Online Shopping Guidelines

For sure I am not the only one who got hooked on ordering online. We can't deny the fact that online shopping is convenient and hassle-free because you only need your phone, mobile data/wifi, and choose what items you would like to buy. Plus, there are a lot of vouchers in Shopee so for me, I'll go in online shopping than going to actual stores.

Aside from being hassle-free, some products are found only in online stores, like aesthetic appliances, Korean stuff, and many more.

What should we consider when buying online?

Scammers are very rampant nowadays, so we should consider a lot of things before buying a product.

• Check the reviews

I always do this whenever I wanted to buy a product. I read reviews and will go further on whether it's legit or not. Some reviews have no images and videos, I won't buy products without a clear review. You can fake people by asking people to put 5 stars on your store. So seeing their actual parcel image and video is a must for me.

• Check the store

One thing I always check when buying a product is reviewing the store. I always check the chat performance whether the seller replies to the customers or just ignores them. If the store doesn't engage much in the inquiries or to the customers, it's already considered a red flag. You also check how much sales did she/he make on certain products. I don't buy when there are no sales on that product at all.

• Shipping Fee

Before you add to the cart or buy a product, make sure to check the shipping fee. Some stores offered lesser shipping fees, so you can just go check the similar product and you will see stores that offer discounts or vouchers. Though the shipping fee depends on how the seller's area is to yours, please still include this one. If you want to buy a product that has lesser shipping fees, China Mainland stores offer 0-40php SF.

• Check how the seller packages the orders

This is one of the important factors you have to consider. I've seen sellers who didn't care about their packaging. They just put it in the box with no bubble wraps and ships the order. A seller should consider putting enough bubble wraps or styro especially if it includes fragile things. How the seller package your order has a great impact when the product has reached your home. You can check how the seller packs the order in the reviews. It helps especially if the buyers put images of the exact parcel they received.

• Cheaper price and SF but the same product

When choosing a product, I always look to a shop that offers cheaper prices and SF. I used a calculator and compare the prices if I choose to buy in that shop. Some shops offer cheaper prices but have a high shipping fee. I always do mathematics when ordering. It's the key to saving money while at the same buying the things I want.

• Don't just buy and buy, check when will it offers a discounts

As a first-time buyer before, I regret not considering this. There was one time I bought a kitchen rack and checked out the product immediately. On the next day, I noticed that they offer discounts on the exact product I bought yesterday, I regret not waiting for the promo. It helps when you are up to date on when will it offers a promo.

• Buy products in the same shop only as much as possible

I realized this late. Huhu. Before, I ordered one product from one shop and another product from another shop. The tendency, is I pay more for the shipping fee than the product itself. So right after I realized my mistake, I now made sure that once I found the best shop to buy that certain product, I go check its other products as well, I might have something that I didn't know I needed from that same shop. In that one, I am buying a lot of products by paying the same shipping fee.

Disclaimer: this doesn't include if you buy big things. I guarantee you, if you originally buy a light product and then found another product from the shop but it's super heavy and big, the shipping fee will surely change.

I might have skipped other things that need to be included here but more over these things I wrote are the things I always consider when buying.

So I hope before you buy online, consider these things. For sure you'll thank yourself in the future. That's all. See you around 💛

~prettydiane 💎