4 Best Online Marketplaces That You Should Try Buying From This 2021

4 Best Online Marketplaces 

That You Should Try Buying From and Why

 

 

 

Here in the Philippines the online marketplaces that we know are either Lazada or Shopee. However, did you know? there are a lot of online marketplaces out there that sell more authentic products. 

 

In this article, we will discuss the different online marketplaces that you should try buying at when it comes to authentic products and excellent customer service. We will also show to you the pros and cons of these online marketplaces so that we could have a wider knowledge of these online marketplaces, and why you should try them.

 

Important Note:

 

This article is for educational purposes for our fellow Filipinos so that we could help them understand and explore the different online marketplaces that are available in the Philippines. 

 

Hence, in case we mention any negative connotation, it’s just base on some of our experiences as a consumer in regards to customer services and product quality. This was also mentioned by other customers in different online reviews that we will be using as a reference as well.

 

Rest assured we do not intend to diminish, dishonor, or even disrepute the online marketplaces that will be mentioned in this article.

 

Lazada Ph

 

Lazada is one of the most known online marketplaces here in our country. If you don’t know, Lazada is part of the Alibaba Group which is owned by Jack Ma. One of the richest men in the whole world. Lazada was founded in 2012 in Singapore which later expanded across Asia. That being said let’s discuss the Pros and Cons of buying at Lazada.

 

Disadvantages

 

• The authenticity of products, because there are a lot of products that are not authentic. (Class A, Replicas).
• Some online resellers from other countries failed to deliver (most of the time) without any updates made to the customer.
• Product Swap Modus Operandi, because there are a lot of resellers in the marketplace, there is no specific quality control implemented on the quality of service by the resellers. There are some instances that a customer bought a PS5 and when it arrived the box contained a broken monitor.
• No Stand-alone Subscription-based products (they have subscription products but offered by other brands) therefore they do not control the reseller’s quality of service and legitimacy. 

 

Now let’s see what are the Advantages of this online marketplace

 

Advantages

 

• Cheaper prices
• You can use Sodexo as payment 
• Fast Delivery (because we have our headquarters here in our country).
• Huge variants of item categories you can choose from.
• Some small retailers are part of Lazada Resellers.
• Well-known local stores are part of Lazada Resellers.
• Different courier services you can choose from for your delivery.
• Multiple Payment Options (COD, Credit Card, Money Transfer)
• They do charity works (LazadaForGood, Charity of Love, Kaya Natin Movement).
• They release consistent promotions and discounts that you should take advantage of.
• 9 Years in Operations

 

Upcoming/Ongoing Promos: Lazada Promo

 

 

 

Shopee Ph

 

Shopee is also one of the biggest online marketplaces in Asia. Similar to Lazada, they managed to match and sometimes get ahead of Lazada Ph. It was founded by Xiaodong Li in 2015 who is also the founder of Garena the leading Esports organizer in the whole world.

 

Disadvantages

 

• The authenticity of products, because there are a lot of products that are not authentic. (Class A, Replicas).
• Some online resellers from other countries failed to deliver (most of the time) without any updates made to the customer.
• Product Swap Modus Operandi, similar to Lazada, some resellers swap the ordered items.
• No Stand-alone Subscription-based products (they have subscription products but offered by other brands) therefore they do not control the reseller’s quality of service and legitimacy. 

 

Now let’s see what are the Advantages of this online marketplace

 

Advantages

 

• Cheaper prices (however some items are much cheaper in Lazada)
• You can use Sodexo as payment 
• Fast Delivery (Like Lazada, we have our headquarters here in our country).
• Huge variants of item categories you can choose from.
• Some small retailers are part of Shopee Resellers.
• Well-known local stores are part of Shopee Resellers.
• Different courier services you can choose from for your delivery.
• Multiple Payment Options (COD, Credit Card, Money Transfer)
• They do charity works (They have a partnership with GMA Foundation, and some are launched last year).
• They release consistent promotions and discounts that you should take advantage of.
• 6 Years in Operations

 

Upcoming/Ongoing Promos: 4.15 Payday Sale (April) Get up to 80% off!, Current Product Promos

 

 

Zalora Ph

 

Zalora Ph is a one-stop online destination for everything related to fashion in the Philippines. Giving you some insights on global and local trends, they feature international designers as well as the most relevant Filipino brands. 

 

Zalora Group is founded by Chris Feng, Tan Wee, and Steven Kim and with a partnership with Rocket Internet SE in 2012. Which was later called Global Fashion Group

 

On the other hand, Zalora PH was co-founded by Paulo Campos III, and in 2017 49% of the shares of Zalora are now owned by Ayala Corp.

 

Disadvantages

 

• Limited variants of products since they focus on a specific niche which is Fashion.
• You can find affordable products in other online marketplaces if you are looking for fashion products, though of course, they are not authentic unlike Zalora products
• There are some reviews that they do not respond responsively to customer complaints
• Return and Refund policy takes long according to some reviews of customers

 

Now let’s see what are the Advantages of this online marketplace

 

Advantages

 

• They offer authentic fashion items (all original).
• You can use Sodexo as payment 
• They have a huge reputation in the Philippines such as Ayala Corp. Hence, they have good credibility.
• They offer reasonable prices for authentic and signature items.
• Aside from reasonable prices they offer huge discounts as well
• Multiple Payment Options (COD, Credit Card, Money Transfer)
• They release the latest fashion trends locally and globally
• They primarily focus on fashion products (well studied, controlled, and prioritized niche)
• Some reviews stated that they deliver on time.
• 9 Years in Operations

 

Upcoming/Ongoing Promos: 

 

25% off for new customers Shop now and use this code ZLRDAY25

15% off for existing customers Shop now and use this code ZLRMRCH15

 

 

Amazon.com

 

Unfortunately, This is the best online marketplace that a lot of Filipinos are ignoring, thinking that they cannot buy from Amazon even if we are located in Asia. Well, the truth is we can buy from Amazon even if you are located in Asia or anywhere else in the world. 

 

Amazon is established in 1996 by Jeff Bezos, and it developed into the world’s biggest retail store. Because they sell millions of product categories, from food to home improvement to subscriptions to gadgets and many more.

 

Want to know more about Amazon and How fast they deliver? Check out our article about it so that you will understand how they were able to deliver orders anywhere in the whole world. Read it now.

 

Disadvantages

 

• Prices are a bit higher compared to other online marketplaces
• You can’t use Sodexo as payment, however, I think they have gift cards unfortunately we do not have them here in the Philippines
• Due to the COVID spike that is happening globally, their delivery is affected which will take up to 2 weeks or more
• Price monopoly because of local resellers (they purchase affordable products on different marketplace then sell them on Amazon at a much higher price)
• Some bestsellers of Amazon get easily consumed and goes “Out of Stock” which takes them a while before they restock again.
• Some of the Subscription products, Some movies that are movie on demand, are not available in some countries.

 

Now let’s see what are the Advantages of this online marketplace

 

Advantages

 

• Amazon offers almost all the product categories, literally.
• They offer membership exclusive (Amazon Prime) benefits such as bigger discounts, free service use, much faster deliveries than usual.
• They have subscription services like E-books, Audiobooks, movies, and TV Series Streaming. 
• Their marketplace offers big discounts as well
• All products are authentic (Amazon is well-known for its excellent quality control methods)
• Their delivery standard is between 4-7 days (without Covid Spike)
• Amazon has warehouses across the world for faster deliveries (nearest in the Philippines are Japan and China)
• 25 Years in Operations
• Excellent Customer Service, Item Quality, Return/Refund Policies

 

Upcoming/Ongoing Promos: 

 

 

Conclusions

To conclude this article, all of the mentioned online marketplaces have disadvantages and advantages. Therefore, as a consumer, we must weigh which of them is the most that will meet our needs.

 

Maybe some of you prefer affordability over quality, some prefer quality over price, some prefer customer service over price, etc. We must consider all of these factors when buying online.

 

Also, we highly advise you to check the reseller’s ratings first. Because these marketplaces opened opportunities to resellers to help them to gain money and earn more by selling using their platforms. That is why ratings of the reseller will tell you if they are reliable and if their products are authentic or not. 

 

Let’s be a wise consumer, that doesn’t just buy easily. Remember the saying that “People buy based on their emotions and is justified by logic“. Because this is the mistake that most people do, they let their emotions take over without them reading the lines first such as reviews and ratings. 

 

There are a lot of scammers out there, and unfortunately, they manage to get into the online marketplaces. Hence, being a smart consumer is the best strategy, and that you should be to avoid being scammed when buying online.

 

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