Thanks for sharing all that, Che.
I reckon sellers get burned with every bad business that has transpired. I don’t blame them for setting up ways to prevent it from recurring, however, what I do mind is the fact that some innocent shoppers (ones who’ve done the necessary readings and have ready payments and such) get caught in the crossfire. It’s a bit unfair, right?
I understand the need to keep a blacklist but, personally, to share it with other sellers is a bit malicious. I’m not saying you practice that, this applies to those who do.
I guess it can be tiresome to ask a seller to treat every customer accordingly. For example, one time I had failed to follow through with an order that I placed with one seller. Up to now, we haven’t really talked about it. Should I be on her blacklist? Should other sellers be wary of the business I can bring to them? There are reasons why that deal fell through. All we need to do is talk about it.
Anyway, kudos to you for effectively propagating your dotcom. You have a shopping cart! Yay! You’ve managed to grow out of the “multiply” stage and have moved on to the bigger league. You’re one of the sellers that should represent the local online shopping community.
Thank you!! I really appreciate it
really took a lot of work and $$$ haha. but its worth it. It really is much more convenient for both us and the buyer to have a .com store.
yeah i also agree with you. There should be an open line between buyer and seller.
Open communication is the key. Piso lang naman mag text. libre pa pag email or chikka.com hehe.
That just in case payment will be delayed for some reason, just inform the seller. I personally appreciate it pag ganun kasi i know sincere talaga the buyer to buy. Or sometimes they come back and apologize. Pag ganun, okay lang.
Before we really turn in the towel for a buyer who doesnt pay, best efforts talaga to text and email to follow up. Sometimes nakakainis lang kasi deadma talaga sila. Kaya they give us no choice talaga but to refrain to deal with them in the future. Sayang din siya in terms of sales kasi instead na benta na, naging re-listed stock ulit.
And there are those talaga that really dont understand how online stores work.
We still have a looooong way to go. Ang layo pa natin vs the booming online economy of first world countries. But we are slowly getting there kahit papano. Online shopping is encouraging. Just note the important tips on how to protect yourself from bogus sellers
Interesting post.
One thing I am curious about is the competency of our postal system. I was browsing through a foreign online store and it has a disclaimer that it doesn’t take orders from the Philippines because of delivery issues. Have you ever encountered anything getting lost in the mail or do you take extra precautions (insurance, tracking numbers, etc.) when ordering?
Thanks.
Hi Mau!
Do you mean ordering from a foreign online store?
Actually, ordering and paying is such a breeze since most foreign online stores accept credit cards. The headache comes when item reaches Philippines.
By law, buyer pays for taxes and duties. But dapat they charge only pag declared value is over a certain value. But sad to say, due to corruption, pag dating ng package mo sa post office, they will charge you way over the top. And binubuksan pa nila your package to check. Tapos basta basta nalang they give you a fee based on?!?! what they see sa box mo. Like when they see elctronics, perfumes, make up even if its assorted. Nasumbong na ito kay Tulfo dati hehehe. i watched the segment.
From my personal experience. Guess what, for a small shoe sizes box of assorted fabric swatches from Hong Kong, they charged 1,500.00. Ano yun!?!? sa inis ko, hay “sa inyo nalang yan ate!”.. Garapal. sad but true.
So if you like to buy from foreing online stores, better to course it through FedEx or UPS. Its more expensive but its a whole lot convenient. Its insured, trackable online and they provide you with all the details. Plus with them, you will be assured that your package will arrive at your doorsteps “-)
Thanks Che! That was enlightening. Mukhang dapat nga FedEx or UPS na lang, at least hindi linked sa government and I’ll bet it’s safer and faster too. Buti na lang me ibang alternatives kahit mas mahal, kesa naman ma-harass ka pa ng mga employees sa post office. What happened to you was just so annoying… the govt should really clean up all these corruption stuff otherwise everybody will be discouraged to buy from foreign entities or to ship to the Philippines.
Re: Deleting comments at Multiply
First thing I thought when I saw deleted comments was that the seller didn’t want others to see who were buying from them. It’s protection from “sulot” or competitors also inviting their contacts. Second, it was just an aesthetics issue. Masyado nang mahaba ang comments list (lalo na yung mga 50+ comments). Mahirap na basahin. So, I started doing it recently too.
I really didn’t attribute it to being dodgy. Hmm, made me rethink about deleting comments tuloy.
Re: Failing to follow through
“Sasha: I guess it can be tiresome to ask a seller to treat every customer accordingly. For example, one time I had failed to follow through with an order that I placed with one seller. Up to now, we haven’t really talked about it. Should I be on her blacklist? Should other sellers be wary of the business I can bring to them? There are reasons why that deal fell through. All we need to do is talk about it.”
True, as a seller, I would appreciate being informed by my buyer as to why the order did not push through. At least talk about it just so I would not harbor any animosity against the buyer. Although, I wouldn’t blacklist the buyer if she didn’t explain why. Ganun talaga eh. Pag sa brick-and-mortar shop naman, it can happen too. Buyers can say they’re buying it na but then they can still change their minds the last minute before paying. I might get a little offended by the fact they didn’t have the courtesy to inform me or if they ignore my follow-ups but not to the extent to blacklist them.
However, I would make an exception for certain buyers. I would probably blacklist a buyer if after transacting/communicating with them several times na, that everytime you communicated (either via text or email) over the course of how many days/nights, she had the intention of ordering pa rin in the end. Then, after all that, suddenly she cancels the whole order.
It happened to me. It was several nights/days that we exchanged text messages (magkano rin yun!), e-mails and PMs. Humingi pa sya ng new designs/stock and I showed her a sneak peek of the new ones and idadagdag daw niya yun sa order nya. Then after a week of all that, she cancels the whole order. She explained naman why but it still doesn’t make sense why she didn’t have the decency to buy at least 1 item out of how many (a dozen diff items) she ordered. It seemed malicious to me. Sobrang inis ako nun. Then, by chance, I saw her ordering from another site. Different products but related to mine (bead jewelry and accessories). I sent a msg to the seller to just use some caution when dealing with her. After a few days, the seller informed me, she ordered and didn’t follow through either. A few days after that, I see her Multiply account closed. Zilch. Gone. Hmmm, mukhang ayaw na niya makita online.
So, at Multiply, it’s really a risk for BOTH sellers and buyers. You really have to take your chances and risk losing something with each buyer transaction (time? money? hardwork? sanity? hehe).
Re: Protection
Advanced payment, pre-ordering works for the Multiply seller but not for the buyer. I guess that’s why recently, a lot of new sites popped up to protect the buyer. Examples are Onlinesellersph.blogspot.com, Guild of Outsanding Online Dealers (onlineguild.multiply.com) are put up to list/filter the “reliable sellers”. I guess you just have to rely on these communities or your personal network to check up if a seller is bogus or not.
Che
I had a similar experience with the main post office here in Parañaque. They actually charged me more than Php2K for a package of makeup sent by Elizabeth Arden for review. I didn’t even buy the darn thing, why am I being taxed as if I did? Pah!
Mau
What I usually do is just have someone from the US or Australia buy and ship it for me. I don’t mind the wait so long as it really does get to me, if you know what I mean.
Elaine
Thanks for the insights.
I actually came across a site that actually even posts photos of “bogus buyers”. It’s like a lawsuit waiting to happen. I understand the frustration of sellers if a sale falls through but to sink that low? Just imagine if I started posting screenshots of sites who’ve maligned me as a buyer. I’m sure they won’t like that either. 
All I’m saying is if you go about your business minus all the hating (that sort of risk is all part of the online business after all), you won’t have people getting turned off by such actions. You don’t see mangoshop.com or nordstrom.com or zappos.com (don’t say it’s just because they’re high-capital businesses) putting up such antics just to prevent “bogus buying”, right? Shopping ought to be a fun thing. Just thinking out loud.
Hi Che. Your website is cool and very professional. No one would think you started from eBay or Multiply. Congratulations!
Hi Em!
thank you! REALLY APPRECIATE IT
@Sasha; Ah, true enough. Yeah, I wanted to look professional and didn’t post any “bogus buyers” list. Although, I still have her picture if I wanted to post it. heheh.
Sorry napahaba ang post ko before. Was in the mood eh.
Don’t worry about it! It’s always great to hear opinions from the readers. Everyone’s encouraged to speak up. My only request is to be nice, if you know what I mean.
Since I’m based in the US and do not have any experience doing business with any Filipino local seller in Multiply, I cannot share any experience. But I can suggest something. Why don’t you (just one of you) set up a site that allows others to post their reviews about a shopping site. Those customers who wish to buy from a Multiply site must go and check that review site first and look up the reviews regarding the shopping site she’s about to deal with. In that way, she has an idea that how is business transaction made through that shopping site between seller and customer.
It’s like Ebay…a customer can post some review about the seller and rate the seller.
The site doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a shopping site. It should be foremostly a review site.
Oh another thing…now that you wrote about this Multiply shopping sites, how come these sites don’t list their prices? How come you have to post a comment to ask how much, if the size you want is available, if the color that you want is available, etc.? How come these sites don’t just list their prices, the colors and sizes available? It takes so much time to negotiate and do business this way. it should be just placing an order and then confirming through email that the seller accepted the order and informing the details of shipment , etc…..it’s such a hassle to do business like this , the way Multiply shopping sellers do it.
please visit my site..hand made cellphone/bag charms for sale..and others..tnx..
i do online shopping only if i need something which is hard to find, those limited edition stuffs for example. done some pre-owned shopping as well for Old Navy and Gap items which is very usable.
would like to share some bit tips for online shoppers,
- check and read feedbacks from other buyers (track record of seller is very important)
- communicate with seller thru mail, sms, or if they would allow a landphone call this is very helpful
- check also for other stuffs she/he is selling
- ask seller for authenticity for applicable items
- how about damages/small flaws? before making the purchase ask seller if refund/exchange is acceptable otherwise you have no way to return an item
- pay thru bank deposits this is a safer mode of payment per my experience
i hope it helps!
Fortunately, all of my online transactions turned out well. I do wish the same for everyone.
We should be cautious with our online dealings. There are plenty of manloloko in the cyberworld. Sad but true.
anywhere merong manloloko, just be careful and choose on every transactions especially online…
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