The Blogger

Friday, November 30, 2012

Shopping Online/in Store for the Kpop Fan

This post is quite overdue, since i'm an incredibly lazy blogger... Which I apologize for. Before I begin writing about my lengthy month and half trip in Hong Kong and the events there I'll talk about shopping online specifically the sites(or places) I've bought from and what I have bought related to kpop merchandise.

I'll also give some tips on shopping online and where is best to buy(based on my own experience of course!) And no I am not sponsored in any way by these companies, if i ever do get sponsored I will put a disclaimer.

A quick summary of the site/place ordered from will be given and a score as well. Each will be given a score out of 5 from the following: service, delivery time, cost and overall comments & ratings.

G-Market
G-Market is a korea based site, similar to Ebay but the Korean version of it. There are many sellers on the site each with their own "shops" and listings. Provided if you live in Korea you can directly have items shipped from the seller to you, but there are many overseas buyers and G-Market deals mainly with these customers. They have a warehouse where sellers ship the items to and package it together, weigh and EMS out to almost anywhere worldwide.
Service
★★★★☆ 4/5
Most sellers do not speak English so G-Market does provide online chat service for translations and have a way of contacting them directly with other questions. Most were prompt and tried their best to answer my questions in English. G-Market usually has good service although I do know many people have encountered problems with unresolved issues. However, that is a minority and I have yet to encounter problems with ordering.
Delivery Time
★★★★☆ 4/5
Because G-Market does not deal directly with sellers, you must inquire sellers if your item has not been shipped to the warehouse yet. 90% of sellers are quick and efficient with shipping but there is a small percent that take FOREVER to ship. I only encounter this problem when I buy clothes but KPOP merchandise I buy usually from Synnara or Hot Tracks any official seller and don't encounter problems.
Cost
★★★☆☆ 3.5/5
(Because I don't have a half star...) Cost varies with G-Market. Because they use EMS shipping it arrives much faster but it also costs a lot more. Shipping costs are also dependent by country and determined by weight. I mainly ship to Hong Kong in bulk order because my parents travel back often and can pick it up, and the shipping is half of what it is to Canada. If you plan to buy from G-Market make it a bulk order to save on costs.
Overall
★★★★☆ 4/5
I am content with G-Market and I do know for sure when I buy my kpop products off Synnara it counts toward Hanteo Charts. The costs vary and shipping is sometimes pricey but if you feel the need to be reassured that your purchase counts, g-market is definitely a go to place for your merchandise.