With online shopping booming, it is very convenient to do nowadays since you can receive it at the comfort of your home. However, there are problems that an ordinary shopper face that needs to be shared to the community.
The Problems We Face with Online Shopping
Currently, a person does online shopping more than physically shopping in the malls or other establishments. The joy of doing it from your own home is the real winner for this. Who would exchange the time spent in traffic for the time spent waiting at home for it to arrive? Right? Nevertheless, the joy and comfort of doing that may also bring situations wherein we get disappointed.
There are also the times that we feel dissatisfied with the quality of the product delivered. We rely on the photos, the product description but we still end up getting the other color. Photos and the description do not always tell everything about the item. It always leaves some pieces of information behind. Receiving the item with your expectations could just frustrate you in the end.
Setting the expectation could actually end up in frustration.
From the years that I have been doing online shopping, I have noticed some problems along the process. To be honest, I did not pay that much attention before since online shopping then was new and people haven’t really paid that much attention to it unlike now. So here’s a list of the problems that I have encountered whenever I do online shopping.
Quality Control
The products we order are usually seen through the photos posted on the website. However, from the customer’s perspective, we face various limitations that disrupt us from pushing through with the purchase. It is quite hard to contemplate on the items if it will be worth the buy. We, the consumers, always go and purchase under risk.
For now, how I wish that people like us would have more options or visuals to look at or use as reference. Maybe a video of the device being used like a demo? That would be nice.
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Split Shipping
When you order something from an online store that has a number of merchants selling items, it’s quite tiring to receive orders separately. I, for one, experienced ordering from an online store with four (4) items. Then, the four (4) items were delivered separately at different intervals, days, and times. It is hard for me because I was a student then and have various class schedules. Receiving the item would be inconvenient especially if it arrives when you are out.
Currently, my last experience was they shipped through two shipments. I received it in two consecutive days at almost the same hour. It was convenient now since that I do not have classes during those days. But for others, split shipping could really be hard to manage especially if no one is going to be left at their homes.
What I would like to suggest is that if they could reduce the number of shipments; and also to allow the recipient to suggest a time that would be the most convenient. Suggesting the time could be done the moment that they are placing the order.
Time is gold.
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Customer Service
People are different from their normal mood to another. Some may think that talking to a person while undergoing something can really affect their attitude towards another. Encountering complaints from customers is really an extraordinary job. I could not imagine how much stress the people are suffering because of the complaints they receive.
Customer service is a very broad thing to talk about. This is the part where customers should also be considerate in reaching out to the people working in that department. They absorb all the anger, disappointment and even rage (when you are dissatisfied with the item) but they receive just the right credit.
There are various ways on how to complain or send an inquiry to the online shop. However, some really do not respond quickly and people nowadays seem to be getting more impatient as the days go by. I’m guilty of that too. I’d always like instant reply or instant response to my query yet some really do take time. Honestly, there was one time where they responded a few days after my query. That could be really disappointing.
As an online shopper, I’d like to suggest that there should be more people behind the accounts or the websites that will take our calls or respond to our messages. It will be a loss on the side of the business owner if they do not respond well to the queries of the customers.
Not only that, but also, a feature wherein the people working could also give feedback to the customers. Why? So customers would know and improve on dealing with stress and disappointment as well.
It’s not stress that kills us, it is our reaction to it.
Hans Selye
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Final Words
There are more problems with online shopping from various aspects or perspectives of various people. These are just a few. I just really hope that the people in-charge could look more into it and hear our words. It’s not always that others will write about their negative experience.
What about you?
Have you encountered problems with online shopping as well?
Disclaimer: This is an entry for iPrice E-Commerce Blogging Competition.
26 Comments
Marge
February 25, 2017 at 8:01 AMSplit shipping used to be a problem for me when I chose Cash on Delivery. Imagine I work at night so I am asleep in the morning. Delivery guy would come and either I have to wake up just to get the package or I would miss his call and the delivery guy has to return another day.
I’ve resolved the issue by just paying through a card. Now that the item is paid, I can just get the package from our apartment’s lobby where the delivery guy drops it.
I don’t mind buying from the physical store if I have the time, but now, I prefer to just wait for it at home. It is more convenient for me. I understand what you mean about substandard items though or those that look totally different from what you see on the picture. That’s the case with the shower curtain that I got from Lazada. It looked so different I almost sent it back to them.
Gryselle Mae
February 25, 2017 at 5:24 PMQuality control is definitely one of the things that I find it annoying when I do online shopping. The sellers don’t have the product on hand and you can only choose from photos. 70% of the clothes I bought online was either too far from the photo or is made of a really bad fabric. In terms of customer service, I hate it when sellers simply ignore the buyers whenever we complain that the item isn’t the same or that the material is not what it is expected. They keep on saying, there’s nothing they can do about it because that’s how they got it from the supplier. Seriously? This is considered a scam. Sending an item different from the photo!
Zwitsy
February 26, 2017 at 6:56 AMWe shared the same sentiments about shopping online. REcently, my cousin ordered something online. What frustrates her isn’t the shop but the courier. And yes, the quality is one of the real issues good thing that there are reviews available. Well, if shops are just good to be true in their words, shopping online would really be awesome.
Carola
February 27, 2017 at 2:36 AMI love shopping! Both online and in actual shops. I totally agree that there are some disadvantages. For me the most important one is quality. When you order something you have in mind what you’re guessing to get. And it can be a disappointment if you don’t receive what you expect. Shipping can be a challenge. Usually when I order in the Netherlands, I have my order the next day. But when it’s from another country it’s just harder to plan and make sure to be at home when it’s delivered.
Stella the Travelerette
February 27, 2017 at 9:52 AMYes, I love online shopping but I’ve definitely had some problems. I have some gaps between the windows and my floor so I got some insulating tape online to patch it up. But the tape is awful and doesn’t work at all. Yet returning it would be such a pain and I don’t want to deal with it. If I had bought it at my hardware store, I could bring it in and talk to them and I think they’d let me exchange for a better product.
ROBERT LEE | Amazing Life Daily
February 27, 2017 at 2:17 PMThere are the right products and the right online stores to buy from. BUT of course, there are nuisances, such as one that you mentioned, of ordering products shipped by different vendors at different times. That happens when you buy from a large site that allows multi-vendors. Specialized shops do not have that problem. As for getting products that fail to meet expectations, that usually happens with products on the cheap side as opposed to branded ones that you have already seen before or that it has a reputation for meeting a certain quality.
Alyssa Tuangco
February 27, 2017 at 3:45 PMYes, I agree to all. As a consumer and a business person I experience both, being under customer service and asking questions to others myself is crucial especially when some customers have a temper when you don’t answer right away. Another thing as a consumer is the quality of the product you receive of it’s correct. Online shopping is either you get it right or it’s all wrong. Tho I’d still prefer seeing the actual item before purchasing.
Iza Abao, Two Monkeys Travel Group Writer
February 27, 2017 at 4:43 PMYes I had a problem with online shopping. I ordered this skirt from eBay then I sent it to my U.S. shipping address provided by Shipping Cart. When I got my box, the skirt was missing even though they took a photo of it before sending it to me. I got a refund but I was disappointed because they weren’t able to find it. I took a lot of time finding that particular skirt and then it went missing. I was able to receive the other items that I ordered from other online stores. I was thinking maybe it got stolen. Hopefully, my next shipment doesn’t have any missing item. I still love online shopping even though I had a bad experience because there are online shops owners who are eager to find what you want. It’s more personalized.
Rain | Words and Wanderlust
February 27, 2017 at 8:40 PMYou’ve raised some really good points here! 🙂
Being a really fickle-minded shopper, I often find myself adding items to cart but not proceeding to check out. It is because I am the type who would prefer to fit/touch/test an item before buying. Mere photos and descriptions just don’t quite cut it for me.
I do however order online for things I’ve already seen at the mall but didn’t buy it at the time. Sometimes, online stores offer cheaper prices too!
KT Nielsen
February 27, 2017 at 11:18 PMI love online shopping but I am not a fan of split shipping. I don’t like spending the whole day waiting for the delivery person to ring our doorbell. Now that I am home most of the time, I have taught myself to deal with the inconvenience and reminded myself that it’s better than queueing at the register, braving the traffic and wasting my time roaming around the mall. I also tend to shop more than I plan to when I am in a physical store because I’m such an impulsive shopper. With online shopping, I can put the items in my cart and I’ll have enough time to think about my purchase. Personally, I think the pros trump the cons really.
Jill
February 28, 2017 at 12:21 AMThe key to online shopping is definitely a good support service. Of course, since you cannot control what is advertised by the merchant. A good support system is really needed. I always do online shopping, and I have encountered all those that you mentioned. I don’t mind if they happen, as long as in the end, I can get the things that I really want.
Teresa
February 28, 2017 at 5:52 PMI agree with you. It’s convenient to shop online. But sometimes customer service sucks. I also do not buy clothes online. I want to fit clothes first before buying. But for generic items, it’s ok to buy online.
Bhushavali
February 28, 2017 at 10:51 PMThe convenience of shopping in the comfort of our beds & jammies, comes with its own costs as well! Yes, we can’t touch & feel & try the outfit!!! I usually go by the reviews. But as a seller, I also understand the difficulties from the seller’s side!!! Esp. new comers with very less reviews, find it difficult to break the shell!!!
Chessica Mirasol
March 2, 2017 at 2:46 PMIt’s a good thing to read something like this. You see, most articles that people put up in the web are mostly advantages of online shopping, neglecting its downsides too.
Claire Santiago
March 2, 2017 at 6:29 PMOne of my biggest concern when shopping online is quality control. Last year, I ordered a gadget from Lazada but only tested it after 7 days. I am not satisfied of its performance and I’m sure there was something wrong about the product so I returned it but since they only give 7 days window for returns, they never replaced it but confirmed that its defective. Only then that I realized, most of the products from Lazada did not really undergo quality control, unfortunately I paid for something that is totally garbage. Now I don’t shop in Lazada as often as I did before…
Ana Rose | Roads and Pages
March 4, 2017 at 8:05 PMIt is a great convenience just ordering something online than going to the mall to buy what we want. On the other hand, I know that if I shop online, it will put me in a risk. First of all, I am not sure about the quality of what I am going to order. Do they have a refund system onlin? Sometimes its not all the time that what we see is what we get. I still do some transactions online but its more of purchasing for a service.
ASKSonnie
March 5, 2017 at 12:04 AMI do online shopping for the not so pricey stuff, items that I will not mind losing money if it’ll not meet my expectations. Because getting a refund or replacement item is not easy in PH, I will take time to check and test first the item before I pay. Going thru stressful situations because you did not get your money’s worth is unnecessary.
So I practice what I teach– “inspect what you expect”, specially if in involves your hard earned money.
Nora
March 5, 2017 at 5:23 AMI love shopping online but I usually shop a) things I know from past (I know the quality, size, etc.), b) books for studies and c) not-very-expensive items (I got less frustrated if they are not what I expect). Couple times I haven’t got my order at all or the shipping has been very long (once I ordered boots for winter at November and they arrived at February). Also size and quality of the product has been a surprise couple times. Once I thought that I ordered a small yearly planner (looked small in the picture!) but it happened to be huge and weight 1.5 pounds, but well that ended up being my all-time favorite planner so I guess the surprises are not always bad. 🙂
Yan
March 5, 2017 at 2:15 PMOur country still has a long way to go when it comes to perfecting online shopping. Warehousing and logisitcs are always a challenge. If you’ve tried Amazon you’ll be quite pleased. For multiple orders you have an option to consolidate items (single delivery but more waiting time) or deliver them separately. It really depends on your needs! 🙂
Olivia | The OP
March 5, 2017 at 7:20 PMBFF! Online shopping has never really been a problem for me, particularly for two reasons: one, I only shop at the REALLY reliable merchants (when shopping in a site where there are different sellers present), and two, I make sure I read the return policy and community feedback for the item when available. 🙂 So far, my online purchases (and there have been many) have been really fast and reliable. 🙂
Amila Wickramarachchi
March 8, 2017 at 8:42 AMI love online shopping.However I always shop with the same selected shops as I understand their quality of service.As you mentioned,split shipping is one of the biggest concern for me too.If I order few items,I have to stay on alert to receive the items on different days which creates me bit stressful.Quality is another issue of online shopping as we cant see the item till we receive it.To avoid such issues with quality,I never shop high priced items with online shops.So,I try to bear if the quality is not acceptable. 🙂
jaear paguio
March 9, 2017 at 12:37 PMOne of the worst experience I’ve had with online shopping is the split shipping, defective product and bad customer service all in one go. T_T That’s why i still hesitate even with the great deals i find on this certain online shop. I definitely agree on all that you’ve mentioned here.
It’s always a horror to get something you did not expect (for the worst)
Wishingbelle
March 9, 2017 at 9:03 PMI’ve got good experiences from online shopping and sometimes not. It’s hard to shop dresses online coz the fabric may not what you expect it. On the photos, it looks good but the actual items may not be too nice. The only time I got the right thing is when I got to see and fit the actual dress but online shops offers significantly cheaper price.
Cheryl F
March 10, 2017 at 12:52 AMYes I have experinced having problems with online shopping too. It’s not with the item but with shopping site itself. It was actually my 5th time buying online from them. I was told that there is a problem with my shipping address. And then told again that the shipping courier doesn’t know my address. The third email from them was to informed me that the order was cancelled. Worst was the item is no longer available. The problem is how the customer service handles the issue. I still love online shopping though but in a different shopping site.
kareen liez datoy (@blessedliez)
March 26, 2017 at 5:42 PMI agree with all this especially with regards to shipping. I usually shop online and one problem that I mostly encounter is the shipping. I hope we could choose the courier that will bring items to our home because in our area, 2GO people are lazy and I had many bad experiences with them. I always feel bad everytime my order online is shipped via 2GO!
Carmela Francel
March 29, 2017 at 8:03 PMI am guilty of this not because I’m an avid buyer of an online shop, it’s because I, myself run my own online shop. But I make sure what the customers see in the picture is what they will receive, too. Of course, I want my shop to have a good name in the long run and I want them to trust my shop.