ACT 7.1 - ONLINE PURCHASING

 

For days of contemplating whether to spend money to buy one thing, I have finally decided to try online shopping thru Shopee platform. 

Shopee is a prominent e-commerce platform offering diverse products that are cheap and widely distributed. It offers clothing, beauty products, electronics and a lot more which makes it convenient for customers of all ages in any place.

In terms of purchase, one thing that I have spent my hard-earned money for was a recorder, a woodwind instrument that plays a sweet and melodic sound. If you're curious as to why I bought this instrument, the reason is simple: I wanted to learn at least one instrument that wouldn't break my pocket. 

When I bought my first ever and only instrument, there were various payment options. These include the following:

1. Cash-on-Delivery (COD)

Type of payment wherein an individual only hands the money at the time of the product's arrival.

2. Online Banking

Type of payment wherein the money in exchange of the product are processed through different banking platforms.

 

3. Credit/Debit Card

Type of payment which uses cards, such as VISA, or JCB credit/debit cards.

4. GCash and PayMaya

Type of payment which works electronically or digitally using mobile applications.

Among these options, I chose Cash-on-Delivery (COD) type of payment for reassurance and security purposes. As a person who's thrifty and very careful of money, I tend to not trust easily as money is not just anywhere.

So, what convinced me to purchase? What are the factors that affected my purchasing decision?

Well, apart from the fact that I wanted to learn at least one instrument, I was also persuaded by the following:

1. Quality

In comparison to products bought at a physical store, the quality, most of the time, screems huge difference. The advantage of using e-commerce is that we have more opportunity to find the product with the best qualities instead of settling on a product on a physical store.

2. Cost

Price or cost is a big factor too that either makes us want to step forward or turn our backs. In e-commerce, we are offered affordable items or products with reasonable prices.

3. Store reputation 

It is also important to investigate or look up the store's reputation. The higher the rating, and the more responsive, and accountable the store is, the more reliable it is.

4. Customer reviews

Here, individuals can reassure his/her future products' condition through reviews obtained from past customers who purchased similar items.

Overall, the experience was good because it provided convenience to the customers as it lessened the hassle from transport fare to energy consumption.