Buying online in Thailand - rewarding or frustrating?

[Caspersfriend]

Buying online from our home countries often offers better front-end pricing - even when the item is produced in Thailand or the S.E.Asian region. However, unless we are making a visit [or a friend is] it's usually the 'postage' that scuppers the deal.

And so many of us look locally.

Just an example: Someone on another thread suggested Ensogo as a good online seller/portal:

Finding the website .com couldn't be easier. The homepage however offers location options - Hong Kong - Singapore - Thailand - Malaysia - Philippines - Indonesia. I am in Thailand and so naturally you would click on Thailand. Everything in Thai and no other language option! Some of you have learnt to read Thai but I would suggest that the other 90+% have not. Maybe I just missed the 'obvious'.

I can better understand the many magazines that are on sale here, where the headlines of articles are in English but not one word [except for those that don't readily translate] in the text is in English; is that appearing to be 'in with the in crowd' [showing my age] but otherwise puerile? Or is it simply that many companies in S.E.Asia are insular to the extent that they are unaware of the increased opportunities of selling to foreigners who reside here; or even tourists who might credibly expect to get a better price in the region where the product they are looking at is manufactured/assembled?

[Seligne2]

http://www.lazada.co.th/

[Caspersfriend]

http://www.lazada.co.th/

Agree that they are an exception - bought from them and have received good service to date

[crabdog]

What? http://www.ensogo.co.th/en

Ensogo has an English option but I haven't tried them yet.

+1 for Lazada though, never had a problem.

[Caspersfriend]

What? http://www.ensogo.co.th/en

Ensogo has an English option but I haven't tried them yet.

+1 for Lazada though, never had a problem.

A semi-English version if you bother to find it. Not as obvious as maybe it could/should be.

[jacko45k]

http://www.lazada.co.th/

Although, to prove the case many items have very limited English description and specification which deters me.

I was let down by the supplier the one time I tried them, although they told me some days later!

Edited February 29, 2016 by jacko45k

[Srikcir]

Have had good experiences with Lazada. Always received items as described and some great bargains.

Shipping is always free but 20-30 days delivery and has no expedite options.

No questions replacement policy, especially with credit card purchases. You have to pay for return shipping but they provide shipping label.

Has phone customer service in english although keep it simple.

[GSPaul]

I have purchased approximately 15 items from Lazada varying from 123 Baht to 6,000 Baht.

In the main I have been satisfied - when the goods originated in Thailand.

Thailand origin goods have arrived quickly and in good order and I have no complaints except in one instance which was dealt with quickly and fairly ( goods replaced within the week)

A recent purchase was less successful:

Purchased a drill and various bits from them 4 weeks ago. Drill was with me within the week - all good. Drill bits, which ship from overseas, have dribbled in in 3 deliveries; the last one on Friday. The last package was supposed to be 6 drill bits for 123 THB

Only one bit was in the package rather than 6 advertised. Lazada say to send the drill bit back and when they receive it they will send me a coupon for 70 Baht. Can't be bothered to go to the post-office, pay to post it back and then wait 2 weeks for a voucher for 70 Baht!

I can't buy these particular bits from Home Pro and I needed them for a job in progress - I have now managed without.

Since you can cancel anytime before shipment and since it is not always clear on the website where goods are shipping from I would suggest caution on overseas goods as Lazada may not be as interested in a problem with goods shipped from off-shore.

[chiman]

Buyer beware of Lazada, anyone can become a vendor on Lazada and so you are exposed to possible gray market or counterfeit product. Read the item carefully and see who it is sold by, check their store, leave feedback!

The old rules apply, if it's too good to be true...

With that said, standard dry goods and common items are convenient to order with Lazada.

[pogal]

I had a nice professional experience from Lazada. Quick response to a mistake I made (a phone call from India I think?) and delivery was arranged by the driver (in Thai) and arrived exactly when he said. lifted it all the way to my room and I was so happy with everything from start to finish I gave him a tip.
Ordered again recently (supposedly from overseas? I'm not sure how in works but a week later it arrived and moments later an email to tell me it had arrived. The quality of both goods was as expected, or even a little better

[johnno2]

http://www.lazada.co.th/

in Australia, I have bought online from ebay etc and from US no problems

I read about Lazada and thought i'd give them a go. No problem ordering and the item was shipped to me in 1 day. Now the problems began. The item was sent EMS (thailand post). Got a phone call and my wife wasn't hame to speak to the guy in thai. i did the google translate thing and sent him a message saying to ring again in 30 mins. no call. wife tried to ring him. no answer. I checked the tracking info and saw that the item was at my local post office awaiting delivery. great, i'll wait. 4 days later, a guy turns up and delivers it.

unpacked the item and it looked ok, it was an electrical item. Had to assemble it (broken down into 3 easily assembled bits) tried using it, after 2 mins, it stopped working. Rang lazada. No problem, still under warranty, send it back for assesssment. I had to pay for shipping, 175 baht. got phone call from them 3 days later. yep, its broken and we'll refund you and also refund shipping costs. "please send your bank details". i paid COD. ok, i email the details. 2 days later, i receive email "payment sent to your bank, it might take up to 30 days to appear in your bank account". WHAT? i send money from australia to thailand, its here in 3 days. I send money from my UOB to my wifes SCB, its in her bank in 30 seconds. so i wait.....and wait.....and wait. 15 days later, no money. i ring lazada. "oh, sorry, we don't have your bank account details, send them again. WHAT??? please send them again and we'll expedite". my question, how did i get that first email saying the money was in the bank. anyway, i send again. 3 days later, i get email "your bank account details are wrong," hmmmmm i check. they're right, i'm blind. i had 1 digit wrong. again, how did they put the money in the first time? today, i get another email from lazada "the money is in your bank" we'll see.

this process started on 29th Jan. would i use lazada again? i haven't got my money yet, ask me in 2 weeks.

tips? use a credit card to pay. if you have a problem, the credit card company will fight for you. COD is great UNLESS the item breaks. Lazada has very bad customer service. if you want to speak in english, you are transferred to a phillipine call centre.

[technologybytes]

I have made literally hundreds of purchases online from Thailand, mostly on eBay, quite a lot on Amazon and in the last year about 10 orders on Lazada.

I'd say that overall 99% of orders have been fuss free and a positive experience, all of the Lazada orders have been perfect so far.

[irwinfc]

ordering online, be it locally or internationally, from thailand can be a rewarding and good experience. largely due to ThailandPost's efficiency. local shipments are efficient close to 100%. international shipments vary. lazada, ensogo, and rakutentarad are great online shops accessible here. although it may not be as smooth an experience for the non-Thai reading farang. some online sellers also sell via facebook and line.

[keeniau96]

I have done very well with orders from Aliexpress, about 10 so far and only one problem because seller delayed shipping so I just cancelled with no problem. Overall excellent experiences with Aliexpress, like their seller rating system and the payment method, whereby the seller does not get paid until the buyer receives the goods, accepts them and gets to grade the entire transaction.

I have made two purchases at Lazada and so far so good but have not received the goods, the first one due in about two weeks.

[satopower]

I almost never post on TV, but I want to give a warning about Lazada in Thailand. When an order goes smoothly, it's of course good. The problem is that service is HORRIBLE when the order goes wrong (which for me has been 25% or more of the time).

In the last 4 months I've placed 8 orders with Lazada, ranging from 400 baht to 5,000 baht. I really wanted to use them regularly, but problems kept popping up.

The first few orders were more or less fine (some quality issues, but normal for Thai goods). Then one of the shipments was completely the wrong item. I told Lazada and sent them a picture as proof. They reply back that the seller doesn't believe me and they want more evidence. Even though this makes me angry, I send in several more pictures as proof. The seller concedes, but then says they don't have the correct item in stock. So now I have to send back the wrong item (out of pocket for shipping), and then wait a few weeks to be reimbursed for everything. A few weeks later I'm back to where I started without the item except frustrated and having wasted a bunch of time.

A while later I try again, hoping that that one incident was an aberration. One or two orders go by without incident and I'm hopeful again (silly me). I order a chair online since this is the type of bulky item that is great for online delivery. Seller again delivers the wrong item. Weary from the last wrong item transaction, I tell Lazada that I will keep this item but just refund me the difference in price (it was a different model that was about 300 baht cheaper). Lazada says no. I have to ship the chair back (at my own expense), then they will send out the correct item.

Now, I'm livid. The whole reason I ordered this item online is because I don't want to have to deal with moving a bulky item, and I'm not about to figure out a way to get this large parcel to the post office so I can pay more money so I can eventually get the correct item I actually ordered. That's where I'm at now -- I'm just using this chair, which is a perfectly fine chair, but it's not what I ordered, and I'm out 300 baht on top.

tldr; You'll eventually be very disappointed in Lazada. It's more or less fine if it goes right; It's terrible if it goes wrong, which in my experience has been 2 out of 8 transactions.

[LNKDES1]

Personally, I've been shopping & ordering on Alibaba. Have not tried Lazada yet, but get plenty of pop ups. The only problem I have with Alibaba is the length of time it takes to get the product. Ordered 2 doz Titliest golf balls. It took 4+ weeks to get them from China. Import duty was only 7 baht though.

[swissbie]

Have had good experiences with Lazada. Always received items as described and some great bargains.

Shipping is always free but 20-30 days delivery and has no expedite options.

No questions replacement policy, especially with credit card purchases. You have to pay for return shipping but they provide shipping label.

Has phone customer service in english although keep it simple.

I never had problems with Lazada, delivery 7 days at most. But i don't order imported items and it could depend on where you're living.

[csabo]

I have done very well with orders from Aliexpress, about 10 so far and only one problem because seller delayed shipping so I just cancelled with no problem. Overall excellent experiences with Aliexpress, like their seller rating system and the payment method, whereby the seller does not get paid until the buyer receives the goods, accepts them and gets to grade the entire transaction.

I have made two purchases at Lazada and so far so good but have not received the goods, the first one due in about two weeks.

Not exactly with regards to Aliexpress. I have had many good transactions with them but when one went bad do to inaccurate listing details I tried to return the item at my expense and have the seller make good. They claimed their small print indemnified them. I filed a dispute. Aliexpress sided with me and had the seller refund me only 20%. I destroyed the seller in a review and they had the nerve to ask me to revise it. Naturally I refused. Read the fine print on Aliexpress. Lazada is great because they offer COD. Few seller want to ship to Thailand on Ebay and Amazon almost never without huge shipping costs.

[csabo]

Personally, I've been shopping & ordering on Alibaba. Have not tried Lazada yet, but get plenty of pop ups. The only problem I have with Alibaba is the length of time it takes to get the product. Ordered 2 doz Titliest golf balls. It took 4+ weeks to get them from China. Import duty was only 7 baht though.

Alibaba is wholesale bulk products only usually. You might mean Aliexpress.

[csabo]

Beware of Kaidee. Many many scammers there. Before sending any money I would have the seller send a pic of their ID card and send a pic of them physically holding or standing next to the item for sale.

[FracturedRabbit]

Not had a problem with Lazada; iTrueMart seem OK too. https://www.itruemart.com/en

Order from the at 1900 one evening and the goods were delivered to my door 36 hours later; which meant being roused from bed at 0700; but good service!

[Muzarella]

In my case....No problems with LAZADA.

[dddave]

Lazada has very bad customer service. if you want to speak in english, you are transferred to a phillipine call centre.

Same as when you are in the USA and call Macy's or Targets or JC Penny customer service...also transfered to the Philippines. Got Norton Anti-Virus? Call with a question or problem? Ask the agent about the weather in Cebu.

[2fishin2]

Ebay

[pennine]

I've used Lazada a few times and always got what I wanted, but got frustrated with messages in Thai only with no English option. also got no reply about a cleaner for coffee grinder.

[Retired2]

Beware of Ebay. I've used Ebay for years with no problems - then last month got scammed by a Chinese seller/Ebay/United Parcel Service.

I believe that most of the fault rests with UPS. So far I am out 100 US Dollars,

On a "Free Shipping" item, UPS demanded nearly US $200 to release my purchase. Most of it was UPS "fees",,,,,, including "overtime".

Watch out for UPS.

[mikebike]

...since it is not always clear on the website where goods are shipping from I would suggest caution on overseas goods as Lazada may not be as interested in a problem with goods shipped from off-shore.

Au contraire... Lozada makes it VERY clear where the goods are coming from right beside the pricing:

[Pib]

I bought my first item from www.invadeit.co.th a few weeks ago as they had a truly good deal on a SSD...and they had it in store stock. InvadeIT is based in Hua Hin and I live in Bangkok. I had never ordered from invadeIT simply because I have never found their prices to be any lower than me walking into a Bangkok IT store and buying...pretty much standard retail price. But this SSD they had on sale and in store stock was at a much lower price than I could get it anywhere in Bangkok store so I gave invadeIT a try....even much cheaper than the same SSD listed on lazada by many vendors except for one of the vendors hat would ship from off-shore and delivery was estimated to than 10-14 days.

I ordered online from invadeIT in the afternoon at around 2:15pm and completed the payment via bank transfer around 2:30pm. Didn't have to do any separate email/SMS/fax to confirm bank transfer payment to invadeit as they were immediately getting the payment notice in how they had their ordering/payment system setup. In fact within a few seconds of me completing the transfer I got an email form invadeIT saying they had received the payment...order payment confirmed/completed. Their ordering and payment system is very easy to use.

However, I will say unless you pay by bank transfer (no additive fee) any other payment method such as credit card or Payment incurs some additive fees by invadeIT...or at least it did on my order. I think the additive fee for paying via PayPal was around Bt350/$10USD for this approx Bt7,000 SSD. So, I paid via free bank transfer (i.e., no fee by my bank or invadeIT) from my Thai bank account to their Thai bank account....they have bank accounts at various Thai banks which you can pay to.

I had selected shipment via EMS which only cost Bt52 (fifty two)...the total shipping cost...I was surprised how low the shipping via EMS was. The online EMS shipment tracking showed it was shipped from Hua Hin around 3:45pm....I received it next day here in Bangkok at around 1pm....less than 24 hours from ordering the SSD to having the SSD in my hands....and the SSD works fine.

Before I placed the order I called invadeIT to confirm they really had it and asked how long does it normally takes them to ship once ordered and if in store stock. The Thai customer support rep who spoke pretty good English said if payment is received by 3pm each day they ship same day...and that is what happened.

Just FYI based on my one buying experience with invadeIT.

[Pib]

Beware of Ebay. I've used Ebay for years with no problems - then last month got scammed by a Chinese seller/Ebay/United Parcel Service.

I believe that most of the fault rests with UPS. So far I am out 100 US Dollars,

On a "Free Shipping" item, UPS demanded nearly US $200 to release my purchase. Most of it was UPS "fees",,,,,, including "overtime".

Watch out for UPS.

You mean beware of UPS and Thai customs versus Ebay.

Sounds like basic shipping was free, however, but, customs/import duties is really taking a big bite...happens all too often when shipping via FedEx and UPS as they do a great job in flagging items that should have customs/import duties applied. I guess that helps them maintain a very good relations with a country's customs department which means the customs department allows the company to move items quickly through customs (assuming the recipient pays the customs charge). And yes, they even add their own customs collection fee to the customs charges.

Companies UPS/FedEx/etc., always brag about how fast they can delivery items, especially to other countries. And they can indeed deliver fast and get it through customs fast "by keeping customs happy" with very efficient collection of customs duties. Always best to ship via regular postal system...it's slower but chances of customs/import duties being applied drops way down.

[Retired2]

Pib,,,,,Thank you for the info on UPS,

I suspected it might be something like that. Forgot to mention that i had to drive for 2 hours to get to the

customs office to register as an importer. HUH ??

The Power Bank I bought was 3,266 baht. Import Duty was 631 baht. UPS wanted 5200 baht in "fees".

I'm curious to know who ended up with my Power Bank.