Who doesn’t love shopping online? I seriously do. I first
shopped online about five years ago, Indonesia’s a late bloomers, online
shopping was only starting to bloom about five years ago (I remember that
because I already gave birth to my son when I started shopping online). And
back then online shops are all based in Friendster (OMG, remember Friendster? I
wonder how my account looks like now LOL), that’s how I got to know L (I told
you in this post Me-Nail )
Up until now online shopping based mainly on trust between
the seller and buyer, because mainly Indonesian online shop payment method is
mainly through bank transfers. More on the buyer than the seller because you
have to make a full payment to the seller before they would send you the stuffs
you ordered (but there are a lot of dummy sellers as well who took the buyers’
words that they already made the transfer and never bothered to actually check
on their account whether or not the payment’s really been made, I’d say that’s
borderline idiotic LOL).
And I learnt-the hard way, that this method is definitely
scary! Yeah, it’s obvious isn’t it, I’ve been totally scammed. Once (fooled me once shame on you, fooled me twice shame on me right???). I’ve been
shopping online so much and all of them was pretty successful that I let my
guard down. I didn’t check on the seller’s credibility (like checking on their
testimonials from satisfied customers) and got lured by a too-good-to-be-true
deal. Unlike today, where a lot of online shops has an official website (or
joined Multiply) where you can just click and put your choices inside the
“shopping cart”, back then all of the transaction’s being made via
text-messages (actually a lot of today’s transaction’s being held the same way
still LOL) and communication between sellers and buyers are a lot more intimate
because we’d text each other back and forth until the transaction’s complete
and the stuffs safely arrived at the buyers’ home.
That time I was bewitched by this online shop (I cannot
remember the name anymore, it’s been a few years sorry) and I contacted the
owner, stating my intention to buy this, this and this item. Then the seller
answered and offers me more stuffs, “add this, you’ll get this for free!” etc
etc, but she wasn’t being particularly pushy so I wasn’t alarmed (I HATE pushy
sellers!!! I ended up not buying anything when I am being pushed too much) or
anything, and I actually read probably one or two testimonials (which obviously
was fake and made by herself) so I agreed and finalized the transaction, I remember transferring about IDR 400.000 (USD 40) to this seller.
After making the payment I remember I went to Jakarta
straight away. I was on that shop-online-like-a-mad-person stage so I was
expecting maybe five to ten packages at the same time. I kept in touch with my
employee and she said there are a lot of packages that had arrived so I wasn’t
worried. Until I opened an online shop forum (which I belonged to as I also was
an owner to an online shop) where everybody’s buzzing and freaking about this
scam-online shop! My heart dropped on the floor when I read the online shop’s
name (Queen something grrrr I cannot recall pfffftttt) and tagged the same
online shop that I just did a transaction with HUHUHUHUHU!!!
I completely freaked out, and I checked with my employee and
asked her to check every single one of the packages, she couldn’t find a
package from the aforementioned online shop. And then I began frantically
trying to contact the effing seller and true enough, she never replied my texts
and rejected my calls. It was official. I’ve been scammed. Then of course I
began joining on the conversation with the other victims (cursing and online
shrieking and stuffs) and one of the other victim reached out to me. And then
she persuaded me to accompany her making a police report since there are a LOT
of victims so that total damage’s probably more than twenty-thirty millions.
Naturally I hesitated, after all my loss was only IDR
400.000 (of course I cursed the person to death, wonder how the person’s doing
right now? Must not be in a good condition because so many people cursed her to
death) but the girl was very persistent. She was residing in Jakarta and she
wouldn’t take no for an answer. I essentially find it very hard to say no FML,
and in the end I gave in and accompanied her to a police station.
That was the very first time I ever stepped foot into a
police station (the second one’s recently when I lost my ATM card and needed a
letter of recommendation from the police) and I was effing terrified. There’s
this aura about policemen that we (Indonesian, I don’t know about other
nationalities but I imagine that it should be pretty similar) instantly feel
like we’re guilty (yes officer!!! I’m guilty!!!!! Oh, you were calling the
person next to me? Oh..) of something whenever they are around FOL. And the
experience was… quite humiliating. We
were sent to three or four different police stations (“oh, you should go to
that police station, we’re only doing narcs here” “wah you come to the wrong
station, you have to go to this station” etc zzz) and it was raining and when
they finally agreed to make a report the police officer laughed at us (“shop
online? Why shop online? Go to the mall! There are plenty of shops there. You
girls wanna shop? I’ll take you to a mall, I’ll buy you girls things,
interested?”) and after waiting for hours to make a statement we were told…
that there are nothing they can do to help us. Fantastic!
The
other girl was so pissed she insisted on going to a bank,(the same bank as the
scammer’s account was) and demanded to get the scammers’ data from the bank. We
were obviously not welcomed there hahaha… and the bank’s manager met up with us
and I guess she was pissed because the other girl was very angry and all (I
just stood there cowering behind her, I was very embarrassed hahaha) but she
could’ve talk to us more graciously, that’s all I’m gonna say.
In the end we posted on the scammer’s wall (was it call a
wall too in Friendster???) about the police report, threatening her and stuffs,
even reciting the police report’s number (so much drama, I know. Suitable for a
drama queen like myself I must say FML) and how we’re tracking her down because
we have her full data (all big huge bluff obvi but I guess the scammer’s not
that bright) because then the scammer start calling and texting us! LOL! She
cried about how her mom’s sick and she needed money (the other girl was like “I
don’t effing care! You want your mum to die sooner by using scammed money for
her treatment??? HAH??? HAH???”) bla bla bla and that she want to give our
money back but not now because she had no money bla bla and how she’d pay us
back little by little (installment style, LOL).
Anyway, I was actually just going to show you my online
shopping purchases but as usual I got carried away with my stories LOL. I never
actually stopped shopping online (because it’s addictive… and
oh-so-convenient!) I’m just a lot more cautious and stop buying from brand new
online shops. I also wouldn’t buy from an online shop which doesn’t have a LOT
of testimonials. And mostly I shop at shops that I’ve shopped before or where
my friends had (Rosemary knows, I always ask her “but you’ve bought stuffs
there right? It’s trusted right? Not a scammer right???”) and nowadays I prefer
to shop at online shops which has it’s official website, not only running on
their FB or twitter (ohhh seller at twitter are so weird, rude and unhelpful!
Not all of them of course, there’s one that is extremely rude, I will tell you
next time haha).
And recently I got hooked on shopping from international
shops too FML. I used to be against shopping internationally because I heard a
lot of horror stories (mainly from L) about stuffs went missing, or vitamin
bottles replaced by a tissues roll, or red-light where the custom hold your
stuffs for a very long time and demand a lot of money to release it, etc. But
then #Undecided told me about www.qoo10.co.id (why #Undecided, why??? You’re feeding into
my addiction yet complains about how I constantly shop! Grrrr)and I was really
really curious and I tried once (because Korean makeups are so cheap there and
imported straight from Korea) and as soon as my first package arrived… I’m
hooked. FML.
Now I am constantly checking on qoo10 for a good deal. And
also Sasa.com because Sasa is like my ultimate favourite non-clothing store
(other than Watson’s) and whenever I’m overseas I always look for Sasa (Sasa,
why you no Indonesia???) and spend hours browsing inside, Sasa I HEART youuuu!! Okay, containing myself. I
found Sasa’s website and they ship internationally, yippie!!! But the shipping
fee is quite expensive (free shipping to South East Asia if you spend USD 75 or
above) so I never actually purchase anything until they had a promotion… free
shipping worldwide for shopping USD 19 or above. WAAAAA!!!!
So here’s my purchases (new, but not the latest because I
just received my 2nd order from Sasa :p, those below arrived about
two weeks ago):
First
package from Korea, shipping took forever (okay, a month or so. Very long zzzz)
and inside are :
Tony Moly Cats Wink Clear Pact 11g in #1 Clear skin (same
one as the one I gave Rosemary as her birthday gift) and Etude House’s AC
Clinic Intense Trial Kit. See, this is purchased when I was panicking over my
skin (read : Local product ) hahaha, and arrived a month later FML. I paid
total of IDR
236.500 for these two including shipping (oh plus IDR 7000 for repackaging or
something. It’s mandatory for every international package you received in
Indonesia), pretty good price but NOT amazing, could’ve gotten similar deal in
local online shops. The seller gave me a few free samples (sachets).
Second package also from Korea, this one’s much faster (a
little more than two weeks, purchased more than a week after I purchase stuffs
above but arrived at the same time) and inside :
The Face Shop Herb Day 365 Cleansing foam in 04 Peach and
cleansing cream in 03 combined cereal.These I got from a group deal (where you purchase as a group
and the deal would only be activated if there are enough people purchasing it)
so the price was really good, plus it was a 1+1 deal! I paid IDR 92.260 (around
USD 9) only for both including shipping!!! Actually for both purchases I
could’ve paid less if I chose the free shipping, but free shipping’s sent via
normal postage and I DO NOT trust it!!! So I prefer to pay more to get shipping
with tracking numbers provided. I’m a very obsessive and paranoid person so I
constantly need to feel safe! The seller is very generous with samples (two
bottles in the picture) despite me purchasing such cheap stuffs.
And the last package was from Sasa, the free shipping is
expedited shipping so it was really fast! Like, five days after they sent the
stuffs I received them already!
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Wah even the safety foams are so cute *sorry I cannot help
myself*
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I spent USD 23.50 only for all of these!!!
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Sasa Water Plus
Brightening Cleansing Lotion (250 ml) for USD 4.30. It was on sale and I’m huge
on skin care so I had to have this! Also Kose Softymo Speedy Cleasing oil (60 ml) for USD 3.90. I
love cleansing oils! I prefer them than any other forms, but they are not very
easily accessible in Indonesia so I always get a few whenever I’m overseas, now
with Sasa online I don’t need to wait until oversea holidays to get them!
Savex Cherry Lip Balm (10g), they are on sale! Two for USD
2.80! and Ocean’s Soda Can Soda Pops Lip Balm in Grape (4g), this one also on
sale, buy 1 get 1! I got both for USD 1.80. I’m a sucker for lip balms,
especially cute ones and fruity ones, I have no idea how much I have (never
dared to count them). But don’t worry, I will only keep one of each for myself,
the others will be given for presents for my friends (I have lots of friends
and I like to give them parcels as birthday gifts so I hoard cute stuffs throw
them together and make birthday gift packages hehe)
The soda can one is superrr cuteeeee!!! I had a hard time
opening them, and then hubby tried to help, but he thought we had to rip the
sticker off so I was like “NOOOOOO it’ll be ruineddddd” but he already tore a
bit *sobs* then I said “try twisting it hun, twist it!!!” and true enough
that’s how you open it zzzz.
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Color and smells also so cute ughh I wanna lick emmmm!!!
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| How cuteeee! Love the intense purple color |
This is the main reason why I was browsing though Sasa.com :
Kose Happy Bath Day Precious Rose Enrich Lip Balm (5.5 g).
Saw this at some Indonesian blogger’s site and I went beserk. I HAVE TO HAVE
THIS! Have to have to have to! It’s pricey USD 10.70 but I didn’t care because
I really wanted it haha. Actually I saw the heart shaped mini version but Sasa
didn’t stock them (or maybe it’s a sample, special edition one I don’t know) and
then I saw the rose shaped one and I was like “good enough!!!” click! I love
love love rose scented stuffs, I used to have Happy Bath Day shower gel and
body gel and I loved them! But they are quite expensive and I love to try new
things so I’ve never re-purchased them YET.
Anyway, as I told you before, I’ve received a second package
from Sasa today hihi, there is more stories behind that… and I will tell you
next time! Hope you enjoyed this long assed entry!Leaving you with a camwhoring pic of me so you won't forget me *KIDDING! Just want to put one anyway coz i'm a narcisst :p*
hey! do you live in Indonesia?
ReplyDeleteI want to ask you about the tax fee. how much did you pay for it? also, the shipping payment. how much did you pay for one parcel? thank you~
*please reply it on my blog. Thank you~