Beware of Cheap Purchases Leading to Expensive Mistakes! Tales of Disappointments with Overseas Discount Shopping Sites

2018.10.08 published

Is it Really Safe to Buy Products from Overseas Discount Shopping Sites?

Weddings are not only the happiest day of one’s life but also an event that can cost hundreds of thousands of yen.

Since money is limited,

it’s understandable to think,

“Let’s try to save as much as possible.”

“I want to look for the cheapest option.”

Indeed, when comparing various stores on the internet for the same product,

it’s common to find, “This site is cheaper than that one!”

This often makes you lean towards the lower-priced item.

But do you think the quality of the products you find on those sites is.... okay???

In today’s world, there are many good products available at low prices, just like Japan’s 100 yen shops...

But still,

／Deciding solely based on price is questionable!＼

This is especially true for overseas sites that have many ultra-cheap products or stores that import products from abroad.

You may have been looking forward to receiving your order, only to open the box and find,

“This doesn’t look like the picture!” “And it’s broken!” with poor quality items arriving more often than you'd think.

In that case, what was supposed to be a cheap purchase ends up being a hassle, increasing expenses and leaving your spirits low.

Of course, there are products with satisfactory quality, but the worst case would be receiving defective items!

In this article, we introduce some (not funny?) failed experiences from overseas discount shopping sites＊

Failure Story 1: Overseas Shopping

A bride purchased LOVE balloons from a Chinese shopping site.

When she received the balloons, she found the “E” was changed to “F”! (This would turn it into LOVF...)

Upon closer inspection, she also noticed that the “O” had a wrong “C” in it... (It seems that when inflated, it looks like an O.)

This one definitely doesn’t seem usable >＜

Failure Story 2: Overseas Shopping

A bride ordered a dress online for her wedding’s after-party.

The dress that arrived was completely different from what she imagined, and it wasn’t even the size she ordered...!

It’s such a shock when the design and size don’t match your hopes at all...

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Failure Story 3: Overseas Shopping

This bride also found that the dress she received for her after-party was incredibly large and long compared to the photo...!

It seems she had to hem the skirt by an astonishing one meter.

(A one meter discrepancy? That's really something to stay calm about...)

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Failure Story 4: Overseas Shopping

Here’s a comparison photo of a bride’s dress that often circulates on Twitter.

Even if the model in the promotional image has a different body type, it’s strange how there can be such a huge difference in the fitting photo!

It turns out that the images used by overseas discount shopping sites are often official images from famous dress brands...!

They create imitation dresses similar to those and sell them at low prices, which can lead to being deceived like this...

(It feels like creating, selling, and buying is a crime)

Moreover, the skirt arrived wrinkled.

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Failure Story 5: Overseas Shopping

Another post mentioned that someone ordered a dress for an event, and even though she had a similar body type to the model, the skirt length was too long...

When measuring the dress length, it turned out to be nearly 10 cm longer than what was stated on the page.

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Failure Story 6: Overseas Shopping

One person received clothes from an online store that looked like aluminum foil...!

Unlike the photo, it was super shiny, and the real thing looked like a space suit...

It’s important to pay attention to the material when buying dresses for events!

You Only Get What You Pay for!

When buying products from overseas shopping sites, such troubles are quite common.

You should also keep in mind that they may not offer returns or refunds.

Essentially, low-priced items only offer limited value, so it might be better to approach it with the mindset of “if it's good, that's lucky.”

(Therefore, ordering items for a once-in-a-lifetime wedding is a risky business!)

Let’s keep such knowledge in mind＊