The Online Shopping Thread

Sankar · 3rd August 2010, 12:03

^^ Duty is applicable on Item cost+Shipping Cost.

If your item is cleared by UPS/FedEx etc then haggling will not work, their prime concern is to deliver to you the items well within the estimated delivery date.

If you want to clear the package on your own, as soon as you get your AWB number you should inform your local UPS/FedEx office that you will clear the items by self. Then you should go and clear them yourself or authorise a clearing agency to do it on your behalf.

Ponmayilal · 3rd August 2010, 12:37

Thanks for the info.

Shall try atleast one direct purchase from amazon.com after comparing the prices on ebay, U.S.A. and Global Easy buy. Most probably it will be the USD 99.99 Plextor PX-B120U External BDROM drive I had indicated in my thread on Cute Mini-HTPC.

khan_sultan · 3rd August 2010, 16:43

An update to my 20North fiasco.

They have arranged for the pickup of the bottle opener from my house and will trace where the GPS shipment went. They believe that it got shipped to some other person and in that case will get it from him and send it to me.

Let's see what happens next :-)

Zappo · 5th August 2010, 00:43

While buying online at amazon or any other reputed online store in US is easy and fun (the range, the prices etc are unbeatable), there is one fly in the ointment. The Indian CC will mean a huge markup and related taxes (service, edu cess) on your purchase value. Recently I picked up a DSLR from US. The price was too good but the bank charged me over 1800 rupees in all these additional heads. So beware of that.

My calculation says that unless the price difference between India and US is not over 5% it makes sense to buy the thing locally.

ghpk · 5th August 2010, 02:51

Have purchased many items from Ebay.com thru china sellers, one lesson learned is pay approx 2usd more for your package to get it by registered mail with tracking number and the item reaches you easily, Else Indian post office guys would take it home and you will always be waiting for it to reach you.

I am about to order a color/IR night vision ready cctv camera, which looks cheap and seller is ready to ship via registered post with same 2usd extra method.

Edit: Zappo, the Indian Bank Markup thing is a CRUEL act, they already bill us almost Rs.1 more than actual dollar rate, and many banks say, the dollar value is updated only once or twice a billing cycle, so they already make a lot of money this way, the Mark-up fee is pure BS and they are just ripping us off with it.

Sankar · 5th August 2010, 14:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sankar

^^ Duty is applicable on Item cost+Shipping Cost.

Just an update.

Assessable amount of duty is:-
FOB (freight on board) invoice value + Freight cost + Insurance cost + Landing charges

Apart from applicalble % duty, there is an additional 2% EduCess and 1% SHECess on most imports.

navan49 · 7th August 2010, 00:16

Bitter experience with online booking. I booked 3 flight tickets for the price of 15984. All went well and the money was debited.Finally the ticket was not booked.Now looking for the reversal of the amount debited and the correspondence is going on with the Customer relations of the airlines. Now worried whether to take the risk of another 16k or not to book online.

manolin · 18th August 2010, 21:30

I need to send flowers to a Bombay address, and am out of town.

While I have used Florista in the past, it was always via a email order and a person comes to pick up the tab after delivery of the flowers. This is not possible right now; and the Florista site looks a little suspect.

Any other recommendations (or any positive recos for Florista orders through their website)?

For my part, I have bought mainly books online and I can swear by Flipkart.com. Professional packing, and stunning delivery time (sometimes the even the next morning, though they are based in Blore and the delivery is to Bombay). And I have seen other people in office manage refunds fairly easily if the book's cover is slightly skewed (happens in transit).

And for tickets of course - the ubiquitous cleartrip and makemytrip, especially now with the booking train tickets option.

If any one could revert on the flowers business, its a little urgent. Thanks

navin · 18th August 2010, 22:02

I prefer to buy online from reputed sources preferably those that have brick and mortar establishments of repute like Adorama/B&H camera, Amazon (an exception but the only stuff I buy here are books), LL Bean (again an old, pre-internet catalog reatiler), etc... for the rest I say "you pays your moeny, you take your chances"

rjstyles69 · 19th August 2010, 00:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by manolin

If any one could revert on the flowers business, its a little urgent. Thanks

esteemer · 18th September 2010, 11:44

Thinking of buying an iPod from eBay.

I've used eBay earlier, but only for books. Will it be ok to buy an iPod from there?

mohit · 27th December 2010, 10:52

Hi,

I need to buy and ship a cordless phone to my in laws in India and when checking online, couple of websites pop up. I have no idea who these guys are and if they are good with timely shipping and shipping correct products.

e.g. one is gadgetsguru.com and the other is letsbuy.com

GadgetsGuru claims that the items sold are with manufacturer's warranty - something thats important to me.

Anyone dealt with these (or any other good sites) and have any feedback?

srishiva · 27th December 2010, 11:24

Mohit, thanks for giving info on this site. I didn't know about it.

I was browsing Samsung Epic 4G and found the specs are mixed up. In network they say its CDMA/EVDO and in data they mention GPRS, EDGE (which are GSM) and Rev A (again EVDO) and then add HSDPA which is GSM. Hope they know what they are selling.

amohit · 27th December 2010, 12:10

I have bought from www.futurebazaar.com and Online Shopping India - Shop Online For Jewellery, Home Appliances, Cameras, Mobiles from HomeShop18. Both are good.

Regards,

DCEite · 27th December 2010, 12:50

AVOID futurebazaar.com at all cost.

3rd August 2010, 12:03	#91
Sankar Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2005 Location: Location Posts: 5,784 Thanked: 9,253 Times	^^ Duty is applicable on Item cost+Shipping Cost. If your item is cleared by UPS/FedEx etc then haggling will not work, their prime concern is to deliver to you the items well within the estimated delivery date. If you want to clear the package on your own, as soon as you get your AWB number you should inform your local UPS/FedEx office that you will clear the items by self. Then you should go and clear them yourself or authorise a clearing agency to do it on your behalf.
	() Thanks

3rd August 2010, 12:37	#92
Ponmayilal BHPian Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 46 Thanked: 5 Times	Thanks for the info. Shall try atleast one direct purchase from amazon.com after comparing the prices on ebay, U.S.A. and Global Easy buy. Most probably it will be the USD 99.99 Plextor PX-B120U External BDROM drive I had indicated in my thread on Cute Mini-HTPC.
	() Thanks

3rd August 2010, 16:43	#93
khan_sultan Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Noida/Bangalore Posts: 4,946 Thanked: 6,469 Times View My Garage	An update to my 20North fiasco. They have arranged for the pickup of the bottle opener from my house and will trace where the GPS shipment went. They believe that it got shipped to some other person and in that case will get it from him and send it to me. Let's see what happens next :-)
	() Thanks

5th August 2010, 00:43	#94
Zappo Team-BHP Support Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 5,915 Thanked: 2,746 Times	While buying online at amazon or any other reputed online store in US is easy and fun (the range, the prices etc are unbeatable), there is one fly in the ointment. The Indian CC will mean a huge markup and related taxes (service, edu cess) on your purchase value. Recently I picked up a DSLR from US. The price was too good but the bank charged me over 1800 rupees in all these additional heads. So beware of that. My calculation says that unless the price difference between India and US is not over 5% it makes sense to buy the thing locally. Last edited by Zappo : 5th August 2010 at 00:44.
	() Thanks

5th August 2010, 02:51	#95
ghpk BHPian Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Ghaziabad Posts: 872 Thanked: 212 Times	Have purchased many items from Ebay.com thru china sellers, one lesson learned is pay approx 2usd more for your package to get it by registered mail with tracking number and the item reaches you easily, Else Indian post office guys would take it home and you will always be waiting for it to reach you. I am about to order a color/IR night vision ready cctv camera, which looks cheap and seller is ready to ship via registered post with same 2usd extra method. Edit: Zappo, the Indian Bank Markup thing is a CRUEL act, they already bill us almost Rs.1 more than actual dollar rate, and many banks say, the dollar value is updated only once or twice a billing cycle, so they already make a lot of money this way, the Mark-up fee is pure BS and they are just ripping us off with it. Last edited by ghpk : 5th August 2010 at 02:53.
	() Thanks

7th August 2010, 00:16	#97
navan49 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: CHENNAI Posts: 1,000 Thanked: 73 Times View My Garage	Bitter experience with online booking. I booked 3 flight tickets for the price of 15984. All went well and the money was debited.Finally the ticket was not booked.Now looking for the reversal of the amount debited and the correspondence is going on with the Customer relations of the airlines. Now worried whether to take the risk of another 16k or not to book online.
	() Thanks

18th August 2010, 21:30	#98
manolin BHPian Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Delhi/Cuttack Posts: 392 Thanked: 206 Times	I need to send flowers to a Bombay address, and am out of town. While I have used Florista in the past, it was always via a email order and a person comes to pick up the tab after delivery of the flowers. This is not possible right now; and the Florista site looks a little suspect. Any other recommendations (or any positive recos for Florista orders through their website)? For my part, I have bought mainly books online and I can swear by Flipkart.com. Professional packing, and stunning delivery time (sometimes the even the next morning, though they are based in Blore and the delivery is to Bombay). And I have seen other people in office manage refunds fairly easily if the book's cover is slightly skewed (happens in transit). And for tickets of course - the ubiquitous cleartrip and makemytrip, especially now with the booking train tickets option. If any one could revert on the flowers business, its a little urgent. Thanks
	() Thanks

18th August 2010, 22:02	#99
navin Team-BHP Support Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Mumbai Posts: 25,412 Thanked: 9,959 Times	I prefer to buy online from reputed sources preferably those that have brick and mortar establishments of repute like Adorama/B&H camera, Amazon (an exception but the only stuff I buy here are books), LL Bean (again an old, pre-internet catalog reatiler), etc... for the rest I say "you pays your moeny, you take your chances"
	() Thanks

18th September 2010, 11:44	#101
esteemer BHPian Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: New Delhi Posts: 139 Thanked: 25 Times	Thinking of buying an iPod from eBay. I've used eBay earlier, but only for books. Will it be ok to buy an iPod from there?
	() Thanks

27th December 2010, 10:52	#102
mohit BHPian Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Toronto / Kurukshetra Posts: 677 Thanked: 168 Times	Question: Review of online electronics stores Hi, I need to buy and ship a cordless phone to my in laws in India and when checking online, couple of websites pop up. I have no idea who these guys are and if they are good with timely shipping and shipping correct products. e.g. one is gadgetsguru.com and the other is letsbuy.com GadgetsGuru claims that the items sold are with manufacturer's warranty - something thats important to me. Anyone dealt with these (or any other good sites) and have any feedback?
	() Thanks

27th December 2010, 11:24	#103
srishiva Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Bengaluru Posts: 4,372 Thanked: 2,260 Times	Re: Question: Review of online electronics stores Mohit, thanks for giving info on this site. I didn't know about it. I was browsing Samsung Epic 4G and found the specs are mixed up. In network they say its CDMA/EVDO and in data they mention GPRS, EDGE (which are GSM) and Rev A (again EVDO) and then add HSDPA which is GSM. Hope they know what they are selling.
	() Thanks

27th December 2010, 12:10	#104
amohit BHPian Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 456 Thanked: 56 Times	Re: Question: Review of online electronics stores I have bought from www.futurebazaar.com and Online Shopping India - Shop Online For Jewellery, Home Appliances, Cameras, Mobiles from HomeShop18. Both are good. Regards,
	() Thanks

27th December 2010, 12:50	#105
DCEite Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: NCR Posts: 3,590 Thanked: 3,483 Times	Re: Question: Review of online electronics stores AVOID futurebazaar.com at all cost.
	() Thanks