The Online Shopping Thread

Jeroen · 30th October 2012, 20:27

I have been buying on line for many years. Admittedly, mostly in Europe and USA. I don't think for the last ten years I've not made a booking for travel (plane, hotel, cars, ferry) other than online, using a variety of different sites. Anything from cheap flight.com to KLM.

In addition my wife and I have been buying stuff for our various hobbies on mostly Ebay from places all over the world. The most expensive purchase I made was three years ago when I bought my Jaguar XJR of an Ebay buyer, never having seen the car in real life. That was a bit scary, but it turned out the best buy/car I've ever owned.

All in all, we've never had any serious issues with Ebay or with anything else we bought on line. Most our books/CD/DVD come via Amazon. And we just used the "nearest Amazon" to where we happen to be living.

I'v made endless relatively small purchases from a whole host of of small companies around the world. Never any problems. Once I ordered a new rechargeable battery, it arrived promptly but was next to useless as it lost its charge within a day. Contacted the seller and he sent me two new ones!

The nicest experience was with Ebay. This was before paypal and international credit cards payments were available. Both my wife and I bought a lot of stuff for our hobby from the USA, whilst living in the Netherlands. Once we won the respective auction we would simply put the agreed amount of dollars in an envelope and sent it, just by regular mail to the seller. Never any problems. One day I noticed a special Boeing 747 manual on Ebay which I really wanted to have. Cost $100,--. So I put $100 in an envelope and sent it of to the seller. He claimed never to have received it. I really wanted the manual. The seller had a very good Ebay rating, so I decided to try again. So I sent him a second envelop with $100. This time he received the money within 10 days and sent me the manual.

About half a year later I receive a mail from him. The original envelope with $100 dollar had just arrived!! It must have been lost in the mail for about six months and then finally got delivered. I would never have known if he hadn't contacted me and he mailed the $100 back to me. Restored my confidence!

These days all our online payments are on line as well. Paypal, credit card or direct debit and in the Netherlands I can do an online bank transfer. Within 1.5 hour money is transferred from my account to the sellers account.

Gurudatta Nayak · 31st October 2012, 20:06

I am Planing to buy a Samsung product from zoomin.com. Has anyone has buying experience from that site?

Dose they provide manufacturer warranty? Is it worth buying their 'Zoomin Care Plan'?

joslicx · 31st October 2012, 22:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gurudatta Nayak

I am Planing to buy a Samsung product from zoomin.com. Has anyone has buying experience from that site?

Dose they provide manufacturer warranty? Is it worth buying their 'Zoomin Care Plan'?

Bought my Olympus from them. Can fully recommend them.

Very pleasant shopping experience. They promise to match price from any other online store and did so in my case. The price on their site was 76k while it was 71k on infibeam. So they gave me a 5k discount coupon. Product was delivered in 2 days thru Fedex (ordered friday evening & got it monday morning). Excellent. They have thrown in a few free things like a photo mug and a flip album free as well. Overall good experience.

warranty is provided by the manufacturer. zoomin care plan is nothing but a service to pick up the product from your home and take it to service center in case any service is needed.

Gurudatta Nayak · 31st October 2012, 22:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by joslicx

Bought my Olympus from them. Can fully recommend them.

Very pleasant shopping experience. They promise to match price from any other online store and did so in my case. The price on their site was 76k while it was 71k on infibeam. So they gave me a 5k discount coupon. Product was delivered in 2 days thru Fedex (ordered friday evening & got it monday morning). Excellent. They have thrown in a few free things like a photo mug and a flip album free as well. Overall good experience.

warranty is provided by the manufacturer. zoomin care plan is nothing but a service to pick up the product from your home and take it to service center in case any service is needed.

I agree, They have priced the product very well. I will go ahead with your suggestion and order in a day or two.

Swanand Inamdar · 2nd November 2012, 17:11

Guys, need some help here.
I had bought an (electronic)item from eBay, a while ago. The item was shipped from Hong Kong, via Singapore Post. The tracking id shows the parcel has reached Mumbai. I understand, the parcel is held in customs.

Now, could anyone help me contact the customs? How and where do i get in touch with them?

archat68 · 2nd November 2012, 17:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by Swanand Inamdar

Guys, need some help here.
I had bought an (electronic)item from eBay, a while ago. The item was shipped from Hong Kong, via Singapore Post. The tracking id shows the parcel has reached Mumbai. I understand, the parcel is held in customs.

Now, could anyone help me contact the customs? How and where do i get in touch with them?

Contact with the foreign post office in Mumbai.

http://foreignpostmumbai.blogspot.in...omer-care.html

Swanand Inamdar · 2nd November 2012, 17:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by archat68

Contact with the foreign post office in Mumbai.

http://foreignpostmumbai.blogspot.in...omer-care.html

Thanks for your help!
Have written to them.
Hopefully, should get a response.

archat68 · 2nd November 2012, 17:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by Swanand Inamdar

Thanks for your help!
Have written to them.
Hopefully, should get a response.

Call them up instead of email.

sdp1975 · 6th November 2012, 17:29

Purchased a set of diapers from FirstCry. It's been 10 days and they still haven't delivered the complete order ( delivered only 1 of the 3 orders I made) !

Escalated to customer support - got a few calls that "yes today it will be delivered" , and so - but no good. Totally disappointed with their customer support and the way they've been handling this.

The only mistake I made was making a prepaid amount. No more shopping on FirstCry. I'll move to flipkart - their customer support and delivery is far better although the discounts they provide is on the lower side.

Warwithwheels · 9th November 2012, 09:35

Hi Team,

Came across this ad about Greendust.com in today's Daily. Looks like a first of its kind consumer goods store to go online.

Here's a excerpt about the venture:

Quote:

Greendust a brand of RLC ,offers high quality, genuine, branded products at highly discounted prices backed by our world class warranty and after sales Service. Our buyers are continuously on the lookout for factory seconds, surplus, demo, damaged packaging, discontinued and overproduced items. We negotiate the best prices on such products and pass on the savings to our customers.

These items go through our rigorous 50 point Quality inspection process and only then get our “GreenDust” seal of approval. We give customers an opportunity to conveniently shop for bargains through our dedicated online and offline channels, while offering manufacturers, distributors, and other retailers an alternate, organized sales channel.

Greendust.com

Wanted to know if any Bhpian has used the services of this online store. Apparently the price difference doesn't look very steep to me. The website layout looks a lot like the erstwhile Letsbuy.com.

ghodlur · 9th November 2012, 10:08

@WWW,

The website has been there for quite some time. It is know for factory seconds and stocks most of the home applicance. In fact I will going to the Mumbai branch today evening to check out a washing Machine. The prices offered are about 30-40% cheaper than the MRP. Will post more details after the visit.

My office colleague had bought a LG fridge and LG 47in LED/Smart TV and he is satisfied with the product.

one-77 · 9th November 2012, 12:47

How safe is booking.com?
They have some great deals for hotels worldwide, often much lower than rates quoted by the hotel websites or other travel sites.
But has anyone experienced issues of overcharging, or worse, hotels not honoring reservations made through the site?
If you make cancellations, are they prompt in making refunds?

shankar.balan · 9th November 2012, 13:00

I have been using booking.com since about 2004-2005 for all my International trips and a good many domestic trips too.
They are perfectly safe and thoroughly professional.
The good thing is that you only provide your credit card details as a "guarantee" and they only charge you when you go and stay at the Hotel.
I have never faced issues at the hotels on bookings made by booking.com anywhere in the world. Indeed, a month ago I had wrongly made a reservation in Chandigarh for a particular date when I was actually going there 3 or 4 days later. Despite the cancellation fee rule, I was not charged anything when I wrote and requested them for an amendment to the correct date citing this was an actual genuine mistake in dates made by me.
I definitely prefer booking.com to any other website which offers hotel booking services and this includes sites like makemytrip, expedia, priceline, gtahotels etc.
This is just a simple experience based consumer endorsement that I am sharing with you - I have nothing to do with them except that I use them as a "service provider".

Cheers!

k36 · 9th November 2012, 13:04

I understand booking.com doesn't charge you anything while booking. I have recently booked a resort in Goa through them and my credit card hasn't been charged.

The hotel manager sent a email confirming my booking.

Even in the booking confirmation from booking.com, it is mentioned that I will have to settle all bills at the hotel.

So I hope it is safe.

one-77 · 9th November 2012, 13:20

Thanks for the quick replies.

I convinced my friends (their parents rather) to make travel arrangements ourselves for an upcoming trip, instead of depending on travel agents, who I find charge 20-25k as commissions for a week's trip. Am going to make the hotel reservations today, so needed some reassurance, as I'm dealing with others' money.
Thank you!

30th October 2012, 20:27	#271
Jeroen Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Delhi Posts: 8,948 Thanked: 62,030 Times View My Garage	re: The "Online Shopping" Thread I have been buying on line for many years. Admittedly, mostly in Europe and USA. I don't think for the last ten years I've not made a booking for travel (plane, hotel, cars, ferry) other than online, using a variety of different sites. Anything from cheap flight.com to KLM. In addition my wife and I have been buying stuff for our various hobbies on mostly Ebay from places all over the world. The most expensive purchase I made was three years ago when I bought my Jaguar XJR of an Ebay buyer, never having seen the car in real life. That was a bit scary, but it turned out the best buy/car I've ever owned. All in all, we've never had any serious issues with Ebay or with anything else we bought on line. Most our books/CD/DVD come via Amazon. And we just used the "nearest Amazon" to where we happen to be living. I'v made endless relatively small purchases from a whole host of of small companies around the world. Never any problems. Once I ordered a new rechargeable battery, it arrived promptly but was next to useless as it lost its charge within a day. Contacted the seller and he sent me two new ones! The nicest experience was with Ebay. This was before paypal and international credit cards payments were available. Both my wife and I bought a lot of stuff for our hobby from the USA, whilst living in the Netherlands. Once we won the respective auction we would simply put the agreed amount of dollars in an envelope and sent it, just by regular mail to the seller. Never any problems. One day I noticed a special Boeing 747 manual on Ebay which I really wanted to have. Cost $100,--. So I put $100 in an envelope and sent it of to the seller. He claimed never to have received it. I really wanted the manual. The seller had a very good Ebay rating, so I decided to try again. So I sent him a second envelop with $100. This time he received the money within 10 days and sent me the manual. About half a year later I receive a mail from him. The original envelope with $100 dollar had just arrived!! It must have been lost in the mail for about six months and then finally got delivered. I would never have known if he hadn't contacted me and he mailed the $100 back to me. Restored my confidence! These days all our online payments are on line as well. Paypal, credit card or direct debit and in the Netherlands I can do an online bank transfer. Within 1.5 hour money is transferred from my account to the sellers account.
	() Thanks

31st October 2012, 20:06	#272
Gurudatta Nayak BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Goa India Posts: 211 Thanked: 252 Times	Zoomin Shopping I am Planing to buy a Samsung product from zoomin.com. Has anyone has buying experience from that site? Dose they provide manufacturer warranty? Is it worth buying their 'Zoomin Care Plan'?
	() Thanks

2nd November 2012, 17:11	#275
Swanand Inamdar Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 1,644 Thanked: 587 Times	re: The "Online Shopping" Thread Guys, need some help here. I had bought an (electronic)item from eBay, a while ago. The item was shipped from Hong Kong, via Singapore Post. The tracking id shows the parcel has reached Mumbai. I understand, the parcel is held in customs. Now, could anyone help me contact the customs? How and where do i get in touch with them?
	() Thanks

6th November 2012, 17:29	#279
sdp1975 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,716 Thanked: 1,278 Times View My Garage	re: The "Online Shopping" Thread Purchased a set of diapers from FirstCry. It's been 10 days and they still haven't delivered the complete order ( delivered only 1 of the 3 orders I made) ! Escalated to customer support - got a few calls that "yes today it will be delivered" , and so - but no good. Totally disappointed with their customer support and the way they've been handling this. The only mistake I made was making a prepaid amount. No more shopping on FirstCry. I'll move to flipkart - their customer support and delivery is far better although the discounts they provide is on the lower side. Last edited by sdp1975 : 6th November 2012 at 17:31.
	() Thanks

9th November 2012, 10:08	#281
ghodlur Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 6,246 Thanked: 4,761 Times View My Garage	Re: Greendust.com :: Online Retail Store for Discounted merchandise @WWW, The website has been there for quite some time. It is know for factory seconds and stocks most of the home applicance. In fact I will going to the Mumbai branch today evening to check out a washing Machine. The prices offered are about 30-40% cheaper than the MRP. Will post more details after the visit. My office colleague had bought a LG fridge and LG 47in LED/Smart TV and he is satisfied with the product.
	() Thanks

9th November 2012, 12:47	#282
one-77 BHPian Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: KL11 Posts: 503 Thanked: 735 Times View My Garage	"booking.com" Is it safe? How safe is booking.com? They have some great deals for hotels worldwide, often much lower than rates quoted by the hotel websites or other travel sites. But has anyone experienced issues of overcharging, or worse, hotels not honoring reservations made through the site? If you make cancellations, are they prompt in making refunds?
	() Thanks

9th November 2012, 13:00	#283
shankar.balan BANNED Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 11,797 Thanked: 27,250 Times View My Garage Infractions: 0/3 (13)	Re: "booking.com" Is it safe? I have been using booking.com since about 2004-2005 for all my International trips and a good many domestic trips too. They are perfectly safe and thoroughly professional. The good thing is that you only provide your credit card details as a "guarantee" and they only charge you when you go and stay at the Hotel. I have never faced issues at the hotels on bookings made by booking.com anywhere in the world. Indeed, a month ago I had wrongly made a reservation in Chandigarh for a particular date when I was actually going there 3 or 4 days later. Despite the cancellation fee rule, I was not charged anything when I wrote and requested them for an amendment to the correct date citing this was an actual genuine mistake in dates made by me. I definitely prefer booking.com to any other website which offers hotel booking services and this includes sites like makemytrip, expedia, priceline, gtahotels etc. This is just a simple experience based consumer endorsement that I am sharing with you - I have nothing to do with them except that I use them as a "service provider". Cheers! Last edited by shankar.balan : 9th November 2012 at 13:02.
	(1) Thanks

9th November 2012, 13:04	#284
k36 BHPian Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Pune Posts: 132 Thanked: 21 Times	Re: "booking.com" Is it safe? I understand booking.com doesn't charge you anything while booking. I have recently booked a resort in Goa through them and my credit card hasn't been charged. The hotel manager sent a email confirming my booking. Even in the booking confirmation from booking.com, it is mentioned that I will have to settle all bills at the hotel. So I hope it is safe.
	(1) Thanks

9th November 2012, 13:20	#285
one-77 BHPian Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: KL11 Posts: 503 Thanked: 735 Times View My Garage	Re: "booking.com" Is it safe? Thanks for the quick replies. I convinced my friends (their parents rather) to make travel arrangements ourselves for an upcoming trip, instead of depending on travel agents, who I find charge 20-25k as commissions for a week's trip. Am going to make the hotel reservations today, so needed some reassurance, as I'm dealing with others' money. Thank you!
	() Thanks