[vasudeva]

For a really adventurous person who is sure of what to buy, online from even abroad can be cheaper.

As an example, I have worn spectacles for more than 23 years and know what frame design suits. My last 2 frame purchases (in 2008 and 2012) were both online. Once I bought from smartbuyglasses and the second time from framesdirect. In both cases, the online price+freight+duties came out far cheaper in rupees and in percentage terms than what I saw at reputed Delhi shops such as BonTon, Lawrence & Mayo, Dayal.

[finneyp]

Originally Posted by mayankk

And refund won't be a problem if you raise a ticket. You either get the money back, or, he'll ship you a new one.

Good to know that, have raised a ticket today asking for Refund. Hope it happens.

Originally Posted by pratyush6

A couple of years back I had read this article that brick and motor shops were now becoming the place where people touch and feel the product and buy online.

I do the same when buying mobile phones
But, if I am buying big appliances like TV, Washing machine etc, I prefer to see & buy from the mortar shops like Reliance Digital, Croma etc.

The showrooms too are adapting and offering products online which is the way they can survive.

Yes, they need to do that to survive!
Some shops like Sangeetha (for mobiles), Croma etc sell over both shop & online.

Originally Posted by dass

I had placed an order on DX.com about a month back and am yet t receive it. It was a low value order and hence there was no tracking number provided. I was prepared for a 15-20 days wait, but this is getting too long and I am wondering if I should just cancel this.

It took 50 days to receive my order! I guess you need to wait for another 2 - 3 weeks.

[rookieraj]

Please read my recent mail to Flipkart:-

Dear Mr Bansal,

I have been a very satisfied customer of Flipkart, until today. I am very disappointed with the response (or rather, the lack of it) of your customer service department and I have ample reasons for that.

I ordered an Asus Zenfone 5 on *16 Jul 14* and the payment for the item was made on the same day. As you do not ship items to my default location, I had provided my brother's address in Delhi for the delivery of the Zenfone. My brother received the parcel on *19 Jul 14* and he promptly sent it to me through a courier. *I received the parcel on 22 Jul 14*.

This is when the fun began. The address slip on the package had my order details printed correctly but when I opened it, I found a Zenfone 6 carton inside it. The Asus packing mentions that the product displayed on the packaging is for illustrative purposes only and may differ from the actual product. So I opened the Asus packaging and I actually found a Zenfone 6 in it. My colleagues, who were with me when I opened the package, congratulated me on my good fortune for *I paid for a Zenfone 5 and I got a Zenfone 6 instead*. *I was making a cool profit of Rs 4,000/- thanks to a mix-up at your end*.

However, my conscience did not allow me to keep the phone and profit because of someone's mistake. I initiated a return request through your website immediately. The same day i.e. on 22 Jul 14, I received an e-mail from Suddapalli K of the customer service department apologizing for the inconvenience caused and promised to respond to my request within 24 - 48 hours. I called the customer service department on 24 Jul 14 at around noon and I spoke to Ms Rituparna. She was very sweet and patiently noted down my problem. She then put my call on hold and after a couple of minutes told me that she has escalated the matter with the concerned people and that I would definitely hear from the concerned department by the end of the day. I kept waiting for the call but it never materialized. I then made another call to the customer service department at 7.03 PM and someone by the name of Gavin spoke to me. It took me some time to put across my problem to him. If the recorded conversation can be listened to at your end, you may be able to identify the reason behind this communication gap and please do let me know of it too, as I constantly endeavour to improve my communication skills. Anyway, Gavin put my call on hold and after a minute or so informed me that I would definitely receive a call from the technical team or the concerned department tomorrow. The only information that Gavin could provide me is that Ms Rituparna is actually Ms Rituparn a Das and that Suddapalli K is actually Suddapalli Krishna.

There are some unanswered questions which have compelled me to write this mail to you:-

1. Eight days have elapsed since I made the payment for a Zenfone 5. There is no clarity on when, if at all, I will receive the item. In the interim, what do I do with the Zenfone 6 which is lying, packed and unused, with me?

2. Your customer service department lacks the competence to meet deadlines set by their own good selves. They should at least have the courtesy to keep the customer informed of the status of the unresolved request/complaint.

3. By the way, is speaking passable English the only qualification one needs to get a job in your customer service department? What about intellect, initiative and loyalty to the organisation? I am sure 'dignity of labour' is an alien concept for your management.

4. If one is not satisfied with the response of the customer service department, how does one escalate the issue in order to get adequate redressal? Or do you forget about customer satisfaction once the payment has been credited in your account?

5. If you run an honest business you will indeed appreciate honest acts. Or, should I assume that you expect your clients to be dishonest and the rare offer of returning a more expensive item, than what one has paid for, is too much for you to digest?

6. Did Asus know of your exclusive logistics arrangements before it designated you its exclusive online retailer? Does it know how many potential customers are turned away from your website because their locations are not serviced by your exclusive courier company? There are other e-commerce portals who ship their products through India Post if the courier company does not cover a particular area. It would surely be below your dignity to even consider this option or is it that this simple thought never struck you at all?

Honestly, I do not expect you to reply to this mail. If you do so, you will exceed my expectations.

warm regards,

[vasudeva]

I had a similar experience with flipkart last week (read my post 5-6 posts back). One has to call up 3-4 times and repeat the same old story to hope for a resolution. Tried giving feedback on flipkart??

[rookieraj]

@ vasudeva: Yes, I did leave a feedback on the review product page and on Facebook. This was in addition to an earlier email to their customer service department asking to return the item.

[Dry Ice]

Originally Posted by dass

I had placed an order on DX.com about a month back and am yet t receive it. It was a low value order and hence there was no tracking number provided. I was prepared for a 15-20 days wait, but this is getting too long and I am wondering if I should just cancel this.

It will arrive, eventually. If it's a low value, low priority item, let it be.

I have ordered a few times from DX - BT OBD adapter, dashcam, T10 Leds etc, etc. They provide a tracking number (even with China post or HK post) if you pay $1 or so. I always opted for that.

On average, I see the seller ships the item after 3-5 days of payment. The shipping details then take about 3-5 days more to display the correct info. After that depending on the package movement it lands in Delhi in 8-10 days. Customs keeps it for 5-6 days (not in every case though!) and then eventually it is moved to Delhi hub for delivery. From there its 1-2 days max.

Fastest package I received was in 18 days, & slowest, in 63 days.

[Hells_Fury]

Originally Posted by amanomics

Hi All

I took the plunge to order my first purchase from China! And it was delightful experience.

I finally took the plunge too today. Ordered the arm rest from the same dealer. This is my second order on AliExpress, the first one did not go too well. The product was not delivered even after 2 months, but I got a full refund. Lets see how this one goes.

[hiren.mistry]

<rant on>
Flipkarts voes are just about to get worse. The latest debacle being the sale of seond batch of mi3 phones.
I missed out on the first batch, but I promptly registered myself for the second batch. The sale was to go online today at 2:00 PM.

So as suggested by Flipkart, I had logged into the mi3 page since 11:00 AM. And bang at 2:00 PM the product went out of stock. This is nothing but a sham.
I wonder why did flipkart allow so many ppl to register for the phone if they could not meet the demand? Or this is just a rather lame marketing strategy to create hype about this phone.
</rant off>
Disgusted...

[poloman]

Flipkart is highly overrated. I rate Jabong.com the best when it come to speed of delivery and ease of returns. Also snapdeal.com is the best when it comes to the lowest prices and widest range of products. Flipkart is best in doing these kind of gimmicks in building up interest in their products. They have slipped in all other parameters.

[virgopal]

Let me relate my positive experience with Amazon India, recently.
I placed an order for Google Chromecast HDMI Streaming Media Player. It was a pleasant surprise for me when the FedEx courier delivered the item just after 5 days.The seller is located in New York and the package was top class and intact.It was an expensive item(Rs 3300) and I was really on tenterhooks till I received it. The seller had provided Tracking number and could track all the way from New York to Mysore.
Though I had positive experience with Flipkart, I prefer Amazon for my needs due to competitive pricing and fast delivery.

[slicvic]

But then here comes me to rant on my Amazon India woes.
In the last two weeks i have received Puma SHoes which are obviou sfakes. And a 9000mAh Samsung Power bank which fails to charge my phone even once.
What is the course of action i can take?

[Jaguar]

Is it just me who feels that Flipkart packaging quality has come down drastically? I had ordered a Kaspersky Internet security and the box was in shambles when it reached me. Since I just needed the product key inside, I didn't bother.

Of late, I see Amazon India prices to be better than Flipkart as well for most of the products.

Let me share a positive experience with Cilory.com.
Ordered a t-shirt as COD and it arrived in a couple of days. Didn't like the fit so called up the customer care and placed a replacement request for different size. They arranged the courier pick up the next day and after a couple of days, I have the correct size t-shirt with me. No follow up, nothing.

[one-77]

Bought a steth for my sis from Collateral Medical. http://www.collateralmed.com/

Got it for Rs. 9,500, considerably lower than the MRP of 14,500. With her name etched using laser. Warranty code and everything included. Was sent on FedEx Priority overnight. Verified the authenticity by registering the steth on Littmann's website.
(The Littmann retailer in Kochi quoted 12.5k and the surgicals shops in my town Thrissur had no discounts on the MRP.)

My best online buy so far. And my sis is so very happy with her new steth.

I would definitely recommend this site if Team-BHPians need to by medical equipment for work/ home use. Everything - including glucometers, digital BP apparatuses etc. - is extremely well-priced.

[F150]

I prefer Flipkart over all other online retailers, Myntra is a close second. Jabong's refund process is painful.

About MI3 sales issues, nothing can be done, almost everyone wants to buy this phone.

[virgopal]

@slicvic. Un acceptable service. However,you need to take up with their customer care regarding quality/fake or any other issues.
Reg Shoes.Myntra has an innovative feature. Whenever you select to buy a particular brand/size,you select a higher or lower size also,and pay for both. An empty sealable bag is also sent with both pairs.After trying out, you return the other pair,using the bag they enclosed. Courier charges to be borne by you and will be reimbursed(rs100).
But,the excess amount will be kept in your a/c as credit for future purchases.
This also is a sales gimmick,as you are bound make an additional purchase,even if you dont want to.