Online Shopping might be risky although it is easy for us to purchase something. We’re not new to online shopping. But, this pandemic season give us the urge to online purchasing more than usual. Unfortunately, online shopping is not only make shopping easier but it is also making scam easier. Hence, I’ll share simple yet effective steps to do safe online shopping.
Firstly, stalk! Yes you’ve to really stalk the profile. I did not only mean social media but I am also stressing out about the online shopping platforms such as shopee, lazada & mudah.my. There are several aspects that you need to keep in mind.
The most important thing is identity. You are scrolling your screen and an ad popped up. It seems attractive as the price of the item is way more cheaper. I feel you but put your excitement in a side and check their profile.
What is their username?
Many organization band members that use the name of their organization as a username. Username is the name of the user! Non of the organizations have shopee or lazada accounts. Honestly, they don’t need it as they already have their own website where you can purchase from them directly. So, if you came across a profile without valid username, the chances of getting cheated is really high
Next, is there any other way that you can contact the seller?
An entrepreneur doesn’t only depend on 1 source to get database of customers. For an entrepreneur, database is king! So, they have other platforms to share contents with their customers.
For example, I am a dropshipper for Sailajah Hair Care Products. You can find my business IG, FB accounts, my personal accounts, my fb page, pinterest account, blog, YouTube, Twitter and Tumblr. I’ve linked all these profiles in my FB & IG account. Even in my tiktokt, I’ve linked my personal Instagram and YouTube accounts.
Content is Queen. So, trusted sellers will find a way to brand themselves in different platforms. For example, if you sell clothes, you can post photos of yours in amazing outfits and you might pin your pictures in Pinterest. So, your IG / FB followers have a chance to view your dress collections. Meanwhile your pinterest followers or anyone who saved the similar boards can access your photos and it gives engagement to your account.
From a customer perspective, price is not the only thing that I care about. I have to use the item and I really want to know the advantages of the products, I also want to know whether it meets my preferences or not, overall the quality of the items. Even, if I’m thinking of to purchase a book. I want to make sure that I receive it fast and safe. So, where do I get all these details? From their personal account right? I can see the feedbacks of customers once received the items, Cod’s and other postage details.
In my case, I make use of many social media platforms. Those who have FB might not have Instagram, tiktok or pinterest, some might not interested in reading blog post but love watching YouTube videos. So, these platforms reach out potential customers with same preferences from different sources.
From this, you’ve definitely seen the face of the person. Next, check for the validity of the information shared by those sellers. Main information is the price. I know that cheaper price is what you want but spare a couple of minute to reach out the HQ’s official account. If there’s no promotions announced by the HQ itself and there’s someone selling cheaper price, then it is a violation.
According to the consumer act protection 1999 (Akta 599), fake or misleading representation is a big NO!
Although you bought a product from an unknown person in a cheaper price, and received it that doesn’t mean the product is in a good quality. It might be the local.
Apart from the sellers profile, you need to check on the products packaging. Local products definitely have errors that we definitely overlooked such as logo, spellings of the brand and other claims on the products, serial number and ingredients.
And do make sure of the payment procedures. Make sure that the seller is the account holder before transferring any amount. You can verify the details of the seller in CCID portal
You can even verify their phone number in this portal. Do not make any transfer if the account holder name is not similar with the username and if the handphone number is not similar registered with the bank account. If you want to know how international banking works, just leave a comment. I’ll post a separate post soon.
I hope you get many inputs on choosing the right seller. Please don’t put yourself in risk.
For more: https://youtu.be/ZTyXASrv1m0
Thank you
MANSIGAUH 