Shop: To Health By Choice (Healthstart Life products)
Products: Health gadgets (air purifier, juicer, sauna, water filter, etc)
Pro: Speedy postage, flat rate postage
Cons: their chart/e-shop software is very basic. Lack of information about the company and the order process.

Is this shop safe and trustworthy? Yes.

Comments:

Long story short, I was looking for an air purifier and came across some review site which recommends HealthStart air purifier. I searched for stockist but the only thing I could find was their website, To Health By Choice. I was really confused at the beginning because, for a start, the shop name is different from the brand name of the products. On top of that, their website has the characteristics of a scam shop:

1. No information whatsoever about the company other than a mission & vision statement on the home page  (i.e.  no About Us page). I expect information on who they are, where they’re based, what products they specialise on, how long they’ve been in business, etc etc.

2. Clicking the contact us page, there’s no physical location other than a PO BOX address. For a shop that sells a lot of hardwares, I would at least expect to see the address of their warehouse, or an office location. A PO Box makes them look like a dodgy home-based business and not a big company which raises suspicion since they sell big stuff with big price tag.

3. Other than the “Free shipping orders over $250″ on the bottom left, there’s no other information about how to order, how much is shipping, where it’s shipped from, how long it takes to process an order, what payment method accepted. I had to click on ‘View Chart’ to find the minimal info about the shipping process.

4. The site design is very outdated. Moving red arrow is so 90′s. Huge blue next arrow, also very 90′s. The big ‘Buy Now!’ button looks intimidating. The format of the pages are not consistent from one product to the another. Overall, the whole site looks rather cheap.

5. The tone of the product descriptions reminds me of door-to-door salesmen. Trying to hard to convince the audience to buy the product.

6. As I usually do before I use an online shop for the first time, I use google to find out if anyone has bought from them. But I got nothing.

Naturally, I first didn’t want to risk buying from them but I really needed an air purifier and people have been recommending their ION-70 (although these people didn’t say where they buy it from!). ION-70 was way over my budget So I wanted the mini version, ION-25. I looked around for some other brand with similar price range, ION-25 still seems more advanced and good value for the price.

So I decided to test out the ordering process. When I reached the payment page, I notice they use a secured chart (valid SSL certificate) so I felt more comforted and decided to go ahead. My credit card has a protection against fraud so I thought I can always lodge a complain and get refund from my credit card company. Another thing that comforted me was the fact that they say they ship within Australia only. A scam shop would want to scam as many people as possible, not just Australians.

After I went through the whole process, I received an invoice which has their ABN. I looked it up and find that it is a genuine ABN of the correct name so I was relieved.

The next day, I emailed them asking how long it’ll take to process my order. Shortly after I received an email saying my order has been shipped. It took 3 days for it to arrive so altogether it was A 4 days wait. Not bad at all.

I also email them about tracking number and they come back to me almost immediately. Another plus point.

So if you’re doubting this shop like I did, doubt no more, I can confidently say they’re genuine. I’m now using their air purifier and very happy with it. Definitely a genuine product.

Shop: yoNEED Jewelry
Products: Fashion & bridal jewelry
Payment accepted: paypal, western union, direct deposit (for Europe & Australia)
Pro: Excellent quality fashion jewelry in budget price, cheap shipping cost.
Cons: complicated pricing system. It’s cheaper when you buy more. Site can be confusing for first timer.
Recommended for: bridal/formal accecories (tiaras, necklaces, etc), anyone who likes sparkly gem accecories.

Comments:

I came accross this site accidently when I was browsing ebay. They mainly sell factory made gemstones gold plated jewelry. Judging from several necklaces and bracelets that I bought, although they’re not the “real thing” (meaning, not real gold or diamond), they certainly mimic it well. I don’t know how long they last but I’ve had my necklaces for several months now and the chains and pendants are still sparkly. So I’m guessing as long as you don’t dip them in water on purpose, they’ll last quite long. My mom who’s a fashion jewelry collector (and loves her diamonds) was impressed by the sparkles of my chains that she took one home.

Their jewelry are perfect for those once in a lifetime occasion where you want to look a million dollar without actually spending a million dollar. From my experience, what you see on the site is what you get. The items are actually as sparkly as the picture.

I think the site mainly intended for wholesales but they do accept small orders, although they give more discounts when you buy more, which in a way can be bad because you’re tempted to spend more . So be strong!

You can get a cute stainless steel ring for as little as $2 or this sparkly princess tiara for just $10.

I bet their products will be sold for 5x the price once they hit offline stores. I wished I knew this shop when I was getting married! I paid a fortune for something that I can get for $10 at this shop!

Shipping is pretty fast, they ship your items alsmost immediately. They also give you a discount voucher in the mail with your item which will temp you to buy again! BE STRONG!

If I have to pick on something negative it will be their huge catalogue which can be overwhelming. Also, some items run out very fast, so pay attention at number in stock. If it’s low in stock and you really want it, get it immediately. They don’t usually restock the same design.

Shop: Strapya World
Products: Cute cellphone accesories, plushies, and japanese zakka
Payment accepted: Credit cards, paypal
Pro: Reasonable flat rate shipping, lightning overseas delivery, fast & attentive customer service, quality products, huge varieties.
Cons: Because of the flat rate shipping, it can be expensive if you’re only buying one small product.
Recommended for: Anyone who loves cute stuffs

Comments:

Strapya World made their own products and they ensure they follow certain adorable-ness standards. I haven’t seen anything from the shop that’s not either cute or interesting. It’s such a pleasure even to just browse around every now and then.

What I love most about them is the lightning delivery. I’ve ordered from them three times. The first two times I paid for express and the last one I paid normal shipping. All three times my goods arrived at my door three days after they were shipped. The goods are usually mailed at the latest one day after you paid (unless it’s a pre-order).

Unless you want a tracking number or your country’s postal system isn’t reliable, I wouldn’t bother with express shipping. The cheaper postage was also as fast.

I have bought some cellphone straps and a whole lot of plushies. Everything was so cute and of good quality. Although from reading the reviews on the site, there were a couple of occasions where phone straps came broken but mine came in perfect condition.

I also recommend reading the reviews of the products you want to buy on the site. Not all of the products have reviews available, but the popular ones usually do.

Another thing I would recommend is to buy in bulk. Get your friends to buy together because you really don’t want to buy a $3 item and pay $5 shipping.

The goods generally look just like the pictures on the site but because their products are meant to be cute, pay attention to the measurement they provide. It’s true what they say, camera puts on a couple of kilos. I don’t think they purposely make the the goods look bigger in pictures. It’s something they can’t help.

The customer service is very attentive, helpful, and fast. I had deal with them twice and at both times, the issues were resolved very quickly. The first time I thought I was sent the wrong size of plushie. They got back to me very quickly. I emailed them a picture and they confirmed that it was the correct size. The second time, their paypal page didn’t work so I had to use my credit card to complete the check out. I contacted them about it. Immediately they sent me a paypal invoice and said they would cancel my credit card charge.

A month or so later, I found out they also charged my credit card directly. I contacted them and they sincerely apologised and refunded the double payment immediately without much hassle.

My only complain about strapya is the popular goods get out of stock pretty fast. However, they do restock pretty fast. So if it’s out of stock, wait a week or so, they usually restock. Or you can always email them and ask.

Overall, Strapya is a safe and reliable eshop and a really good place to buy unique gifts (or buy for yourself!) that you can’t get anyone else at a reasonable price.

Highly recommended!

Shop: eThaiCD.com
Products: Thai released CDs, DVDs, Magazines, and beauty products
Payment accepted: Credit cards, paypal, western union,
Pro: Free shipping, lightning and attentive customer service, discounts for bulk buys
Cons: probably a little pricey for Thai standard but if you don’t live there, it’s the next best thing
Recommended for: Thai edition CDs and DVDs, Thai beauty products, Thai magazines, and Thai released kpop merchandises.
Comments:

 I first came across eThaiCD when I was looking for Dong Bang Shin Ki concert DVDs. After comparing prices from several other sites, eThaiCD was the cheapest. The DVDs were Thai edition and comes with Thai subtitle, other than that, the contents are exactly the same as the korean edition. The subtitle can be turned off so it didn’t bother me at all. The DVDs are legitimate (not burnt copies) so I was very happy with them.

I have also bought some of their Thai magazines. I personally think they’re a little pricey for its quality. But considering it has free shipping, I still buy from them because I don’t know where else to get them.

What I love the most from eThaiCD is the customer service. I have twice emailed the store manager for special products that they don’t have listed on the site but I know they have been released in Thailand. He promptly replied to me (within minutes) with detailed information. He’s also very honest with the price and quality. The first time he told me what I was looking for was not worth the shipping cost but he’ll still get them for me if I want to (I ended up not getting it). The second time, he told me honestly the quality of the goods and again, he will get it if I still want it (which I did get and very happy about).

They’re also quick in replacing damaged item. Once I ordered a photobook and there was scratches all over it. I complained and they sent me a brand new one immediately at no cost without me having to return the damaged item. That’s what I call commitments!

Overall, I highly recommend eThaiCD for anything Thai! They also have english movies but I’ve never ordered them so I’m not sure how’s the quality but considering they only sell legitimate stuffs, I’m pretty sure they’re good.