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Old 10th May 2017, 14:23   #5356
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Re: The Online Shopping Thread

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Originally Posted by treadmark View Post
Which one should I go for?
!
Go with the Amazon >>your friend, and you are assured of a delivery in a specific time frame. With Aliexpress and free delivery, you are never sure when the product will reach you.

My dashcam took 3 months to reach me after ordering. that also had 28 days free delivery to India option.
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Old 10th May 2017, 17:35   #5357
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Re: The Online Shopping Thread

The returns and refunds policy of major e-tailers has seen a drastic change in the past year. Initially, the no question asked policy was pretty much a given. These days however, it isn't as easy. One reason cited by Flipkart/Snapdeal/Amazon was that their goodwill was being misused by the customers and hence, in order to safeguard their own commercial/financial interests, they had to make the policy stricter.

A very alarming but interesting (mis)use of the returns and refunds option by a woman has come to light in Bengaluru. She is allegedly guilty of cheating Amazon to the tune of nearly 70 lakh rupees.

Quote:
... used fake names and made 104 online purchases of items, including high-end cellphones, SLR cameras, TVs and other electronic equipment. She sent product return requests within 24 hours, demanding refunds using Amazon's customer return system, C-return.

"Every time, the delivery address was different from the return address, which was often in other cities. After getting a repayment from Amazon to her bank account, she would replace the product with a substandard one and hand over the package to the delivery person.

Police probe revealed she operated as a seller on another shopping portal with a pseudonym and received customer orders for high-end electronic items. She then placed a parallel order for each product on www.amazon.in and got Amazon to ship the product to her clients' addresses in different cities. "Once her customer received the product and Ghosh received cash for it, she would initiate a C-return with Amazon and receive a refund by returning lookalikes," narrated an investigating officer.
Source
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Old 10th May 2017, 18:01   #5358
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Re: The Online Shopping Thread

Frauds misusing the return policy are quite common, but these companies also ship stuff without any checks. The last package I received from Amazon was a packet of feathers, so much for prime membership. They don't allow any posts to let you warn others that the portal is offering something the seller doesn't have.
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Old 10th May 2017, 18:12   #5359
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Re: The Online Shopping Thread

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Frauds misusing the return policy are quite common, but these companies also ship stuff without any checks. The last package I received from Amazon was a packet of feathers, so much for prime membership. They don't allow any posts to let you warn others that the portal is offering something the seller doesn't have.
Feathers! That is a new low.

Agree with you on not being able to post bad experiences/warnings. I have had liquid spillage issues twice in the recent past because of careless packaging. Both times, I have posted my dissatisfaction in very civil words. They are yet to be passed by the comment-moderators of Amazon and Flipkart and hence not published. Wish their packing QC was half as stringent .

But grievance redressal mechanisms are firmly in place and though it might take a while, issues are more often than not addressed and resolved satisfactorily. This makes it hard to ignore them during every purchase.
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Old 12th May 2017, 15:43   #5360
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Re: The Online Shopping Thread

I want to order a pair of football shoes from www.goalinn.com, (a foreign seller) can anyone tell me how much customs duty they would attract? They cost about 5K INR
Also is it safe to buy from such places or does the stuff get unnecessary delayed?
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Old 13th May 2017, 14:04   #5361
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Re: The Online Shopping Thread

I am fighting to get my Raspberry Pi replaced under warranty (purchased via Amazon). Took to social media with manufacturer and following up - but yes, still a long way from resolution.
Meanwhile, I had complained to Amazon on poor battery life on Kindle. Surprised that the lady was able to send a replacement (refurbished piece) while on the other hand, there are no signs of anyone coming to pick up the old Kindle from me.
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Old 14th May 2017, 12:45   #5362
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Quote:
Originally Posted by binand View Post
Those who order from Big Basket..
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Originally Posted by diyguy View Post
Will try with next lot and report back.
got my weekly lot of veggies delivered today. I had to visit a near by corner store for 1 kg tomatoes as we had run out completely. The corner store is charging 30rs for 1kg tomatoes while the bigbasket price is 15.
Anyway I checked every item that was delivered today and all weights were in order. We had ordered about 12-15 items that were weighed and barcoded. Every item weighed exactly as much as on the sticker (a few grams here or there which I attribute to the weighing scale calibration).
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Old 14th May 2017, 13:34   #5363
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Re: The Online Shopping Thread

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Agree with you on not being able to post bad experiences/warnings. I have had liquid spillage issues twice in the recent past because of careless packaging. Both times, I have posted my dissatisfaction in very civil words. They are yet to be passed by the comment-moderators of Amazon and Flipkart and hence not published. Wish their packing QC was half as stringent .
I also put in a honest and polite review about a used looking Philips LED batten they shipped but they wouldn't approve it. I wonder why? I have written positive reviews for deserving products too.

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Originally Posted by dailydriver View Post
From the link above:
The Online Shopping Thread-rajarshi96.jpg

The con is (was) as a seller in ebay india with 99.1% positive rating! Rajarshi96 is no longer a registered user there as per the member detail page below.

http://www.ebay.com/usr/rajarshi96

https://www.consumercomplaints.in/eb...-india-c953646

Last edited by Sankar : 14th May 2017 at 13:46.
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Old 14th May 2017, 14:48   #5364
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Re: The Online Shopping Thread

I have certainly have negative reviews on Amazon. Only recently I described something as a waste of money and potentially unsafe.
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Old 14th May 2017, 15:25   #5365
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Re: The Online Shopping Thread

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I also put in a honest and polite review about a used looking Philips LED batten they shipped but they wouldn't approve it. I wonder why? I have written positive reviews for deserving products too.
I figured (at least that is what I believe) out the following:
1. Censors paid by Amazon have orders to suppress any negative reviews and they dare not question the management about 'free speech' inside a corporate dictatorship - remember, they serve Amazon, not the customer.

2. Censors seem to be also of another kind - the seller - this seems true with the smaller sellers - any negative review and you will get a call from the seller, trying to wiggle his way out of any implied quality requirements. This means the seller has to approve the review before publication.

3. You will never be able to argue your case with those 'behind the wall' (much like Uber)

4. Some of the bigger companies selling on Amazon don't care about any review and ratings.

You can post negative reviews if the seller (I think) chooses the option - publish without review/approval
If the seller has ticked 'approve every post before publishing' - then negative reviews are suppressed by the seller.

Last edited by mvadg : 14th May 2017 at 15:30.
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Old 14th May 2017, 18:24   #5366
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Re: The Online Shopping Thread

Anyone received any order below 1000 Rs from Aliexpress and did you need to pay customs duty as per the latest Customs rules?
I ordered some door insulation material (to prevent the AC air from escaping below the doors) costing some Rs.700. This was on the 2nd of May. Wondering if I will get charged customs duty.
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Old 14th May 2017, 18:34   #5367
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Re: The Online Shopping Thread

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Originally Posted by hrman View Post
Anyone received any order below 1000 Rs from Aliexpress and did you need to pay customs duty as per the latest Customs rules?
I ordered some door insulation material (to prevent the AC air from escaping below the doors) costing some Rs.700. This was on the 2nd of May. Wondering if I will get charged customs duty.
Nope. I have recently received two windshield washer nozzles for my car costing around 400 and no customs duty was charged. I have only paid customs duty for two items till now, one the dashcam which costed 4k odd(paid 300 as customs + 1500 as clearance fees to DHL ) and fog lights which again costed around the same amount of money(paid 294 as customs duty and 30 as clearance fees to India post). No other item has been charged customs duty.

Most of the packets from Aliexpress come labelled as Gift, or with absurd declared value in the range of 2-10$ for which the customs officials dont bother calculating the duty. If at all they want to actually find the actual value of the items to charge the right amount of customs duty, there will be no reference for such uncommon stuff. Hence, though your parcel will take time to arrive, I dont think you will have to pay anything.
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Old 14th May 2017, 18:44   #5368
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hrman View Post
Anyone received any order below 1000 Rs from Aliexpress and did you need to pay customs duty as per the latest Customs rules?
I ordered some door insulation material (to prevent the AC air from escaping below the doors) costing some Rs.700. This was on the 2nd of May. Wondering if I will get charged customs duty.
Yes it had happened to me one time around four years ago. I had ordered a powerbank which was kept in post office. I had to go there and pay around 400 bucks for a 1300 INR product. Apart from that, I haven't gone through this.
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Old 14th May 2017, 19:00   #5369
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Re: The Online Shopping Thread

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Originally Posted by avira_tk View Post
The last package I received from Amazon was a packet of feathers [...] They don't allow any posts to let you warn others that the portal is offering something the seller doesn't have.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dailydriver View Post
I have had liquid spillage issues twice in the recent past because of careless packaging. Both times, I have posted my dissatisfaction in very civil words.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sankar View Post
I also put in a honest and polite review about a used looking Philips LED batten they shipped but they wouldn't approve it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mvadg View Post
1. Censors paid by Amazon [...]
Folks, Amazon has a page on what reviews are appropriate and what might get rejected, here:

https://www.amazon.in/gp/help/custom...qid=1494768174

Please take a look at the "What's not allowed" section. I think all of you missed those guidelines - for your type of complaints, Amazon has other feedback channels.

The Product Review section has to be about the product in question, not about the seller, packaging, shipping etc.
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Old 14th May 2017, 19:22   #5370
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Re: The Online Shopping Thread

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Originally Posted by binand View Post
Folks, Amazon has a page on what reviews are appropriate and what might get rejected, here:

https://www.amazon.in/gp/help/custom...qid=1494768174

The Product Review section has to be about the product in question, not about the seller, packaging, shipping etc.
Amazon is being clever

This is what i wrote. Sort of a warning to anyone who's reading, the product when they receive may not be as expected. I thought i was getting a new looking product with all fittings, which i didn't. Since it worked i didn't want the hassle of returning and waiting as the electrician was supposed to come the next day.
The Online Shopping Thread-review2.jpg

Unlike where they have one day or two day delivery here we need to wait 4 to 5 days on an average. So returning and awaiting for replacement is time consuming.

Since the lights were good i put in another review for the "product".
The Online Shopping Thread-review.jpg

I'm on a drive to change all interior lighting to 3000K except kitchen and bahroom. A lot more comfortable to the eyes.

Last edited by Sankar : 14th May 2017 at 19:45.
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