Update on 65daigou (Review)

2016 review: http://therevolutioner.blogspot.sg/2016/01/65daigou-goofs-up-again-at-start-of.html

(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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Have they improved since my last reviews 3 years ago?  Not much.

Their speed has always been the same.  So, this is not a factor for consideration in this updated review. The difference now is that they also proxy for Taiwan and USA.

Even after 3 years, they still piss me off.

Due to negative changes in Peeka recently, I had to switch to 65daigou for the first time in 3 years.  Since then, I have continued to purchase 7 times through 65daigou.  So, can't say that I didn't give them chance.

This 7th time, I went to collect my sandals from Tanjong Pagar "warehouse" and this fat woman who looks like a housewife with acne scars, black-rimmed glasses and tied hair was rude.

It's always different people at the counter and usually they don't ask for handphone number.  I just need to tell them my username and it's fine. Also, with other people around, customers should not be made to say out their handphone numbers (this is customers' right to privacy).

This time, the moment I told this woman my username, she insisted on having my handphone number. I said I can't quite remember (it's an old number that I don't use anymore). She sunk her chin down to three layers thick, making a shitty face of doubt while looking at her ipad.

I said I had already paid for the remainder amount (I usually don't pay first but there was excess in my prepay and 65daigou automatically deducted).

It took her longer before she finally moved to get my item while saying, "That's not the point.".  Then what is the point, shithead?  Are you implying that for just a pair of sandals, I am pretending to collect someone's item? Don't be stupid.

When she got it out, her face showed that she knew I was super unhappy. What should have been a quick and easy collection became so shitty.

If 65daigou wants customers' to announce their phone numbers to everybody, it should always be done. Why does it fluctuate depending on the staff at the counter? Second, why in the first place should customers have to announce their phone numbers? Since username is acceptable, then this is enough.

A customer should not have to jump through hoops, even a little one, to get their already paid-for items. It's sickening.

Furthermore, if it weren't for their mess up regarding a 2nd item I wanted, I wouldn't even have ordered this pair of sandals.

This rudeness was on top of a wrong handling that they had earlier done. Therefore, I am fed up again with them.

I had originally wanted to order this pair of sandals together with a 2nd item. But 65daigou sent this message in lousy English without even a "Hi" or capital letter at the start (reflecting the sloppy and disrespectful attitude despite the "Pls" and "TKS").

electronics it's cannot be shipped via express/economy air shipment.You can choose sea or Sensitive air shipment instead.  Pls let us know your choice. TKS.

This 2nd item has an electric pump (that I chose forgetting that batteries and anything electrical can't be airmailed out of China). It's not "electronics". It's an electrical device.

Their so-called Sensitive air shipment is actually very expensive, as I discovered earlier when ordering a pair of Nike shoes. So, I didn't want to use Sensitive air.  Neither did I want to use Sea since it's slow.

So, I said I change it to hand pump. And since the hand pump version is cheaper than the electrical pump version, I told the person to refund the difference into my prepay.

The next message I received:

 Cancelled as requested

At this point, I was pretty shocked. I said change it to a hand pump and refund the remainder/difference. How is that translated as "cancel"?  Moreover, I didn't "request" it.

I checked my prepay. And here's another problem.  The refund was short of $1.06.

I went into chat and Bernard said the cancelled amount had been correctly refunded. The sandals however, are not cancelled.  He was polite but didn't explain or know(?) where that missing $1.06 went. I had to figure it out myself.

Turns out, $1.06 is the domestic delivery cost of the sandals.  Bernard should have said so.

I asked whether economy air was Ok if I got the hand pump version of that cancelled item. Here's his reply:

This shouldn't even be necessary. How can it go back to square one? Bernard should have been able to answer my simple question. Yet he didn't know.

The person placing my order should have done as I requested, that is, change it to a hand pump and refund the difference. Instead my order was cancelled with no information.

The order has not yet been placed. Why can't the person order the hand pump version instead of cancelling? Even if the order is cancelled and I have to re-order again (for the hand pump), why didn't the person say so in the message? Just rudely cancelling the order means that the person don't understand English, or the person is just plain shitty, or both.

With 65daigou having such staff with attitude problem, I didn't re-order.  And therefore, was left with just the sandals.  I wanted to cancel the sandals too, but it had already been sent out by the seller.

Before this incident, here are other things:

  
1) They never listen to instruction. I tell them to bubble wrap certain items, but they never do. The items come boxed, but the fact is that they don't bubble wrap for any item unless the sellers do it on their end.

When I used to order from Peeka, every item was very well bubble-wrapped specially by Peeka, even when I didn't tell them to. On Peeka's own discretion, they will bubble-wrap the item if there's a chance of damage.

I don't dare to buy glass objects from 65daigou at all. With 65daigou's shoddy way of handling items, there is a high chance of breakage.

2)  Shoddy, shitty attitude. My first purchase was a pair of authentic Nike running shoes (expensive). I asked them to check that the size was correct. When it arrived, I saw that the wrapping paper had been squashed under the shoes. It looked like the shoes were just dumped or shoved back into the box. Apparently, the size had been checked. Why couldn't they wrap the paper around the shoes nicely back after checking?  It's like, "You want us to check? Sure, we check." Checks and dumps back into the box.

They take no pride in what they do or how they present customers' items.

3)  I ordered a Japanese aquarium filter. Transparent plastic and dome-shaped.  A little gravel at the base with filter material already inside. The box is thin.

I gave instructions to have the item bubble-wrapped to prevent scratches on the filter or breakage. Also, to check that the item is the same as shown in the seller's photos with gravel and filter material already inside.

When it arrived, there was no bubble wrap inside or outside. When I took it out of the box,  the plastic casing was already badly scratched/scrapped down the side. The filter also looked old as if it was a display piece.  Why didn't 65daigou check it first before sending it to me? The seller clearly sent me a bad item and 65daigou accepted it. I was really unhappy.

4) I ordered a pair of sandals (a different one from the one I mentioned earlier). The straps were supposed to be white as shown in the seller's photos. But in a very surprising unprecedented moment, 65daigou took a photo for me without my asking when they received it at their China warehouse and asked if this white color was acceptable. Since it looked the same as the seller's photos, I replied that if the size is correct, I accept it.

When it arrived, the color of the straps was actually dirty yellow off-white. I couldn't wear it out because of such a poor color.  Why didn't 65daigou warehouse staff tell me that it's a dirty yellowish-type of white? Their photo showed white and their message said:  (notice again the horrid English)

hi we received ths items ,be informed the seller now the white color is this pls check it ,kindly advice if you are ok to accept tks 

"the white color is this"?? But it's the same as the seller's photos. If they had said that it was not white at all, I would have requested them to return it.  Can't believe that even sending a simple photo, 65daigou can mess up. 

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Latest update Thurs 15 Jan 2015: http://therevolutioner.blogspot.sg/2015/01/65daigou-review-taobao-shopping-service.html