We all have embraced online shopping thanks to the fast evolving technology! But do we really realize the cost that comes with it? When I talk of cost I don’t just mean the extra amount you have to pay to have goods delivered to your doorstep but rather other frustrations that come along.
Sellers seem to have mastered the art of coming up with exaggerated pictures of what they are selling to entice the buyer. Online sellers not only engage professional photographers and graphic designers but also persuasive digital marketers and customer service.
Talking of disappointments of buying products online, for instance, you may come across a dress on social media that looks fabulous on the model who is advertising the dress. It is fitting; seem to be made of good quality material, your color of preference and perfect design that satisfies your taste. You decide to make an inquiry to check if they have that same color but with your preferred measurements. In most cases they will never say no. You will quickly make payment in fear of them running out of stock of the beautiful dress or whatever.
To your unfortunate dismay, you will get a totally different type of product you ordered. Most of the time it is of poor quality, different color, different size and the list continues! It is the same product you saw online but several things have deceived you; on top of the list is the camera used! For instance, the camera has a way of making a mint dress appear white in a picture. Another contributing factor is the seller’s appetite to sell! They can’t afford to turn away a client or postpone their sale therefore ending up convincing buyers to take things that does not match their taste or measurements. Otherwise they would just admit what they were selling is out of stock and urge the buyer to check with them on a later date when they restock. To make it worse they may not be willing to replace the product or even if they are willing, you will find that they have very limited variety to choose from. You will feel conned but what will you do about it other than writing a poor review on their social media accounts.
Online shopping does not involve physical products alone. Service providers are not exempted from the trick photography. For example when you search for hotels online, they take pictures of their facilities in a way that you will fall in love! From the way they describe their location, their food, others will talk of their hotel being a walking distance from the beach only to arrive and learn that none of what they said is true.
Another disadvantage to online shopping is that you will not be able to bargain or negotiate to have the products and services at a lower price.
Before you fall prey to online sellers and the frustrations that come with it, my advice to you is to always visit the shop physically to buy a product. If by all means you can’t, look at their rates and reviews carefully. Same case to hotels, check what other customers have to say on the reviews page.