My Ramblings

14.12.2020

I have been feeling very low and stressed out over this whole. Issue of purchases that I bought from an online shopping mall. All these while there were hiccups but not something that I could not handle. But for this  time around I had 2 main major issues. First is the amplier that I bought . The sound went buzzed everytime we inserted the wired microphone. Then husband decided to put in a convertor which he later bought just to prove that there was something not right with the motherboard and not the microphone.. The same effect  happened. Thus, the next best thing was to communicate to the seller. After a few messages, he asked to capture it on video and have it sent to him as evident. Once that was done, he asked for the amplier to be returrned which i promptly did. I messaged to inform him to tell him I have done so. And he acknowleged that message.  Then a few days later I messaged again  to ask him whether he has received  the machine. And that was the beginning of troubled times ahead. He wanted to know date of purchase.He claimed he had not recived the item. Now, that triggered my  anger towards him.  I just dont know how many people are manning that message box. He said he will go back to the shop to check. I gave him a printshot of evidence that it had been delivered. And I told him if he failed to locate the item, I was going to report to the post office and make  further enquiries. That was when he said he will check again on Monday. I hope he does, because I have no intention of keeping quiet . Its my money. 

The second incident is also on an electrical item.  A projector.  Actually right from the beginning I had an uneasy feeling about making the purchase but since it was my husband’s request to help him order it on his behaIf I proceeded to do so. The delivery took a long while. The seller failed to mention that it was out of stock and that he had to order from overseas. This contradicted his claims on his shop website that all items are ready stock and can be delivered within 3 days. When asked  ( after 7 days of waiting) he disclosed the problem. I was none too happy. I wrote back to tell him off.I told him that  the reason I chose his shop over others was because the address was in PJ and it is not too far from home. I expected quick service like I did get from other sellers who were within 20 km range radius from home.But no, he coolly replied to wait  for the following week. The following week came. Still no signs of the item until 2nd Disember. That was 13 days after initial request of purchase!  So as soon as the package arrived, my husband  set it up. Lol hold and behold, NO sound at all. The specs claimed that was sound! He plugged in his thumbdrive. There was a video  of songs . There were pictures of singers singing but no sound!! After several attempts with all other plug ins, I decided to make enquiry with the seller. I noticed he was offline. I messaged hoping that he will eventually read. But after 2 days, still no reply.  I had to act fast because soon the money will be released to him. So I decided to seek advise from the shop’s hotline. Eventually I was adviced to return and refund. Which I promptly did. And guess what. Soon he was messaging with all sorts of advice on how to settle the technical issues. I thought he was already working on the item that I returned . But suddenly out of the blue, he messaged to say he is disputing . Item not received!! When all the while I was keeping track of the package! I posted over the counter on the 8th and it was delivered on the 9th. It didn’t take long to travel from my PO to his place. Short distance. So now another email to the hotline to inform of the latest episode. Initially the  standard SOP was relayed to me. I replied once again listing the chronology of events. All the conversations and evidences were once again attached. I had done  that earlier but I suspect mine is not the only issue that they are dealing with.So I chose to understand if they have missed out on the earlier communications.  After that reply,  I got another reply from the hotline person to ask me to ignore the first reply and that to inform me I will be refunded once the investigation team cleared their quiries etc. I do hope this is to happen soon because I dont have any wish to even have it back after all these episodes. Bad vibes! At this age, any slight hitch is a major hitch to me. I get stressed out easily. I get easily irritated! And this is really not good on my current health! The confined staying in is also taking its toll! 

So lesson learned. If after this I still want to shop online , just be more alert and shop from reputable and established sellers.  I have purchsed electrical items from sellers before this and there were no issues. I guess this mode of shopping online does have its pros and cons. Its convenient, easy and a quick way to buy something without leaving one’s home . Even more so in this challenging times! The elements of trust  that the  buyers will getting  their goods as advertised by the sellers is always one of the main reasons we buy it from them.  

Yes,  ordering online  does come with  its risks, How to deal with it? Someone wrote one way is to lower one’s  expectations to spare one of some of the heartaches in case you don’t get the product you want. But I think those who managed these shopping malls also have a responsiblity to ensure what is advertised is what is delivered. To have an efficient monitoring system that the services rendered by those sellers on their account  are  fully held  accountable.  All those that have a certain amount of negative feedbacks from the buyers should be temporarily barred from their services until things are rectified. Selling is not just just about profit making but is is also building a community. A symbiotic community. A community that is not totally reliant on science and technology but instead that embraces a total transformation of ethical values.