Ezbuy SG Order Testing Review Taobao Agent

Update 11:15am 1 Dec Thurs: Delay at warehouse & even delays in flight time. People are saying it is taking longer to arrive. Odd.

There are things Ezbuy is not telling. When I asked if they had changed CEO, the Facebook admin ignored the question. I think they changed CEO, only hired a few more staff to "handle" the flood of orders & changed shipper.

They moved China warehouses (ship-for-me) suddenly just 1-2 days before 11.11 sale. And even asked customers to pay for the transfer of their goods. Why move the warehouses all of a sudden without informing customers earlier?


Even so long after 11.11, people are still having problems with their orders. And the recent Black Friday, they couldn't even place orders quickly & people were worried if they could catch up to the discounts.

End up customers have to pay for the delay when the discounted items couldn't be ordered in time.

(1 Dec Thurs 11.30pm: below Facebook post)

If they had really hired more staff, there wouldn't be such problems. Some customers have noticed that they hired more live chat staff (who do nothing) whereas their back-end logistics staff are ill-equipped & too few.

Overall, it all comes down to 1 word: Incompetent.

Update 8:16pm Mon 28 Nov: People need to stop sending Ezbuy new orders. They are not moving items from their warehouse. Ur items will join the rest of other people's items. Stuck!

 

Update 2:23pm 23 Nov Wed:  Luckily I had the sense not to withdraw the money from my Prepay ("my available amount").  With the mess going on (people saying they top up but Prepay still zero), I guessed that if I withdraw, the numbers (the money) might just disappear. True enough, today I read their "FAQs": their finance people are swamped & unable to process withdrawals at least for 2 weeks!

The fact that people are withdrawing money from their Ezbuy Prepay ("my available amount") means they are leaving.  Ezbuy is losing customers.

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Sun 20 Nov

Amid all the negative feedback on their Facebook at the moment (since 11.11), I'm daring to buy something again. As mentioned before, I've been buying since Ezbuy started as 65daigou. Even during their worst beginning time, I was there. And I even warned people that it's a bad idea to use 65daigou. See my old post.

I hated 65daigou.

Now, to be honest, I have actually been surprised by how much they have improved. Very fast in so short time. Their CEO He Jian is/was pretty impressive to turn it around so fast. I suspected they have quietly changed CEO. Ezbuy customer Facebook wouldn't reply as to whether they have.

With such a drastic "fall" currently, it's not surprising if the CEO has changed or is no longer sitting there.

To be honest, these days, they have started turning my hate around to ... a more favourable feeling. Quite a feat considering how angry they made me so many times before. 

I have never given them feedback/review every time after receiving my items. Not even when they do well. But these days, they have pleased me well enough that I have started leaving positive feedback regarding their ordering time & shipping out time.

Just a few days ago, I collected 3 small items (in 1 consolidated package via Sensitive shipping). No problem except for China local dispatch that took 4 days. Usually, only 1-2 days will arrive at warehouse. But this time, I'm guessing that near to 11.11, their China mail system already swamped.

I submitted the orders 1 or 2 days before 11.11 for the sale price.  (Days after 11.11, the seller is still keeping the same 11.11 promo price, so the mega-sale wasn't such a "sale" after all.).

Ezbuy order placement was fast, as I recall. No issue with it. Order was placed in the daytime, one seller dispatched the same night. That seller was also damn fast. Very rare so fast.

Sensitive shipping took 6 days from ship out (they shipped on Sat this time). I collected on the 7th day.

1) I always use Buy-for-Me. Recently (early Nov), encountered strange purchaser who would not place order for 4 days from another China website (not Taobao).  At the start of this year, I ordered from that China site before & it was fine.

This time, purchaser wasn't purchasing. So I asked what's going on. If not interested to order, let me know. Different chat staff told me to wait for purchaser to "update". No updates whatsoever. Would not cancel or refund.  Finally, I made a firm request to cancel before finally, the 3rd chat staff refunded instantly.


So, let's test again. I waited until 1 week (it's been more than a week) for them to clear their 11.11 orders. I guessed it would take them at least a week to fix the mess. I'm in no hurry to buy any item. 

As mentioned at the start, amid the negative feedback in their Facebook, I dared to order something again. Submitted a new order last night Saturday.

Partly to test.  Partly because I'm afraid "My Available Amount" might suddenly disappear due to their system mess up. At least quickly use part of the money to buy something even if the order placement & shipping delays are horrible,  rather than the money disappear. Just in case. Due to Ezbuy mess up, can't even withdraw the money in case it doesn't appear back in the bank a/c.

I left a remark to check the item arrives in the correct size when Ezbuy warehouse receives it from seller.

Today is Sunday 20 Nov. As mentioned in the previous post, Ezbuy is dead on Sundays. Now, as expected, it's still in "order processing" mode.  I'm expecting to see "order placed" tomorrow by afternoon or at least end of the day.

(Update at 8.21pm) Shockingly, when I checked at 7pm, the item has been ordered. "Order placed". I had to refresh the page to see if it was going to change back. Nope, the status remains.

For the first time in the all the years with Ezbuy/65daigou, my item is ordered on a Sunday.  Must be a spill-over effect from 11.11 when they said they were working "24/7".  I can't believe it. Order placed on a Sunday. Will they keep this up? I doubt it.  You must remember that they are cranky.

Update 11:39pm Mon 21 Nov: Status still "order placed".  This means this seller is slow at sending out the item. If it continues the same status for more than another day, I'll have to ask Ezbuy to check what's going on. Usually, sellers dispatch within 1-2 days. This seller's dispatch score is 4.8. I expected faster.

Update 9pm 22 Nov Tues: Status still "order placed". I think there's something wrong with this seller. If tomorrow still no movement, will have to ask ezbuy.

Update 2:37pm Wed 23 Nov:  Today 3rd day of waiting for seller to dispatch the item. As of this typing, still "order placed". So, as you can see, although this time Ezbuy ordered super fast on a Sunday, the seller is not cooperative, resulting in a delay. So, sometimes, it's not just Ezbuy's fault. The Taobao sellers are also at fault.

To ask the seller what's going on, I entered Ezbuy chat. Oddly, the staff Katherine told me she is unable to contact seller & "only purchaser able to check with seller". Just some days ago, I had asked a guy chat staff to contact the seller & he did (although he said seller was not replying).

Katherine is another one of those stupid chat staff? Or did Ezbuy change policy again?

As usual, the chat staff (Katherine) said she has "leaved" a message with purchaser to "expedite" the process of dispatching the item.

Of course, leaving a message with purchaser means nothing is going to happen. The purchaser is not going to get back to you or talk with seller.

If the item is still not dispatched by end of today, I'll ask Ezbuy to cancel & refund. This is because there is no point forcing the seller to dispatch. Obviously, there is a problem with the goods. If you force, seller might send a defective item out of spite or just for the money.

The moment there's a problem with the seller's dispatch, just cancel.  In fact, I feel like cancelling now. It's already near 3pm & still not dispatched.

Update 9:24pm: Status has changed to "dispatched by seller".  Either purchaser really contacted the seller to ask about the dispatch or the seller just dispatched without being contacted.

Although how long it's going to take to reach Shanghai warehouse is the next step, my only thought now is whether there's any problem with the item. Hope not.

The normal time for items to reach Shanghai warehouse is 2 days. 3 days sometimes. Longer than that, something is wrong. So far, even my small items have arrived at warehouse. Or even if delayed (until I thought it's missing), it still arrives at warehouse. 

Update 3:14pm Fri 25 Nov: "Pending inspection & repack". I'm quite surprised it's according to usual schedule.  As expected, 2 days after seller's dispatch, item has arrived at the warehouse. Now, let's see how long it takes to be ready to ship.

Update 10:07pm Sat 26 Nov: Still "pending inspection & repack".   I was expecting this since many people already complained in their Facebook about long waiting times for this step. I wonder how long my item will take to pass through. These days, the normal time should be 1 day. Meaning, it's already delayed by 1 day. Meaning, the item should have been ready to be shipped today (so I can press the buttons for it to be shipped).

Update 10:31pm Sun 27 Nov: Still "pending inspection & repack".

Update 8:14pm Mon 28 Nov: More than 2 weeks after 11.11, I thought Ezbuy would have more than enough time to sort out their warehouse mess. Seems not. My item still "pending inspection & repack".  So what those buyers have said in the Ezbuy Facebook are correct. Ezbuy is taking a long time to inspect. Items are sitting in their warehouse. I hope my item won't take 2 weeks to "inspect" just like what a buyer complained recently.

I asked through live chat regarding the order. Ask "Ice" to check since for 3 days still "pending inspection & repack". Her reply:

Let's see whether it will move tomorrow...

Update 12:43am Wed 30 Nov: Yesterday 29 Nov Tues. Status still "pending inspection & repack". At the moment, still the same.

Update 3:43pm 30 Nov Wed: Contacted Ezbuy chat staff. Even though the status says 61 customers waiting to be served, I waited for about 15 mins & was served by "Chao". Ezbuy has so many complaints about this "pending inspection & repack" issue that they have come up with a copy & paste that doesn't make sense. But there's nothing you can do.

What is "bulk of order and along with some sensitive items"?  They don't have a system to sort Sensitive versus normal items?  For this test, I'm not in a hurry to receive my item. I just want to see how long they take.

Update 8:13pm 1 Dec Thurs:  Still "pending inspection & repack". I'm quite relaxed about this order. Ezbuy will deliver but it's going to take a long while. As mentioned, I'm in no hurry.  It's also quite a cheap item, so... the stakes are not high here. Of course, I want to receive it soon. But it's not moving & I jumped into this already expecting it as a test.

By now, actually, I would have already collected my item. It's been 7 days since stuck at warehouse. IF it had shipped out on schedule as normal, it would have taken only 3 days to fly & arrive. Meaning, I would have already collected it some 1-2 days ago.

Update 5:40pm 2 Dec Friday: Still "pending inspection & repack". I wonder... maybe next year then receive?

Update 5:54pm 3 Dec Sat: "Pending inspection & repack".  This afternoon asked chat staff whether item is missing. The reply was satisfactory. It means need to wait till 6 Dec before can click ship out.  I wonder if on that day, again no update? My item is buy-for-me. As mentioned, I always use Buy-4-me.

However, I was reading their explanation in their website updates regarding ship-for-me orders. Majority of complaints have come from customers using ship-for-me because Taobao forwarders don't do sea shipping. For sensitive items, Ezbuy sensitive shipping is cheap. So, everyone sent their items to the Ezbuy warehouse.

Unfortunately, Taobao sellers are shit. As I mentioned, any delays or problems are either due to sellers, Ezbuy or both. Can't just blame Ezbuy. The sellers conveniently missed out the last 5 digits of the shipping address resulting in Ezbuy being unable to match warehouse arrival to customers' purchases. That's why Ezbuy report that items are "lost" or "can't find" in warehouse.

Also, sellers write addresses by hand, not printed labels. When it rains, that handwriting can't be read anymore. So stupid sellers. Just stick a clear tape over the address, lah. Very lazy, sloppy & selfish sellers. Buyers responsibility to pick good sellers.

The solution should be: Customers must tell sellers to input the entire address, leave nothing out.

Update 7:02pm 4 Dec Sun: Same "pending inspection & repack".

Update 6:42pm 5 Dec Mon: Status changed to "ready for shipment". Amazing. Even before 6 Dec, status updated. I requested to ship out. Now status is "Prepare shipment". Let's see how long it's  going to come out via Economy air.

Update 6:52pm 6 Dec Tues: Still "Prepare shipment". 

Update 3pm 7 Dec Wed: Status has just changed to "Shipping to destination". Yay. Took them 2 days. Now, let's see how long it will take to arrive. The ETA is 12 Dec. 5 days' time. Normal ETA. The actual arrival should be in 3 days Friday or Sat counting today.

Update 11:51pm 10 Dec Sat:  Status still "shipping to destination". Definitely delayed.  Normally, it should have already arrived yesterday or today.

From arriving at warehouse to getting ready to ship & shipping to destination, all delayed.

Update 11:27pm 11 Dec Sun: "Arrived, arrange delivery".  Looks like they update on Sundays now.  I arranged to collect tomorrow. It arrived within the ETA, although slower than normal.

Update 12:44am 13 Dec Tues: I collected it yesterday 12 Dec Mon. A queue was outside the warehouse door at Tanjong Pagar. But nobody complained. Too many boxes inside the small office & everyone had to stand outside in line while the guy looked in the boxes for the customers' items. Surprisingly orderly considering so many people's items all over the boxes that were all marked out.

I waited in line for about 15 mins. The warehouse office supposed to close at 2pm. But even at 2.10pm, the door still open with the last few persons waiting for their turn.


Total time taken from order to arrival is 22 days (with Economy Air). Very long. Usually, China items will take only 1 week to get to Singapore from order to arrival. Big difference.

Order was paid on 20 Nov.  Seller's delivery time was about 4 days (also a delay. Normally, sellers take only 1-2 days.). When arrived at Ezbuy Shanghai warehouse, it remained stuck there until 5 Dec (11 days).

I submitted the request to ship out on 5 Dec. But Ezbuy took another 2 days before finally shipping out.

Flying time took 5 days. Normally, it would have taken only 3 days.

Item is fine. Exactly what I ordered. Correct size.