On-line shopping ‘easy, cheaper’
Now on a working holiday in the United Kingdom, Wegner has found a substitute for the swops in eBay, an internet site where you can buy and sell just about anything through online auctions – and he’s hooked.
Wegner, 23, said he had bought about 50 items on-line over the past year – from skateboards and shoes to a snowboarding jacket.
He’s one of a growing number of South Africans shopping on-line – and finding purchasing easier and, in most cases, cheaper than conventional buying.
While import duties and shipping costs can push prices up, and there are occasional delivery delays, on-line shoppers contacted by Weekend Post agreed the pros outweighed the cons.
None reported security problems with their credit details.
"It’s addictive and there’s so much to look for. You can also get stuff from all over the world – there are lots of options," said Wegner. "There was a dispute once when an order never arrived, but I got my money back. People also need to watch out for fakes," he warned.
Former Port Elizabeth woman Leigh van den Berg, now a Cape Town magazine editor, has been using cosmetics website strawberrynet.com for "years".
"Now it’s inconceivable to think of buying cosmetic or fragrances locally – it’s a total rip-off. Shopping on-line saves me to up 60 %."
One of Van der Berg’s "tricks" is to select the "free delivery, unregistered postage" option, which means no import duties.
Margie Cullen, senior lecturer in the MBA Unit at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, buys academic research books from Amazon.com. "There’s a wider range of books and they’re usually a whole lot cheaper.
"I’ve only ever had one problem, but that was because a post office in South Africa did not send notification that my book had arrived. But Amazon re-sent the book for free.
"If a book store hasn’t got what you’re looking for and places an order, it generally takes six weeks to arrive."
While she usually pays import duties at the post office, Cullen said the books were still cheaper. "I’ve bought about 25 books over the internet over the past few years."
Cullen also books plane tickets and accommodation on the net. "People are usually nervous about credit card purchases online, but I’ve had no problems."
Port Elizabeth IT technician Johan Kolesky has bought about 250 CDs, 120 DVDs and 50 books on-line from Amazon.com and South African sites kalahari.net and take2.co.za over the past two years, and has stopped going to shops to buy these items.
"The stuff I want is usually not available in the shops – it’s either too old or too new and I’d have to order it anyway.
"It’s also a lot cheaper (on-line), even when you include the import tax. And the items usually arrive sealed and wrapped – the DVDs are never scratched or broken."
He said there were plenty of "safeguards" to ensure credit card details remained secure. "When I order on-line, the first thing I do is check a website’s security certificates."
Brent Mundell, who upgrades PCs, buys computer games, hardware and software from take2.co.za, when he can’t find what he wants in the shops.
"Sometimes it’s a bit more expensive, with shipping costs of R29 an order."
Take2 managing director Pierre Potgieter said between 100 and 150 on-line purchases were made every day. "The number of purchases has doubled since this time last year."
He said customers paying by credit card were protected. "If you notice a suspicious purchase on your credit card, you have six months to query that transaction. If the seller can’t provide the bank with a signed receipt, it will be the seller’s loss."
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