Q:

Hello! There’s this online shop called Rakuten http://global.rakuten.com/au/ that I am unsure of buying from. It’d be greatly appreciated if you could review/research 

xox

A:

Hello, I’ve looked into Rakuten. Rakuten is an online department store, it’s a collection of different shops. So when you buy an item from Rakuten, you’re really buying from the individual shop. So I guess it really depends on which shop you’re buying from. Rakuten iteself is reputable company so I’m pretty sure most of the shops are reliable and safe but the process is not going to be as straightforward as if you’re buying directly from the shop. I tried going through the checkout process, it seems like you will not know how much the shipping cost going to be straightaway. After you place an order, the shop will contact you with the shipping cost.

I personally don’t like this kind of system. It’s a bit like korean’s Gmarket if you’re familiar with it. The items they sell are very tempting though, so I guess if you really like something, go for it. Maybe try buying a cheap item first to see how the process works.

Q:

Hello! I just opened a online shop http://www.jewelryshop24.com . Could u pls review and leave some comments .

A:

Hello, congratulation on the opening of your online shop! I’ve had a good look at your shop. It’s good, the design is simple and professional and most of all the prices are good. I was excited when I see the beautiful jewelries. There are still room for improvements though. Hopefully my suggestions can help increase your sale

1. The pictures are beautiful! Keep it up. However, I think the file size of the picture files can be reduced a little bit. They’re very slow to load even with broadband connection. Talk to your graphic person and ask if the file size can be reduced a little without sacrificing too much picture quality. Slow loading can turn off buyers. At the moment your photos are about 300kb each. I used photoshop to reduce the quality to 90%, the difference in picture quality is hardly noticable to the eyes but the file size reduced significantly to about half.

2. I read that you used to sell your products in ebay. If your ebay account is still active, I think it’s a good idea to link it from the shop. Your online shop is new, it will give customers more confidence to buy from it when they can see your ebay reputation.

3. I’m not sure if you’re still selling in ebay, but I think it will be a good idea to continue to do so for awhile as a way of advertising your new shop. In your lisitng, you can invite customers to go to your online shop for more choices.

4. I’m not sure what’s the reason behind the shop name “JewelryShop24″. It sounds really generic and it may scare buyers thinking it’s a scam shop. Maybe calling it “Malo Treasure” will give it an identity and more class.

4. This is personal, but I hope you will stock more silver jewelry! Maybe necklaces and earrings instead of just bangles and bracelets? I love silver necklaces!

Good luck, I’ll be checking!

Q:

I was wondering if you could review another website: http://www.tradetang.com/ I find some products surprisingly cheap (such as makeup, electronics, games etc.) that I am not sure if it’s reliable and authentic.

A:

A quick google search revealed they do not have a very good reputation. I would stay away from them. Most people say they sell replicas. I think they’re also a collection of different suppliers. If you want to buy stuffs from China, I would suggest to do it through a buying agent. A buying agent charges for their service but they speak English and you can ask them questions or check if something is too good to be true. The agent will usually check the items first before sending them to you and if there’s any problem they will deal with the seller. A chinese site with good reputation is taobao.com. Taobao is like ebay so you still need to be careful. You can use buying agent like Obook to buy from Taobao. I’ve used Obook as buying agent before and they’re pretty good. You can read my review about Obook here. Another chinese site which is more trustworthy is Amazon China (also called Joyo). Again you need a buying agent to buy from them.