10/4/2015
Shopee Philippines App- ReviewMany of us now are into online shopping. Primary reason is the comfort it gives since you no longer need to go out and face a battle against the traffic and pollution, not to mention long lines in malls especially during Christmas Season. Well for me, I only shop online if I know I won't be able to find the specific item I'm looking for in a physical store AND if the price is lesser compared to buying it from Malls. I have already purchased a few items from Lazada as influenced by my brother and some items from online stores on Facebook. However, the past few months, I have been purchasing a number of items from Shopee. And since I already had several transactions with them, let me share to you my experience and thoughts on this new shopping mobile app. Shopee is an online shopping mobile app which I believe was launched just this year. In Shopee, you can either buy or sell products, just like the other online shopping portals. I actually have tried both and so far, MOST of my transactions went well. According to their App Description in Play Store, here are the things Shopee offers: For Sellers: • Create a listing with up to 9 photos to sell your new or pre-loved products. • Instantly share your listings on various social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and more. • Build up your marketplace credibility by gathering positive ratings and reviews from your customers. • Sell easily with Seller Assistant - a professional tool designed to help you organize your listings, keep track of orders and manage your customer For Buyers: • Be well-informed - check out the seller’s rating and reviews from previous buyers. • Follow your favourite community members for instant updates on their new listings. + Make payment safely – with Shopee Guarantee, your payment is sent to sellers only after you confirm that you’ve received the order.
MY EXPERIENCE Now let me also divide my experience into two: My experience as a Seller and a Buyer. Though I must say I had more experience in buying than selling stuff on Shopee. As a Seller: I believe I have around 10 active listings on Shopee and I was able to successfully sold 1 item. I actually felt it was a HUGE achievement haha. Though I added on my description that buyers of my items can either pay via LBC or PNB, my buyer opted to pay directly to Shopee to of course avail the "Shopee Guarantee"- a 10 day guarantee period for Buyers. I will explain this further later on :). The Challenge: What I found a little challenging is the fact that you will not be notified if the Buyer already made a payment via Shopee and you wouldn't really know if the buyer still wish to pursue the transaction especially if you are lucky enough to have a very unresponsive buyer. Usually, if a buyer pays via Shopee , he/she will be given 3 business days to complete the payment plus it may take 2 to 3 business days to clear and only then will the seller receive a notification that a payment has been made. The Situation: What happened on my end was the buyer messaged me on the same day that Shopee confirmed her payment. Buyer was asking if I have already shipped the item since days have already passed since she paid for the item (HOW WOULD I KNOW, RIGHT?) So I explained that Shopee just notified me and that the item will be shipped first thing in the morning. --Disclaimer: This transaction happened last August of 2015. I'm not sure if they have already made revisions regarding the "late" payment notification for sellers. PROS: 1. No listing fee and limit 2. Just like eBay, you will be able to build credibility via Feedback and Reviews CONS: 1. "Late" payment notification when items are paid via Shopee. This may trigger buyers to be irate. 2. Correct me if I'm wrong but I was not able to find any topic or option for "Feedback Disputes". I worked for an international shopping site before and I am fully aware that some buyers would leave poor rating and negative feedback for no acceptable reason and that may ruin a seller's credibility. As a Buyer: If you got the chance to read most of my blog entries, you would know that I have already purchased a number of items from Shopee. In shopee, there are actually TWO PAYMENT METHODS available; Direct payment to Shopee or Seller-Buyer Arrangement. For all the purchases I have made, I only chose to pay directly to Shopee. I usually deposit my payment to either their BPI or BDO accounts. They also have Metrobank, by the way. I chose to pay only to Shopee because of the SHOPEE GUARANTEE. What Shopee does is that they hold your payment for 10 days until you confirm the receipt of the item and/or if you received the right and unbroken item. Technically, this is their way to protect their buyer from bogus sellers. If you did not receive the item or received an item which is not as described, they you may request a return or refund. Just make sure you raised the issue on or before the 10th day of the Shopee Guarantee period. PROS: 1. Quite a number of coupons and promos since it is a fairly new shopping app 2. Buyer protection is present via Shopee Guarantee CONS: 1. If you are in a hurry in getting the item, paying through Shopee may not be ideal since it normally takes 2-3 business days to clear. After it's cleared, seller is also given 2 days to ship the item. In general, here are the PROS and CONS: PROS: 1. It's fairly new in the business that's why promos and discount coupons are rampant. Hope it will continue, though. :) 2. Design is simple and navigating the app is very easy. 3. A number of well known credible online sellers are already on Shopee so you won't be hesitant in purchasing items from them. CONS: 1. Notifications come in late even if you have an internet connection. Ex: When another Shopee user sends me a private message via its "Chat" feature, most of the time, I don't get any notification that I have a PM unless I visit the Shopee App. It goes the same for all the activities happening in my Shopee account. Most of the time, I would not be notified unless I go visit the app itself. 2. Customer Service Representatives either on phone or on e-mail seemed to be not well oriented about the whereabouts of Shopee. Scenarios: **I have encountered an e-mail reply which is obviously a template since it actually did not answer my question. I have been in a Call Center Industry for quite a while so I know those "template things" :) **My boyfriend called their customer service hotline once on behalf of me. I had concerns w/ the bank account I have placed on my Shopee account (as a seller). My boyfriend was supposed to ask a generic question regarding my concern when the agent asked him the name of the account concern. So, my boyfriend gave my account name and surprisingly, the agent provided all the information of my bank account to my boyfriend! The agent did not even bother to ask some security/verification questions. Now that is a serious thing Shopee needs to check on. Over all, I find Shopee to be an okay shopping app/site. They are just new so there is still a huge room for improvement. I believe that they will continue to improve what they already have. The only worry I have is the "security" of one's account especially if you are a seller. Thus, they have to invest in training their Customer Service Representatives since these are the people in the front line. What they do and how they perform speaks a lot about the company. -JEN- Like my FB page here to be updated on my latest blog posts. |
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