Online shopping in the Philippines

The best thing about online shopping is, it doesn't matter where in the world you are. I have used alibaba, lazada, banggood,ebay uk and ebay PH. I only use either paypal or as in  the case of alibaba and others, their own guarantee of money back. I have had several times needed to claim, item not delivered, an all to frequent problem if arriving by philpost, never had a problem with a refund. Drawbacks! if coming from overseas the wait time is usually 6 to 8 weeks. So if urgent and worth it, you can pay for a courier delivery, but can be very expensive.

I wouldn't do it again. Amazon & Ebay are fantastic in the west. Lazada & aliexpress are not!
If it does arrive which has been 50 percent due to Philpost being like most Filipino businesses amongst the worst in the world, the quality will be hideous.
I wouldn't bother again. Most reputable companies won't even trade here because of scams. In the west it's a click of the mouse. Here it's bank transfer, cash on delivery etc. It's in the Stone Age. Pathetic.
I did hear that Amazon were planning on starting up here. Don't hold your breath.
You can't even pay your utilities by bank direct debit.
This place is at least 25 yes behind in customer service & efficiency.
I buy everything on line in the U.K. TESCO, eBay etc. Have it sent by Balikbayan boxes. In their wisdom though the "officials" have tried to balls that up for us too. Get your orders in quick though as they have failed to implement that like most things they come up with & will review it next May 2018:)
And before all you fart sucking rose tinted brigade start up, no I won't go back to my own country😂😂

I have visited one online site for shopping but I have not ordered from it.  The web location is below.

https://www.lazada.com.ph/

I do not know of any groceries deliveries.  Good luck 
Vegetables are cheaper at the wet market or Mercado.

I've used Lazada, GalleonPH & Zalora. Had absolutely not issues with these.

Then, I used AliExpress to order small items like toaster bags. Instead of delivery, I get a letter from the post office. It's like, for something that is worth $1-2, I have to spend $4-5 to go to the post office. And then, I have no idea why they would hold up with such small packages. I mean, like really? haha.

Could others post their experienced with post offices holding up packages and how this works and why this happens? That'll be useful to know.

I have used Lazada no problems they ship LBC to the door I have ordered in USA from Lazada and delivered to my house in Philippines never a problem

The main problem I have had with Lazada is LBC.

Have used Lazada to order a few things
And have received each order and was not an issue .

Living in Davao though it is slow delivery 8 to 10
Days and that's slow as the logistics and infrastructure is still lacking on Mindanao deliveries

Beggars belief that you are still here!!!! your view of the country is pretty awful. I agree Philpost is bad, but now I have a contact in my local phipost it is much better. I have used all of the companies here and have no trouble in paying, I use my debit card, paypal and on occasions cash on delivery. What is your problem with that? The quality of the items i have ordered on the whole have been satisfactory, the odd item was not. Some major companies offer online payment.
You must have an extremely overriding reason to remain here, otherwise your hatred of all things Filipino would have driven you away. Personally I feel sorry for you, to be stuck in a country you hate, must be very demoralising. . Anyway you need to be more relaxed about life here, |I have many things that I feel are annoying, but I let the irritating problems pass over my head, you cannot change them, so accept them.

Online shopping is as easy here as anywhere, and I've had goods from US and Japan delivered. However, the one big difference is that the package, if coming from overseas, is normally sent to a post office and you collect rather than it getting delivered direct.

This is normally due to the need to pay tax on goods on pick up from the post office.

So when you order make sure that a telephone number is included in your irder for the PO to contact you.

Kev

I use Lazada as a last resort only.  GalleonPH is a rip off.  They charge extortionate shipping fees, AND charge extra if you pay by PayPal - against PayPal's rules, but PayPal don't enforce it.  AliExpress is okay, but as has been mentioned, it's Chinese quality goods.  Fine for some things but not for others.  AliExpress DO safeguard your money.  Goods don't arrive?  Full refund.  Goods faulty?  Full refund. 

One BIG problem is that P****t have started charging a 'Present to Customs' fee again, and in a flimsy effort to skirt the illegality of charging such a fee, have decided to change the name to 'postal handling fee'.  Oddly enough, this 'postal handling fee' is the same amount as the old 'Present to Customs' fee, AND only applies to items bearing CN22 or CN23 (Customs declaration form number). 

The Republic of the Philippines is a member of the Universal Postal Union, and a signatory to the Universal Postal Convention (UPC).  Section 20 (2) of the UPC prohibits the charging of a fee for presenting to Customs unless Customs have levied a fee.  As all items under 10,000 PHP are now exempt from Customs fees, the Post Office is breaching the UPC.

Anybody being charged this 112 PHP fee should lodge a complaint by phoning 8888, and by writing a formal letter or formal email to President Duterte via his Presidential Complaint Center, [email protected], or

President Rodrigo Duterte
Malacanang Palace
J P Larel St
Malacanang, Manila

The more complaints, the more likely this fraudulent and dishonest practice can be stopped.

Hi Kev,

I understand that costly items would be taxable, and that'd be perfectly fine. However, it's my first time ordering from AliExpress to be shipped at a Manila address, and I purposely ordered a small/cheap and light-weight package to test-the-waters. Lesson learned.

Thanks much for confirming that it's normal for them to hold packages.

I ordered a couple of nutrition supplements from GalleonPH and only because the pricing seemed OK to me, that'd justify the shipping cost and less hassle dealing with customs etc., and then these factors depend on person-to-person. But I do agree, for most of the items, they quote insane fees that are certainly not worth it. Unless of course, someone needs an item badly and the "costs" are justified as in my case.

Thanks for further insight to P**'s "ways" of charging weird fees. I'll definitely stay away to avoid hassle.

Hi Vipul,

Welcome to a Guju in the Philippines!!  I lived for 20 months in Ahmedabad.

Its okay to order things on lazada,  but dont expect service of the west.  It's slow,  it takes time but it arrives finally.  As a Belgian ot is not possible to use PayPal but visa works out fine.  If they send an estimated time of delivery,  add a few weeks more.

pinaylove wrote:

Its okay to order things on lazada,  but dont expect service of the west.  It's slow,  it takes time but it arrives finally.  As a Belgian ot is not possible to use PayPal but visa works out fine.  If they send an estimated time of delivery,  add a few weeks more.

hi am Belgian living in the Philippines ,i order often on lazada ,most of the times the orders arrive on time ,for payments i use master card prepayd.never had any problems.
galleon i will never use there shipping prices are highway robbery hahaha

greets Dirk

Saw a post by a guy who owns a expat website who likes AliExpress better than Lazada, although I don't know why.

I prefer AliExpress to Lazada too.  Lazada make plenty of excuses, always apologise profusely, bur rarely take any action.  When things go wrong, as they usually do, refunds take forever to be approved and even longer to be deposited into my bank account.

Take the last problem:  I ordered a new battery for my cellphone.  When it arrived it was obvious that it was wrong.  It was as long as the phone.  There was no way it would fit iniside!  So I returned it the same day by taking it to LBC.  I requested a credit against my next purchase, and with the help of one of the helpline people, found the right battery.  I put it in my shopping cart, ready for the credit.  A few days later I got an email congratulating me on my purchase, and that my cellphone battery was on its way - the SAME wrong battery I had returned.

I immediately phoned and asked for the order to be cancelled, but it was already on the way.  So I had to wait almost a week for it to be delivered and to refuse to accept it before anything further could happen.  When I did I again contacted Lazada and told them it was on its way back.  Again I asked for a credit, but for them to NOT send me a wrong battery.

A few days later I got an email telling me that my money had been sent to LBC and that I had to go in person to pick it up.  Having a disability, that is quite a difficult thing for me, but I went to LBC to pick it up.  When I got there I was told to fill in a form, and come back in a couple of  hours because all Lazada cash transactions are 'locked' and that they had to send an email to their head office and wait for a reply.  There was no way I could repeat that trip without spending the next three days flat on my back.  So home again and on the phone.  I had another conversation with somebody on the helpline, and she promised that she'd arrange for it to go into my bank account.  True to her word, I got an email shortly afterward requesting details of my bank account, and in 28 days, the money was in my bank.

To be fair, the telephone staff are very nice, very polite, and as helpful as Lazada's system allows.  Only one person didn't fit that description - she wasn't at all nice or polite and was quite brusque.

To compare:  A problem with an AliExpress purchase:  Complete a simple online form, provide evidence in the form of a photo if goods are faulty, no evidence if the item doesn't arrive.  Within a few days a decision is made (I've never had a decision go against me) and within a week or so of the decision the refund is in my bank account.

Lazada are lifting their game, but have quite a long way to go still.

While it can be used for online shipping,  I use Johnny air cargo to ship from the states to the Philippines.  The company is run by Filipinos and my contact there is a wonderful filipina named Gina Lopez. They get stuff there quickly and economically and they are very reliable.

no one hates Philippines, don't worry. the most complains will be regarding the quality of the products. that's it. and yes the bigger price. i had very bad experience with most of the item purchased from here, most of crashed in days or months. even if i succeeded to replace the products i just don't trust anymore... i learned my lesson. Currently, any item i need, i'll just order in adorama or b&h with absolutely no hassle.

What is adorama and b&h?

I frequently use Lazada but only COD transactions. Always inspect your purchase before making payment.

Lazada  Have been good so far. They text you and let you know your parcel is on the way. I always pay COD. LBC also good and text you the delivery day.

I have used Lazada quite a bit. Don't used COD as can't guarantee I'll be about when they come. So I pay in advance, they deliver to the concierge at my condo. No great problems. BUT I do carefully check reviews of the seller before ordering

Which is best,  AliExpress or Lazada?

gadget shops on line
just google it. the best ones ))

Hi  - Your comments ( probably in response to Stevetheheave's rant )  were very good. I am not an expat.  I joined this group to learn more about the Philippines, because I am sponsering a visually impaired person in the Philippines through College. I wanted to know more about the country and its services.  Postage from the UK is  slow at best , and haphazard at worst, with a 50% delivery success rate. It is frustrating yes !  But then in a country sporting 45 ? active volcano's  earthquakes and typhoons by the dozen , its easy to imagine that the country has difficulties keeping everything running smoothly.  Just by way of comparison - The UK now has difficulty maintaining a good postal system.  Mail frequently goes missing, both by theft, ineptitude, overload of work upon reduced staff,  the royal mail can't even get it together to frank the stamps any longer.  Perhaps we could do with some advice from Philpost ??  I dont know where Stevetheheave comes from - but if it's the UK - yes he's better staying in the Philippines.  Thanks for your calming remarks !  Duncan Greenwood UK

to compaire uk postal servis whit the philippine postal servis is a bit naive i think.

greets Dirk

Sounds like the UK is a real mess now, not to mention the terrorism problems due to a liberal immigration policy.