Shopping Online

It’s still a hit and miss for me, this online shopping. For the hits, a Cambridge satchel, KOR water bottles, and a dress (from UK, no less), to mention some, turned out to be more than satisfactory. My recent adventure on buying shoes, however, left me a bad taste in the mouth.

I recently bought 3 pairs of shoes (please don’t tell the Hubby!) from one of those local multiply stores. They actually sell fashion items like shoes, bags, and clothes which are Made in China. I decided to get my hands on some shoes for me and the Daughter. At first I thought that the prices were reasonable because the styles are fashion-forward and they look like designer brands. Ordering was easy, because the contact was accommodating. Besides, the site gives 5% discount and the shipping is free. However, these benefits were offset by the charges of paying for the items. I paid through LBC, which I was charged with about Php300+ for sending money. So much for the discount. But I gamely shrugged it off since I wouldn’t want to risk my credit card on this. I’m not that comfortable in giving my credit card number  online. (Bad experience, don't ask!)

Yes na lang, teh!
Promod Floral Dress
Uniqlo Cardigan
Ito ang mismong Wedges from Online

The items are actually pre-ordered from China, so the site mentioned about waiting for 2 weeks for my order. Sure, I was not in a rush. However, it took a month before I received a text message informing me that my shoes had been sent. The next day when I arrived home, I saw the LBC package in my room. Disappointment crept in when I saw that the shoes were not sent in boxes, just individually wrapped in plastic. I felt a little bit concerned since they could have been easily deformed while in transit. Besides, I was thinking, hey, costing at least Php1,500+ for each pair, don’t they deserve to be in a box? Then, when I opened the plastic LBC package, the cheap smell of pleather (plastic leather?) assaulted me in the nose. Oh, oh. Definitely not a good sign of topnotch quality. And my fear was confirmed. Upon close inspection, the materials used were not worth what I paid for.  The workmanship seemed haphazard--I even saw a trace of glue on one spot. The boots for my Daughter were ill-fitting, hurting my ankles after only a few trial steps. The grey/yellow wedges that I ordered were a size bigger on me (more of a Size 37), although size 36 was written on the soles. Buti na lang, the black closed wedges fitted me just fine. Pero disappointing pa rin ang material. (Sana hindi agad bumigay!) The worst thing was, the site says No Return, No Exchange. So Consumer Protection Laws are just ignored when you buy from them. Hay, big booboo for me!!!

After that, I thought to myself, what was I thinking? I could have bought more quality shoes that fit me perfectly at the price I paid, from retail stores where I can actually feel, smell, scrutinize, and most importantly, try them on. Besides, I can take them home as soon as I paid for them--and in a shoe box too! So never again would I be duped into buying from these so-called asian fashion stores (Asian=China=not good quality almost all of the time), especially shoes. But then again, I brought it all upon myself, and that was the risk I took. Talk about charging it to experience.

And as for these S36-but-seem-like-S37 grey/yellow wedges? I decided right there and then to give them away. And she already said yes with open arms. And the lucky winner is…

Sa iyo na ito!!!