On-line shopping 'easy, cheaper'

I tried the Pick n Pay thing

I was pleasantly surprised. They only got a couple of things wrong in a R600 order. It cost R50 for delivery, but I saved over an hour and didn't have to cart bags or trolleys. Must admit, it was a pleasant experience overall. I would do it again.

Ebay on the other hand are ABSOLUTELY USELESS!!!!!!
They have an incredible number of scammers advertising (you have to keep your eyes open). They take AGES to respond to queries. And just two days after registering, they suspended my account for "suspicious activity" that they took over a month to even look into - and it is still not sorted today. They probably see the African part in South African and assume I am a crook. I had to fax them a copy of my ID, a utility bill, my credit card statement and a page header... and they still haven't been able to sort it out. I believe there are others who have been successful but man they have been nothing but a pain in the butt to me.

Then there's Bid or Buy... also a shambles. Although admittedly, I have sold a few items successfully, they also have MANY illegal and pirated goods on their site. Just try selling legal software and competing with the "R50 bargain - need a chipped playstation to play this NTSC title"... And then all those people selling ebooks online - like they own the copyright. AND they don't bother to respond to any suggestions or complaints that you have. So my attitude is skip them... why bother... If they won't support good business in South Africa, why should I support them?
 
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I've always had great success with Amazon.com whether it be books, Levis, laptop or other consumer electronics. Local retailers - online or otherwise - deserve to lose out to international sales if they dont want to be competitive.

It would be interesting to see if markups differ from country to country. What margins do local retailers charge these days?

Also a frequent PnP shopper. Very convenient and worth the surcharge.
 
Yeah

Amazon is great - we pay MUCH more on music and movies here than the states - probably more import duties (maybe also because they are produced there), but (for instance) Bedlam by James Blunt retailed at $13 in the US. Not sure what it cost here, but obviously alot more. I understand the US is cheaper than the UK for that kind of thing too. I have used Kalahari a few times too and have been happy with them.
 
Ed, I'd say that it's more to do with the people actually selling the goods than E-Bay. You have to remember that an online shop like Kalahari.net, Pick n Pay etc know exactly what they are selling and the availability of that product.

But I also tend to agree with you that it was far easier to use E-Bay overseas, it was actually a treat! In fact most online stores over there are far easier to use, I ordered an entire PC through the net using a friends PC. I think it would have to do with a two-part problem.

When trying to use Amazon.com after getting back, the credit card I was using kept getting denied. After further investigation it turned out that you actually have to tell your bank that you need to have it "enabled" for international transactions. I'm not too sure about the reasoning behind this but once I got that sorted I could happily shop on Internatinal sites. The second problem is obvisouly courtesy of our lovely friend Telk0m. Because smaller companies just cannot afford to have their stores put online we end up with a complete lack of choice when it comes to local selection.....
 
So,where then?

GDTY!!

Also keen on bying online,but are very sceptic about the Idea!!
Any suggestions where to buy then??


EdRobinson said:
I was pleasantly surprised. They only got a couple of things wrong in a R600 order. It cost R50 for delivery, but I saved over an hour and didn't have to cart bags or trolleys. Must admit, it was a pleasant experience overall. I would do it again.

Ebay on the other hand are ABSOLUTELY USELESS!!!!!!
They have an incredible number of scammers advertising (you have to keep your eyes open). They take AGES to respond to queries. And just two days after registering, they suspended my account for "suspicious activity" that they took over a month to even look into - and it is still not sorted today. They probably see the African part in South African and assume I am a crook. I had to fax them a copy of my ID, a utility bill, my credit card statement and a page header... and they still haven't been able to sort it out. I believe there are others who have been successful but man they have been nothing but a pain in the butt to me.

Then there's Bid or Buy... also a shambles. Although admittedly, I have sold a few items successfully, they also have MANY illegal and pirated goods on their site. Just try selling legal software and competing with the "R50 bargain - need a chipped playstation to play this NTSC title"... And then all those people selling ebooks online - like they own the copyright. AND they don't bother to respond to any suggestions or complaints that you have. So my attitude is skip them... why bother... If they won't support good business in South Africa, why should I support them?
Click to expand...
 
GDTY!!

Also keen on bying online,but are very sceptic about the Idea!!
Any suggestions where to buy then?
 
I would agree to some extent Mavx... but what really ticked me off was that I was asked to confirm that I was who I was (which I did twice - once to Ireland and once to California). And then never heard from them again - I mean, they had three pages of my bank statement, my ID copy, my water and lights account... what more do they need... and in fact, why did they need this in the first place? They couldn't explain that to me... probably the Africa in my address...
 
Graafb said:
GDTY!!

Also keen on bying online,but are very sceptic about the Idea!!
Any suggestions where to buy then?
Click to expand...


Wherever it is, make sure you keep your eyes open if it is an auction site. Otherwise, Amazon, Kalahari both worked for me. I understand digitalplanet is well priced too.
 
Yes it is frustrating, I had to make a bit of a scene with a woman on the phone, in the States, and eventually figured out what the problem is. It's mainly due to the fact that credit card fraud in South Africa is such a big problem. The banking institutes give out accounts a lot easier than most countries therefore the need to try and verify your actual identity through other means. For instance if you try and use your credit card in some less developed countries while out of South Africa (online that is), some sites will just flatly refuse.
 
I don't use PnP online since I'm about 5 minutes from the shopping centre ;). However I'd buy online if they didn't have such a high delivery charge and a better interface (minor quibble).

When I was in the UK on holiday last year, I ordered online from www.ocado.com. What a pleasure it was - they give you a "reccomended" time (which they actually meet) when they'll be in your area. Free delivery and they colour code packets for different kinds of products (cereals, dairy etc).
 
i've been shopping online for almost 5 years now with mixed experiences. Kalahari used to be quite good and cheap with all the discounts in the old days now they take atleast a week to respond to e-mails...(amazon and the like never take longer than 48 hours).

Take2 i am very happy with excellent communication and awesome range I've been happily using them for about a year.

Loot is good for books as they offer R10 shipping which reduces the costs of ordering books quite a bit compared to the other guys.

Ebay... i've bought quite a few things on with mixed success... the shipping charges in most cases does not make it worth your while and there are a hell of a lot of scammers on there.

Bid or buy i've only sold on... they number users they have really don't make it worthwhile and most of the stuff on there is either over priced (people whom think some one is going to pay exactly the same they paid for the item new boggles my mind).
 
I stopped buying stuff from shops a loooong time ago
www.digitalplanet.co.za
www.sybaritic.co.za

Great sites, great prices. 9/10 times they cheaper then everyone else.
Online shopping is a blessing. I havent walked into a Terrible Connection or CNA in years! Thank God.

Although last year I did buy an Alienware Computer from the UK site and used my credit card to purschase. That was the best customer service and online payment experience i have had to date. No bullsh*t stories. Up to date tracking. Screenshots of the PC being built and the Techy building it! Man they were a pleasure to deal with. LOL The Funny side of the story to this is that when the PC landed at JHB International.... They issued a warrant for my arrest??? They thought the "Alienware" was a bomb??? All I can say is that was a Kodak Moment!! You had to see it to believe it... The Look on those guys faces when I opened the box to show them its a computer?? ROFLOL!!

But anyways online shopping is the best. If our GVMT can make internet affordable then online shopping will get cheaper and faster!!!!!
 
if you gonna use Amazon use Amazon.co.uk - faster, cheaper delivery
 
willirob said:
if you gonna use Amazon use Amazon.co.uk - faster, cheaper delivery
Click to expand...
In my experience the .com prices are much lower.
 
moosag: you bought a PC from alienware in the UK and they shipped it out here?... hmmmm I've been looking for an online shop based overseas that will ship things here.. most just don't even recognise africa, let alone south africa. Was the shipping really expensive?
 
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