(Update Wed 22 Jul 2015: Check out my guide on how to pick good Taobao sellers! http://therevolutioner.blogspot.sg/2015/07/how-to-pick-good-sellers-from-taobao.html).
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10 April Sun 2011
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10 April Sun 2011
"Buy the World for you"...?
I first started testing their service in March, in the midst of bad reviews, bad feedback and enquiries regarding slow order status, updates and delivery issues. Reason given by Daigou was that the media publicity had increased their customer numbers such that they were swamped with orders and temporarily unable to cope.
With apologies, they said after March, things would go back to "normal" efficiency.
Since I had never tried them before, I had no idea of what their "normal efficiency" meant. Nevertheless, the "CEO" seemed sincere in his apologies and refund promises.
The sincerity of their feedback replies was assuring enough for me to try them out (still with some doubts). I doubt everything and everyone from China. It's not prejudice, but a fact that their ethics and product qualities are in question most of the time. They, however, will not admit or see it.
So far, I've not made effort to find a personal China purchasing service agent, as I do not believe any can be trusted. So, why bother.
But recently, there was a need to get one if possible and Google led me to the very first result. Easy.
The Daigou website is easy to use, easy to navigate, user-friendly especially for the EZ-buy function.
However, buyers beware.
So far, I have tried them 3 times. The 3rd time failed.
The first 2 times, the orders were slow to process. After payment, it took a while (1~2 days) for the status just to change to "payment received". After that, another wait (a week and more) for the status to change to "items ordered". There was a constant need to ask in their enquiries section whether items have been ordered and why the order status was hanging for so long. Any enquiries would take very long just to get a reply. This was the main gripe at the time due to--according to them--increased media-generated orders.
I let that pass because as mentioned, their feedback replies with apologies seemed sincere and honest. And past customers posted comments in the positive.
During that time, I kept watching their enquiries section for any problems, to get an idea of how they were functioning and how reliable. One customer was upset enough to use vulgarities in his enquiries. At that time, I felt the verbal abuse was unfair, but now, I think Daigou deserves it.
Even now, although their backlog of orders seems to have cleared, replies to enquiries are still very slow. And there is still the need to check whether items have been ordered. From the enquiries section, it appears that customers are not informed when items are out of stock or when there are problems with sellers until quite late.
For the 2 times, I received my items by going to their collection points at specified timings and dates.
This 3rd time, there were 2 items that were ordered, from 2 different Taobao sellers. One seller was uncontactable for more than a week and the amount was refunded in "MyPrePay" account in the Daigou website. Due to the delays in March, there was also some additional refund. Total in the prepay came up to $10.26.
The way they work is that there are 2 payments:
1) payment of goods upon ordering
2) payment of shipping and agent fee once items arrive in SG.
Upon arrival of the 2nd item, the shipping and agent fee was $9.53. This was automatically deducted from my prepay account. Previously, before there was refund in the prepay, I made payment through ATM transfer and cash on delivery.
Once this last step has been made (before goods received), the advantage is on their side. So, COD is the better option. Additionally, the guys almost forgot to collect the cash from me when I opted for COD.
I chose to collect the item at an MRT from 11.30 to 12 pm on Saturday. Unfortunately, I left my hp at home, but thought it would be Ok as I had collected twice before, know where to collect and who to look out for.
I arrived at precisely 12 pm, but there was nobody standing at the usual location. After looking around the MRT for a few minutes, it seemed the Daigou guys had left (before the stated time). Twice so far, there would be 2 young guys wearing the "company" T-shirt and carrying white plastic bags with the logo. These are China nationals (young students) errand/delivery boys. It would seem unlikely they run the show. This time, they weren't around.
This was wasted time and money for me.
Unable to collect the items, I went home. That's when I saw the SMS and missed call. So, I SMSed that I turned up at 12 sharp but didn't see anyone. He replied that he had waited till 12.15 pm and if I would please come to Woodlands at 1.45 pm to collect again.
I replied that I was already home and wouldn't be able to make it to Woodlands in time. Are there other MRT stations he would be going later so I can try again?
He never replied.
This aside, I sent an enquiry at their website, mentioning what happened and whether they can send out the item using Singpost. I am still waiting for the reply.
Today, I sent an SMS to their "service" hp, asking whether they could send out via Singpost or must I collect again. The reply was brusque without even a "Hi":
"The arranged delivery was unsuccessful. pls arrange self collection at our office at 30 jalan puteh jerneh, 278051".
Googling for the location, it appears to be a semi-detached house along a narrow road. No idea where exactly it is.
1) The fact was that the guy was not at the location at 12 pm, regardless if he was there till 12.15 as he claimed.
2) It is only fair and polite to reply to my SMS regarding whether he would be at other MRT stations that day so I can try collecting again. If not possible, he could have at least replied.
3) They have a courier service at $5 delivery. Why isn't there the option of courier delivery or Singpost since the first attempt was unsuccessful? In fact, sending my item via Singpost is perfectly possible and would cost less than they courier fee. Simply state how much delivery would cost. Why state collection at their office?
4) Given the various timings and days for MRT collections, shouldn't there be a second chance for collection?
5) The prepay may seem convenient (for them obviously), but there have been complaints that deductions are made without customer's approval or knowledge. In this case, the 2nd payment was automatically deducted from my prepay (no notice) when I'd rather have paid COD.
5) The prepay may seem convenient (for them obviously), but there have been complaints that deductions are made without customer's approval or knowledge. In this case, the 2nd payment was automatically deducted from my prepay (no notice) when I'd rather have paid COD.
If the shipping and agent fee hadn't been automatically deducted from my prepay account, I think the result would have been different. Courier/Singpost delivery would have been possible. But now that everything has been paid for, it is now in their favor.
For every purchase, customers are encouraged to provide reviews at the end of receiving the goods. So far, I've never left any feedback as I wanted to see how it would go. If it continued to be good, my review would be continued usage of their service. If the service was bad, as now, I would not bother leaving a review, but would inform other people of why buying through them is a bad idea.
I believe it is a only a matter of time before more issues turn up. The Daigou website is still new, started about a year or so ago. Their replies to enquiries have already become less friendly. Simple things like my collection at 12 pm is not handled well.
There are customers who purchase several hundred dollars' worth of items from Taobao through the website. It is even said that local merchants use the service. How true that is, I can't verify. But given the simple lack of consideration and service for just 1 item that I purchased, I doubt their ethics and service standards.
Given the wastage of time and money in the first collection attempt, I do not wish to spend more time and money searching for their semi-detached "office". I am willing to pay for courier service delivery or Singpost for the item to be delivered to me, but as stated in the SMS reply today, collection would be at their office.
As this item was purchased on behalf of someone, the result is that I have to pay for the costs, including the forfeiture of the item.
There is $0.73 left in my prepay account, which I e-mailed to have it transferred to my bank account. Let's see how long that will take. It is not the money, but that I do not wish to have them profit further from even this little amount.
I run my own business and even when customers miss their first collections, their items can always be mailed to them (even if there is no second collection available).
To use 65Daigou was a bad idea in the first place. Testing it only proves it.
If you have been using the service without problems, don't say it too soon. :)
For those considering using the service, I'd say use at your own risk. Or don't use at all.
For those spending hundreds of dollars buying Taobao items through them, I feel the risk for you. It's like freefall without net anytime.
For those spending hundreds of dollars buying Taobao items through them, I feel the risk for you. It's like freefall without net anytime.
Having purchased from Taobao a few times already, I can 100% say that the products are not as great as the photos. Be prepared for disappointment.
To buy from Taobao, you need to be Ok with:
a) Items falling apart the moment you receive it.
b) items not matching website photos
c) poor quality clothing that go out of shape after washing for the first time
d) clothing that is supposed to be new but looks worn with torn label tags
e) shoes with inner lining coming off and generally not really fitting
f) not receiving the items at all
g) bags and clothing with smell
Cheap comes at quite a heavy price if you don't get what you want/expect.
I've even seen someone asking if she/he can purchase furniture using the Daigou service. This really takes the cake for sheer silliness and whatever else (ridiculous-ness?). If even simple things like clothing can be bad, how bad can furniture be? :) I'd rather just buy from Ikea (and even then, I avoid buying from Ikea).
Someone laughed when I mentioned it. Said: yeah, buy a table that comes with 3 legs. The other leg on the way, separate shipping fee.
Update: $0.73 refund was deposited into my bank a/c today 11 April, after sending my e-mail request yesterday (Sun). This was good and there was also notification reply in my e-mail.
Checking my account with them, there is a "re-arrange" delivery button available now where I can choose again delivery MRT, time and date. To confirm this is possible, I have SMSed their "service" hp number again. I wait to see if there will be reply.
As for the enquiry I sent earlier to their enquiries section (which would have been displayed at their website for viewership), there has been no reply as of today. Presumably, there is no need for reply since in the SMS, the person said to collect at their "office". I don't think they refused to post it since previously, they had even showed the "enquiry" with the vulgarities (unless it was to gain sympathy from other customers with their oddly tolerant replies).
Update 2: The SMS reply was not immediate, but some time within an hour. Regarding whether I can re-collect the item at their specified re-arranging delivery slot:
"can, pls change it in the system by choosing "re-arrange delivery", we will arrange for you accordingly.".
Now why didn't they say that in the first place after the missed first collection? Such a simple alternative. Don't they know the system can arrange for "re-arrange delivery" and inform the customer of it?
I will try to collect again on that day and see how it goes.
Update 3: Item picked up on the re-arranged date, time and same location.
Turned out they had changed the location of the collection. So that's why I wasn't able to find them that day. Usually, just some minutes before the collection, there will be an SMS informing customers of where they will be at. It occurred to me to check the previous message and saw that they had changed the location. That day, I didn't bring my hp and assumed they would be at the usual spot.
If they had changed location, why didn't they state it in their website?
Also, they had included an additional item in my plastic bag. It is not a free gift as there is the name of another customer attached to it. So... someone's order has landed in my bag. Someone is missing a grey, felt material, double-sided, wallet-style holder.
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To be honest, their prices are great. However, the disadvantages and their amateurish handling of orders are not so great.
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Update 4: Daigou is supposed to inspect the items before sending out to SG. However, as stated by a customer in enquiries section: "some goods weren't inspected. Some items are spoilt and even came with the wrong brand".
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Latest update 15 Jan Thurs 2015: http://therevolutioner.blogspot.sg/2015/01/65daigou-review-taobao-shopping-service.html
Update: $0.73 refund was deposited into my bank a/c today 11 April, after sending my e-mail request yesterday (Sun). This was good and there was also notification reply in my e-mail.
Checking my account with them, there is a "re-arrange" delivery button available now where I can choose again delivery MRT, time and date. To confirm this is possible, I have SMSed their "service" hp number again. I wait to see if there will be reply.
As for the enquiry I sent earlier to their enquiries section (which would have been displayed at their website for viewership), there has been no reply as of today. Presumably, there is no need for reply since in the SMS, the person said to collect at their "office". I don't think they refused to post it since previously, they had even showed the "enquiry" with the vulgarities (unless it was to gain sympathy from other customers with their oddly tolerant replies).
Update 2: The SMS reply was not immediate, but some time within an hour. Regarding whether I can re-collect the item at their specified re-arranging delivery slot:
"can, pls change it in the system by choosing "re-arrange delivery", we will arrange for you accordingly.".
Now why didn't they say that in the first place after the missed first collection? Such a simple alternative. Don't they know the system can arrange for "re-arrange delivery" and inform the customer of it?
I will try to collect again on that day and see how it goes.
Update 3: Item picked up on the re-arranged date, time and same location.
Turned out they had changed the location of the collection. So that's why I wasn't able to find them that day. Usually, just some minutes before the collection, there will be an SMS informing customers of where they will be at. It occurred to me to check the previous message and saw that they had changed the location. That day, I didn't bring my hp and assumed they would be at the usual spot.
If they had changed location, why didn't they state it in their website?
Also, they had included an additional item in my plastic bag. It is not a free gift as there is the name of another customer attached to it. So... someone's order has landed in my bag. Someone is missing a grey, felt material, double-sided, wallet-style holder.
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To be honest, their prices are great. However, the disadvantages and their amateurish handling of orders are not so great.
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Update 4: Daigou is supposed to inspect the items before sending out to SG. However, as stated by a customer in enquiries section: "some goods weren't inspected. Some items are spoilt and even came with the wrong brand".
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Latest update 15 Jan Thurs 2015: http://therevolutioner.blogspot.sg/2015/01/65daigou-review-taobao-shopping-service.html
47 comments:
damn it, i ordered from daigou already, how i wish i had read your review earlier... thanks anyway! :D
Well, maybe you'll get lucky and it'll go Ok for you.
I disagree that china products are not good. it really depends what you are trying to buy through taobao. I bought a really good pair of boots at a reasonable price (around SGD33?) which would have cost at least doubled in Singapore.
You pay for what you get. If you pay RMB 25 for a dress, please expect it to be rubbish. if you pay RMB 70 for your dress, the quality is definitely there.
At the end of the day, consumers should think before buying. Checking out store ratings, reviews of products are common senses. If they just select the cheapest. Well. good luck to them.
Regarding daigou, I haven't been using them since late last year when they were still good. A tad disappointed that their standard had dropped.
Many people have said it depends on what you buy. Also depends on luck.
I'd say 99.99% of the goods are poor quality material or workmanship.
The items may hold together for a while or the cloth is not torn, but you can get better quality-looking items in SG.
It then depends on individual sense of "quality".
I also bought a "good" pair of boots for a reasonable price. But then the inside lining of the bottom came off and the fitting is bad. Yet, the boots are still wearable, nothing torn on the outside. Before buying, the reviews about it were good.
So, it can be said to be a "good" buy for the price, since it has lasted so long. But I'd rather have bought a better pair in SG or somewhere else.
Price actually does not equate to quality of the product.
There was a dress that someone ordered, and it was very expensive. But it arrived with the size label torn off (left in the plastic wrapping bag) and the dress didn't look new.
I also have bad experience with them, they lost my items and I have to swallow my losses which come close to about s$200...
Wow..that's a lot of money. Surely they refunded you at least part of the payment?
Anyone tried using 6spree? Saw many good reviews in their website. They also charge cheaper than 65daigou.
My friend tried 6spree Their shipping is really expensive. Bought a few items and it cost up to a 100.
I ended up asking her to try daigou. I think daigou improve a lot from last year. I still remember that I need to wait 1.5-2 months for my sea shipment. But they revamped their whole website and now they verify my payment within a few hours. I ordered at 1pm, 5pm they place their orders for me already. Nowadays, my items hardly goes OOS anymore.
Think they employ lots of new staff. When I go and collect my items, there are a lot of staff wanting to attend to me. Haha.
I'm not sure about anyone else, but I stick to them even though they were quite slow last year was because of their customer service. They really help me out with my shipment and everything even though sometimes I can be very troublesome. Haha.
Well then, wait for them to mess up. :)
hi, Chelsea, what are the items your friend bought from 6spree? how can a few items can charge $100 shipping?
Hi Jason, she bought a few nail polishes and accessories. :( Is it suppose to be so expensive?
Hi, really feel a need to share my recent bad experience with daigou with all.
I emailed daigou to feedback on an erroneous spelling on a polo T-shirt.
The reply I got was full of justified reasons why their local agents would not have been able to spot the erroneous spelling.
Daigou said : What we mentioned is not trying to shoulder off our responsibility, but trying to lower your expectation on taobao shopping, and prepare you for certain risks you need to bear.
Amazing!
1) What kind of customer service is this? Instead of appeasing the customer by managing the emotion,
daigou went to great lengths to defend their position.
2) For a company that built its success on taobao, I cannot believe daigou would be so foolish to say "lower your expectations on taobao shopping"
Hope they would improve from here
this is my first time using daigou's service and while my stuff hasn't arrived yet, the process of everything, from verifying my payment to ordering my stuff actually happened almost instantaneously. the moment i transfered the money to them, i received the sms that they've received my payment within 30 mins. my items were ordered within 12 hours and everything arrived at the warehouse in 2 days. my only complaint is, i ordered a cake stand and from taobao's website it stated 1kg but when it arrived, it became 3kg. called up daigou and they told me its volumetric weight but they cannot provide me the dimension of the box the cakestand was in. its a relatively small item and i don't know why it can come up to 3kg in vol. weight and til today im still wondering, i guess i can only find out when it arrives.
i plan to use home delivery so i hope it will lessen the hassle of going to meet at MRT station and any chance of miscommunication. i don't dare to buy things like clothes and shoes for fear that they will be of lousy quality so this time i just sticked to ordering some fabrics, glass jars and ceramic plates.
i don't wanna use agent if given a choice coz i heard that freightforwarders are actually cheaper since they don't charge by grams, but i called up one (amconexpress) and they were really vague and told me the charge is 550RMB for a certain box size. wth.
For Serena,
Just for your info, before I make any purchases (even not with 65daigou), I make sure I understand the procedures, charges, delivery etc, cos I wouldn't want to be at the lose end. I have ever came across some taobao items don't state any dimension for me to calculate the volumetric weight, even I get 65daigou to check on behalf, they had advised me that sellers can't provide (I would say that the sellers can't be bothered to check). And 65daigou could only get the measurement upon receiving goods. So, it's up to you whether you want to take the risk.
Just wanna share with you that after comparing few agents, 65daigou gives me the best services with the cheapest rates. I mean, let's be fair. I had made a number of purchases with 65daigou before and though there are some hiccups, but after communication and mutual understanding, all ended with happy ending.
Cheers!
I just tried their service recently. However, one item arrived damaged, and another order was missing.
I pointed out to their staff at Tradehub21 where I collected the goods. But instead of handling the cases directly, they asked me to send an email to report (?), which puzzled me. I mean, I'm already here at their office, with the faulty item and missing goods?
Nevertheless, I do that the same evening, and for almost a week had passed, and I did not hear from them.
Today, 12/12/12 at 12:12pm, I called up their service line, and there's only a voice recorded message asking me to report my issue via email(!).
Well, hopefully this is not the first and last time I have to deal with 65daigou.
Looks like they didn't change. Despite their recent CEO's "earnest" e-mail to customers, they are still the same crap.
1 week is a very long time for no response to customer's problem. Plus, non-existent communication lines.
Try sending your complaint to their enquiries/reviews section and see if there's response.
Best outcome from this, would be getting a refund for damaged and missing items.
The damaged item could have been damaged at seller's side (in which case, daigou should have checked), or damaged by the daigou people themselves (which is highly likely as well).
The missing item could have been mistakenly sent to another customer. Or is still somewhere in a China warehouse. Or there was a problem with the seller and daigou didn't inform you.
Taobao sellers are pretty much scammers.
Back when I used to browse the daigou enquiries section, it was quite common to read that sellers disappeared or cannot be contacted etc...
While I'm basically a new customer who's used 65daigou's service for merely less than two months, I can more or less agree with you, zinepin, that they didn't change at all. While I'm not sure if they were THAT bad in the past, well, to me, they still are not any better now. Based on my experiences and though I had nothing but (mostly) praises of them in the beginning, I take back my words now. Why? Because I encountered repeated times of :
1. Receiving wrong or damaged items which they first defended themselves by saying "even though this item is not what you wanted, it functions the same and the usage is not affected". afterwards they would then admit it was their mistake for not being meticulous enough in inspecting. either that or they said the seller did mention to them the item is out of stock and they failed to relay the message back to me. Subsequently offered me a 30-40% compensation but so what??
2. Items being weighed wrongly, always heavier and never lighter. There were all too many times when the weight came up to 1-2kg for something relatively light, like a small side plate measuring less than 10cm, a pencil case or a notebook. And when I chased after them to double check, the weight of the item would be amended but the total amount would be the same. Apparently, they have a 'chargeable weight' which is unheard of in other airfreight companies. Correct me if I'm wrong, companies like DHL, Fedex and even Vpost, they either take actual or volumetric weight, what the hell is a chargeable weight? Alot of times, the chargeable weight would be around 500g-1kg heavier, even though volumetric weight was ALREADY taken.
3. My comments and reviews containing even a wee bit of negativity were not published. Apparently, they only publish the sugar-coated ones.
3. Since I think I can't trust them now, I also have this faintest suspicion that they, being VIP members of certain sellers' shops, did not pass down the savings to us. VIP members of some taobao sellers get benefits like domestic courier waiver or slightly cheaper prices on their items but I doubt even if 65daigou is a VIP member they'll pass on the savings to us. Instead they'll just keep quiet and charge us the full price while they happily get discounted prices from the seller.
Zinepin, any idea if we're able to get proof of purchase or invoices from 65daigou that they've indeed bought our items from a particular seller at a particular price? Currently there's no proof of documentation and maybe they're not obliged to show us. But while we do enjoy the benefits of using an agent ie. the convenience of not having to liaise with sellers, people placing orders on our behalf and consolidating them, we do pay agent fees so I feel we have the right to know. What do you think?
#2: It seems to be a common complaint recently from their customers.
Usually, only volumetric weight based on dimensions of box/package is considered by delivery companies/agencies.
For instance, US has fixed-sized boxes and the airmail pricing is fixed for those sizes. So, even if it's a small item and the seller uses a big box to put it in, the airmail price will be based on that big box. So, it becomes more economical for a customer to buy more items to put into that box.
For daigou:
The amount that customers pay for the items, is not enough, with just agent fee/service charge (or even if absorbing discounts from sellers). Furthermore, daigou's fee is just 4~8% (as stated in their website).
This is because the prices of the items are low. Meaning, the agent fee is not enough/very little. Even more so with increasing manpower and all the extras they have added.
From a business point of view, they would have to increase shipping charges to make the business worthwhile/viable. It's made more profitable by having many customers and dealing in bulk load.
Complaints about buying small/light items and being charged crazy volumetric prices are common. Example: Comgateway.
#3: Oh, so that's why I have been seeing a lot/almost all positive reviews these days in their reviews section (when I occasionally peek). It made me think they improved.
I would say that daigou sees itself as responsible only for purchasing items on behalf of customers and bringing in the stuff (although they mess up on that). They don't check items etc...
They are also under no obligation to provide proof of purchase/invoice from sellers. Maybe they might provide if asked (depending on whether they want to). But as the transactions are done online, they most likely won't have a hardcopy to show (unless seller includes receipt with item/s and upon receiving the item/s, daigou takes picture of the receipt to show you. But who is paying for that?).
Screenshot of the transaction might be possible, but it might be inconvenient to show customer.
Thanks for your valuable insight, Zinepin. Yes, overcharging becomes really common now its scary. Have to be careful. Now I don't trust their weighing scale at all and I will just do some confirmation myself by weighing similar items I have at home. It really happened to me alot of times, like out of 10 items there would be 4 or 5 with incorrect weight.
As for agent fees only VIP/SVIP members are getting 4-6%. most people are still paying 8%. I don't think its that small an amount since the fee is pegged on the total amount of item price + shipping. Can come up to quite alot so I don't think they're earning little from the agent fee. And with the ridiculous chargeable weight which is neither actual nor volumetric weight, they're earning even more from the agent fees. Which is why I feel with so much money they're milking from us they should at least do a decent job on the inspection.
Recently things are even "better". I bought like 8-10 items from one seller and it was only when the items reached their warehouse that they told me half were out of stock. Whose fault was it? I thought whether or not an item is out of stock you would be notified upon placement of an order and not when the items arrive at the warehouse. It happened quite a few times and it really wasted my time. If I knew those items were out of stock early I could have at least bought from another seller.
I'm going to stop using them once my last batch of orders have arrived. All these non-transparencies really made me lose faith and if I have to keep worrying whether or not they'll miscalculate the shipping fee or whether I will receive the wrong items then its really not fun anymore. And by publishing only positive comments it only goes to show they have no intention of improving. I sincerely hope that discerning people would visit sites like yours to read real reviews instead of reading those from their site. But at least when I review I get some bonus points that I can soon redeem a voucher to offset the agent fee so its not that bad.
I've placed some orders with peeka and find their rates really reasonable. May be abit slow and have to pay GST but at least the rates are not as ridiculous as 65daigou's and I don't have to constantly worry about miscalculation. Anyhow it would be good if there are some transparencies, I think its high time to show some proof of purchase. Discount aside, I read how some unethical agents would buy from who offer cheaper prices behind your back or give you something already sold in singapore and charge you shipping fee. With a proof of purchase such dishonesty could be prevented but then again, its a disadvantage to the agent so I doubt they will ever do that.
Are you using any agent now? If you've come across any good and reliable ones please do recommend us!
You're welcome, Kaylin.
Well, this is their way of charging for their service. Every business has its own way. Even if you weigh the actual item yourself and find that they weigh it differently, it is still their way of charging versus what you feel should be correct.
Yeah, I know their service charge is taken based on the overall cost (with shipping). But take for example, someone spends $100 including shipping. 8% = $8. It's very little from 1 customer. (Would be even less if customer spends less).
But would be better when multiplied by more customers or when customers spend more. Whether that is a lot of profit depends on how large their operation is in SG and China and how many customers they really have.
Regardless of their business side, I agree with you that they should at least provide what their service is supposed to do. That is, purchasing correct and undamaged item/s on behalf of customers and delivering to customers.
As for out of stock items, this can be a grey area because it depends on sellers and where the stock comes from. An item might still be purchased successfully online, but only much later, seller says it's out of stock depending on where the seller gets it from.
Could be seller didn't inform daigou of out of stock items.
Well, it depends on which agents people go to. So far, I've stopped buying from Taobao. Agents aside, I have been disappointed by items from the sellers.
Have fun with Peeka. :)
DO NOT use 6spree seriously they arre horrible and they PAY people to write down good reviews
See their response to bad review below and you will understand how terrible they are
http://forums.cozycot.com/cozycot-shopping/37542-taobao-good-buys-120.html
fuck daigou65, I requested for the package to be repacked while it was at packing status, instead of answering to my enquiry and providing repacking service, It shipped the package to singapore first, after that in the evening left a message "Dear customer, parcel is on the way to Singapore, cannot repacking. Thank you." They had a whole day to check and answer to read the enquiry Terrible service, It was acceptable service before-hand, answering to all my enquires before doing anything, but after hearing my voice which has a kiddish tone, The attitude change competently. it's terrible,they only provide good service because they're scared of complaints. terrible system, Stupid Chinas,
Check this out. I was looking for a review on 65daigou USA & saw this sad person talking about a recent Taobao experience.
Posted 5 May 2013 by Asdasd12 (scroll down till you see his post).
http://www.mycarforum.com/topic/2667847-anybody-use-65daigoucom-before/page-5
65Daigou can seem very attractive. Quite a few times, I have been tempted to go back to their "service".
But every time I think of them, I think of those shitty China errand boy faces that made the experience such crap.
I would rather trust my money with a stranger to buy for me Taiwan goods, than use 65Daigou. That's what I did recently.
hi zinepin, i hope you still remember me, i left comments here before. just like to let you know i've started buying on my own from taobao. now they have this integrated forwarding function where you choose between 3 forwarding companies of your choice (PRouter, 4px and lequgo) and when you checkout on taobao the stuff will be sent to the fowarder's warehouse. i used 4px and its cheaper - no agent fee, no volumetric weight, no chargeable weight, no delivery fee, better exchange rate! i saved lots and also get to enjoy the taobao benefits and also credit card points.
i cant believe i've been using 65daigou for so long when they kept screwing up. the last straw was just last month when the plastic food bags and wrapping papers i bought were all folded into tiny pieces (only goes to show their inspection/packing dept has no experience dealing with such things as majority buys stuff like bags and shoes). also i bought a pair of swimming goggles and indicated 200 degrees but they told me the seller sent a wrong pair and the one they received was without degrees. and they said the seller refuses to exchange because they (the seller) dont want to bear the domestic shipping. i thought it was abit fishy since most sellers have exchange policy whereby if they send the wrong items they will bear the shipping and send the correct one. so i contacted the seller myself via aliwangwang and they told me 65daigou did not indicate the 200 degrees when they placed the order. such dishonesty on 65daigou's part! they must have thought i wouldnt contact the seller myself! well, they were wrong. after some communication to and fro, i told 65daigou that i dont care who is at fault, they or the seller. just give me my item! in the end, the seller still refused to dispatch a new one and 65daigou just cancelled my order because they also dont want to take the responsibility. its very unfair to the customer dont you think? it took almost 3 weeks and ended up my order was just cancelled, im so angry with them. so yes i think buying on my own is thr best thing i could do for myself. i have enough of 65daigou!
Hi Kaylin,
Yeah, when Taobao started their direct buying service, I was already checking out reviews/comments on their Facebook.
At that time when I checked, there were complaints about getting refunds from sellers & shipping problems. So, I didn't try it.
I have also read reviews comparing the few couriers available & it's a hassle trying to choose the "better" China shipping company among the bad ones.
Buying without an agent may seem like a good idea. I have read that people like to skip the agent fee.
But even with a good agent based in China, it's already difficult dealing with these China sellers, let alone DIY when buyer is overseas.
This is because China sellers are dishonest.
Even with high positive feedback scores (4.8 & above for all 3 categories: item description accuracy, delivery speed & customer service), these sellers cannot be trusted.
Real example: A pair of jogging shoes, buyer orders size 7. But seller don't have the size & sends 7.5 without informing, to agent's warehouse.
Agent only knows after receiving at warehouse & asks buyer whether this is Ok. According to seller, 7.5 is just a "small difference".
If buyer don't want it, agent will return for refund.
Buyer don't want it because it's the wrong size. It's not just a "small difference". Also, seller is dishonest for not informing the ordered size is not available. If sold out, seller should say so. How can seller just send an alternative size?
No problem to buyer. No loss. This is the benefit of using a good agent.
If buyer dealt directly with this seller, buyer would have received the wrong size of shoes & how to get back the money & the right size of shoes when the seller didn't even have the wanted size in the first place?
Hi everyone. Use peeka! http://buy4you.peeka.sg it is the best agent so far i have tried all and this is the best!
hi zinepin
what you said is very true. many sellers are dishonest. i myself have gotten this kind of sh*t many times when i was using 65daigou. sellers either try and pull a fast one by dispatching a wrong size/color or until very late then notify. or they will even wait for the stock to come in (sometimes 2 weeks later) then they will dispatch. but i feel that by dispatching a wrong item they are taking a risk that the customer wont want it. so when they do that, be prepared to be rejected and they will have to pay for the domestic shipping to ship the item back. will many sellers in the right mind do that? and no doubt a good agent will help u get a refund but after everything?? i didnt pay agent fee just to get a refund. time that is loss isnt considered no loss at all. i would expect the agent to negotiate or force the seller to send me a new one!! i mean thats the job of an agent what!
and yes, buying direct has its risk. nobody will do inspection for you and the parcel that i received from 4px was crumpled and dirty because nobody did repacking for me. and also the risk of receiving the wrong items. normally for such cases the only best thing is to inform the seller, some will do a partial refund if you're not able to return the item to them. we can also get taobao to intervene if things go wrong. but as with any online shopping when you dont use agent, you're bound to receive the wrong items so i guess it depends whether you wanna take the risk or not. i bake and there are tons of baking supplies and packaging like cake boxes which are cheap and pretty and good so i dont think i will stop buying just because of these little things about having to deal with dishonest sellers and receiving the wrong items. recently i tried shopping at rakuten japan and used tenso as a forwarder. its very very ex, both the stuff from rakuten and tenso's shipping fee. totally jaw dropping!
anyway some people who bought large items like furniture also got the seller to try and take pics for them before packaging. at least can reduce the risk of them sending wrong color or wrong item totally as its no joke having to accept a sofa you didnt order.
so far there are only 3 integrated forwarders when you checkout on taobao so basically not much choices actually. 4px is among the better of the 3 and they dont charge volumetric. lots of people on hardwarezone are also using it. have you stopped buying from taobao and only shop elsewhere now?
re : the anonynous comment that peeka is best, ya right! their air shipping rate is exhorbitant. and they dont provide insurance for fragile items like glass and ceramic. u call this best??
Quote Kaylin: "but i feel that by dispatching a wrong item they are taking a risk that the customer wont want it. so when they do that, be prepared to be rejected and they will have to pay for the domestic shipping to ship the item back. will many sellers in the right mind do that?"
The sellers simply take the risk because there is a chance the customer will accept since it's a hassle to send back. Some China buyers will accept it instead of sending back. Of course, the return cost will be borne by the customer. Very rarely will a seller pay for both delivery & return cost because it's bad business.
Quote: "i didnt pay agent fee just to get a refund. time that is loss isnt considered no loss at all. i would expect the agent to negotiate or force the seller to send me a new one!! i mean thats the job of an agent what!"
If a seller don't have the item, refuses to pay for return domestic shipping or refuses to exchange = impossible to negotiate.
Consider good enough the seller will refund fully & promptly (because some sellers won't even refund). So, most importantly, the money must come back so buyer can buy from someone else.
An agent is a middle person who facilitates the transaction between buyer & seller.
The job of a good agent is to:
1) communicate any problems regarding the purchase to the buyer
2) inspect & detect any wrong items
3) return wrong item & get refund or exchange for another item
4) pack item/s well & economically for shipping
Quote: "i dont think i will stop buying just because of these little things about having to deal with dishonest sellers and receiving the wrong items."
It depends on what you're buying & the importance of receiving the correct item/s.
Quote: "recently i tried shopping at rakuten japan and used tenso as a forwarder. its very very ex.."
Some time ago, I checked Tenso. If I remember correctly, Tenso don't have good reviews.
Quote: "have you stopped buying from taobao and only shop elsewhere now?"
A few months back, I bought from Taobao a few times. Have since stopped again because nothing else to buy & it can be expensive each time (with quite long waiting time). Ordering online is never cheap regardless of from where.
Recently bought from Rakuten Japan from someone I found. Good. But item made in China (but cannot be found on Taobao so, that's some consolation).
Quote: "their air shipping rate is exhorbitant. and they dont provide insurance for fragile items like glass and ceramic. u call this best??"
I didn't want to say it, but ...
Actually, Peeka is very good or the best. There are surprisingly very few reviews online because everyone wants to keep it a secret or they are just satisfied.
Those few times, I used sea shipping (reasonable prices), although it takes 12~16 days. Very well packaged items, very well packed boxes.
All my purchases included small & large glass lightbulbs. All arrived safely in thick bubble packing for each glass item. Electrical appliance & equipment were also ordered. Arrived well.
Although I had indicated in my orders to bubble wrap all the lightbulbs, they also took the initiative to bubble wrap a remote control toy (inside its box) as well (which was surprising & made me happy).
No insurance needed but they took great care. Much appreciated.
Customer service just a phone call away. Singaporean voices. Love it.
Local delivery guys/lady excellent. They try their best. Friendly.
For buyers who only know English, the only issue would be:
Sometimes if there's a problem when ordering an item, the communication will be in Chinese (presumably from their China counterpart). This was also mentioned by an online reviewer some time ago.
Their China counterpart is always very efficient & polite.
Hello, thanks for sharing all these useful shopping experiences with 65daigou before I even started purchasing through this agent. Just want to ask if you know about Taobaoring? How do you feel about this taobao agent in terms of the charges they give (if it's really pricey or reasonable)? Thanks! :D
Hi Mapsy, out of curiosity regarding your comment, I checked Taobaoring & online reviews. It would seem Taobaoring performed well around 2011 but has since declined.
I haven't tried it but wouldn't be trying due to a few things:
1) The negative review/s. No reply to e-mails etc...
2) They use EMS by default & say they reserve the right to reject items "such as liquid, powder, battery, lighter or other dangerous products that prohibit international shipping.".
This means they won't be able to ship out battery-operated items (any kind of lights or toys with batteries, cameras with internal batteries etc...) since these items cannot be shipped out of China using airmail (only Sea shipping allowed). Although Taobaoring says they have Sea shipping, they don't state how long it takes.
3) Their payment system based on USD/HKD/CNY via Paypal (plus other methods irrelevant to SG buyer). Personally as an SG buyer, I'm not keen on having to pay Taobaoring's currency conversion + Paypal currency conversion & fee.
I have used peeka before and precisely because they do not offer insurance hence I decided to drop them. You cannot simply say "no insurance but they're all well packed with bubble wrap" hence thats ok. Ok for you maybe because its just lightbulbs. What happens if its an expensive vase or fine china? I'm pretty sure you wont be satisfied taking the risk of not being insured. And they also have crumpled a few of my items, not that they havent. And talking about insurance, today I received an email from them out of the blue, heres a screenshot of the email :
http://i.imgur.com/LoinTA2.jpg
I have no idea what this is about, the last time I used their services was probably in Dec 2012. So in the email they're saying they have charged me insurance in the past but they have decided refund me because they now decided that they do not provide insurance? Well, I don't know and don't really care. And delivery wise I don't recall them ever calling before coming up. Just because they don't charge delivery fee hence they think they're not obligated to make prior arrangements with the customer.
To each its own I guess. Happy to hear you think peeka is good.
Well, it's more important for the agent to pack well to prevent breakage, rather than offer insurance & the items break.
Insurance is not necessary if the agent will certainly pack well. In the first place, are you ordering expensive vase & Fine China?
I am not aware that Peeka used to offer insurance in the past. The e-mail reason is strange but it's great they are offering a refund. A plus point to them for doing so.
Peeka delivery, it's true they don't call first. But once they did. Subsequently, I just made arrangements.
Update: 11 June Wed 5.01pm
Peeka deletes comments in their Facebook. I asked them politely to speed up ordering but it was deleted in a few minutes.
Not surprising but disappointing. Don't know why they deleted it. Odd PR.
Don't know what's up with their ordering. Too many orders? Too few staff? Need to discuss with sellers first?
Deposit was verified yesterday but even today whole day, items still not yet purchased. Slow. Their sea shipping is faster than others but still slow. 14~16 days.
I have been tempted to purchase the items myself. But it's just not possible in this instance with the electrical items that need to be protected. Have to bear with Peeka.
This time, rather regret going back to Peeka. But don't know of better one (yet).
When I told Bro about Peeka deleting my post, he was displeased. Said this will be the last time we buy through them. He wanted to cancel & I was also thinking it's possible to cancel since items not yet purchased.
But I wonder if Peeka will cancel & refund.
P/S: It's strange. I don't know why 65daigou is paying or rewarding people to post positive reviews.
All such reviews are the same. Same shallow introduction about comparing prices of other websites or shops in SG. After showing whatever crap they bought, their posts end with "Why don't give 65Daigou a try?" or something like that.
Weird. As expected of China agent. Not just 2 or 3 reviews, but quite many the same way. Creepy. Even though a "reviewer" says she is not doing an advertisement.
1:48 pm Thurs 12 June
Uhh... I don't know what's happening with Peeka.
#1 It's been 2 days and they still haven't ordered my items.
#2 My post in their Facebook about speeding up ordering was deleted.
#3 I called them this morning and their staff Shirley said their ordering system is Ok (not down). As to why my items not ordered, an odd reason was given that it could be because the seller is not online.
I said usually it's not like this. For the first product I ordered, the reviewers said the seller is fast. (I didn't mention that every item I ordered is from a different seller with excellent rating. How can they all be offline? Previously when I ordered many items, Peeka did it fast.)
I also told her about the Facebook deletion & she thought it was strange.
We ended with her saying she'll check. Also, as I am unable to edit the completed order, I asked her to manually input the remark about ensuring my item comes with the gifts & some discount that the seller is offering.
#4 When I called again at 1.30 & 1.40pm, nobody answered. Presume on lunch break, although website didn't state lunch hours. Phone issued high pitched sound & once I got a machine that said all their staff were busy.
#5 They changed their phone operating system with number 1, 2, 3 now, with a very bad machine voice. Previously, when I called, someone would straightaway pick up. Prefer the previous way.
#6 I called again at slightly past 2pm. This time Shirley picked up. I asked for cancel and refund (auto put back into user balance a/c). It was easily done, so that's good.
#7 Unfortunately, when order cancelled, all the links to the items deleted. Entire order erased. Means Bro will have to search for all his items all over again. (For me, I just have 1 item that's easy to get back).
Bro says in that case, he won't be ordering his items. So, I will just go ahead with ordering mine from 65daigou.
Earlier while considering what to do, I had dropped by 65daigou website and saw they now have a collection place at Tanjong Pagar International Plaza. It's more convenient than going to Tradehub21 where I've been reluctant to go to, due to the location & short inconvenient hours of collection.
I don't want to collect the undignified & embarrassingly neighborhood way & don't want to wait for home delivery.
I'll shift the money to 65daigou and see how it goes.
I had checked online for other agents & it seems 65daigou and Peeka are the only 2 main "reliable" players.
Unfortunately, my item cannot be ordered from Taiwan. I have someone in Taiwan who can order stuff for me.
Have u guys tried SgShop?
I've tried using it for the 5th time now. So far there's no problem. The customer service is always online. Whenever i have any enquiries they'll immediately reply me within 5 mins. There was once my item has some defects. i was immediately alerted and they actually have it exchanged for me.
My shipping was ever delayed too for a few days. They gave me discount for that.
I've never tried any other agents before. But SgShop seems the best choice for me.
Hopefully it stays that way though.
*fingers crossed*
Hello guys,
So, after trying so many agents, which one is better? daigou or peeka?
CHeers
This is not my first time purchased through daigou (which shifted the name to ezbuy recently). There is some time some time some small mistake, but due to the item is small and it cost very little,I will choose to ignore it.. Taobao provide direct shipping service, but since i was purchasing a large quantity (about few hundred pcs), I decided to buy through agent as they help to inspect the goods before goods arriving.
Unfortunately, although it is few hundreds pcs, what sending to me is totally different item with significant defect. I request them to take back the wrong item and refund, they keep apologise and saying that they will check with seller. Seller suggested us to accept with discounted price, which is not acceptable as these are not wat I want. The customer service reply me after tat: if I do not accept seller discount, they will took back the wrong item, but refund me half because I didn't buy insurance,due to their policy!
"We are sorry for the mistake tat we do not inspect properly but we can only refund you half due to company policy.."
They felt sorry for their mistake but I deserved to paid for their mistake due to their company policy?
Are u still consider to use them? Based on ur own judgement
After buying through ezbuy so many times, I can only say don't depend on ezbuy to check for you.
Try your best to pick good sellers. When seller sends correct goods & well packed, ezbuy can just ship out. But when seller is bad, then ezbuy can't help you.
Most important, is that seller must be good.
If purchasing many pcs of 1 item, then should buy a sample first. If everything good, then buy more from the seller.
Once product come into Singapore, it's over.
Which disappointing me is the way they handle the case, although send out the wrong item, at least, the seller has offer an alternative to solve the problem. Wat ezbuy done was apologise from very first to the end..but no action taken, finally ask seller or end user to responsible, seems like nothing related to them..
Yeah, many buyers also said the same as you. They said the 65daigou/ezbuy handling makes them very upset.
Take agent fee but never check the items. And when there's problem, 65daigou/ezbuy just shrug off responsibility.
At the moment, I am also experiencing problem with ezbuy. Regarding US order.
Any rules or regulations control this? As it seems like a mode of cheat although it involve a small sum only..as I know lemon law do protect buyer from defective goods, but it doesn't cover loss for paid-services
It's according to their policy & how they want to cover their ass. Buyer willingly purchased from them. It's not against the law & they didn't scam.
Although they admit it's their mistake, it's their decision how much they want to compensate. You can use their policy against them to try & make them compensate more. But full refund may be difficult because they stated in their website that full refund is for those who bought insurance.
You can read their policy & see where your product can fit in, to argue for a better compensation. Even better that they already admitted it's their fault for not checking.
Oh mine for my experience I also had an order and seller hasn't sent my items for 3 weeks and they said that the seller isn't responding. Another order that i have right now is the prime delivery. I was supposed to receive my items two days ago and up till now, I haven't receive it and they don't give any compensation not apology. I think they are rude and they don't value their customers. I would really like to tell everyone to no buy from them as they are not efficient when coming to replies and calls.
Hmm... so far for me, if China seller don't send out within 1 week or some days, Ezbuy will automatically inform me that they have tried to contact seller & let me choose whether to continue waiting or cancel.
I don't know how Ezbuy knows that the order has not been dispatched but it's good that they know & inform me. Ezbuy is only good for China orders. They don't check US orders.
In your case, it's seller problem. You just have to tell Ezbuy to cancel & refund into your Prepay.
As for Prime delivery... I haven't tried, so I can't comment.
My order suffered badly lately. I have items arrived in Malaysia, cleared custom but never out for delivery to collection point for days.Cannot reach by call. Online chat only receive event queries but not other queries!
This is so rude. If they have any issue holding delivery then just kindly inform customer and no need to leave customer in the dark!
purchasing from ezbuy probably the worst experience I had ever face. I receive my order with defect. Upon confrontation with original supplier, understand that due to the slowness in delivery of the item by ezbuy and return of the item by ezbuy to the original supplier, it takes up to a month. So, supplier rejected one to one replacement. Sigh.... and ezbuy ignored my complaints. :(
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