Amazon

 Amazon is an American multinational electronic commerce company. It is the world's largest online retailer. The company also produces consumer electronics—notably the Amazon Kindle e-book reader and the Kindle Fire tablet computer—and is a major provider of cloud computing services. Amazon is global and international site. It's so popular in many countries such as Canada, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain, Brazil, Japan, and China. Jeff Bezos incorporated the company in July 1994, and the site went online as amazon.com in 1995. The company was name after the Amazon River. (From wiki)

Sites for various countries!

-French version 

-Chinese version

-Italian version

-German version

-Spanish version

 While i searched about Amazon to write this post, i want to look at more details in Korean. But i can't find that even though Amazon has lots of website for various countries. And some Koreans really want Amazon.kr for buying what they want to buy because some items can't be delivered to Korea. So many people use 구매 대행 (I don't know what to say in English exactly). It can be purchase for customer as a proxy. The customers pay the price of item and delivery charge from U.S to Korea. But it's so risky because we should send money first to the agency and then they send it. 

Customer reviews

 When you buy something online, how could know which item is better than others? or aren't you worried if it doesn't look like photos? When i want to buy items online, i usually some customer reviews was written by people bought that before. It's so useful. They don't lie just they write how bad the item is something like that. But you shouldn't believe every reviews because many customer reviews are just another form of marketing controlled by the online malls.  



There is an a shocking statement about customer reviews.

One Out of Three Online Consumer Endorsements Are Fakes.

The problem is pervasive: A recent New York Times story highlighted a business called GettingBookReviews.com, which posts positive "consumer reviews" on websites such as Amazon.com (AMZN) -- for a fee. These fake customer reviews say exactly what a book's writer would want them to -- that the book was amazing, of course. Soon after starting his business in 2010, owner Todd Rutherford was raking in the orders and making about $28,000 per month.

That's just one example of marketers muddying the customer-review waters to market products. According to data-mining expert Bing Liu, approximately one-third of online consumer reviews are written by marketers or retailers, not real consumers.

Don't believe it? Consider this: Amazon customers are rating new books higher than renowned classics. How can this be? One self-published writer, Roland Hughes, suggests it's because "reviews for the established classics tend to come from actual readers." Although it could be argued that more people are reading contemporary books than classics.

Let me share customer reviews.

It's a funny review. When the customer ordered iPod, she wrote "If i'm not home, please leave it at security office." just for the online mall. But that's not the space for that. It's for the message it will be carved on iPod. OMG.....So she got iPod carved that "If i'm not home, please leave it at security office." 

You don't find many perishable foodstuffs for sale online, especially not by the gallon, reason why this milk bottle got a review like this one. 

-reference

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/09/19/fake-customer-reviews-dont-fall-for-this-online-marketing-scam/

http://costmoa.tistory.com/1

ebay

-http://www.ebay.com

I want to introduce the most famous online shopping mall in America. It's eBay!

 eBay  is an American multinational internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide. Founded in 1995, eBay is one of the notable success stories of the dot-com bubble; it is now a multi-billion dollar business with operations localized in over thirty countries.eBay expanded from its original "set-time" auction format to include "Buy It Now" standard shopping. (From wiki)

-eBay main page

We can buy good and used thing on eBay. And we can just buy or bid on something. I think bidding is not familiar with many people so i want to tell you about how it works and how to bid successfully.

How bidding works

eBay has automatic bidding system so you don't have to spend much time for your item you want to buy. It works automatically and it's so convenient.

 When you place a bid, you enter the maximum amount you can or want to pay for what you want to buy. The seller and other bidders don't know your maximum bid.It will place bids on your behalf using the automatic bid increment amount based on the current high bid. It'll bid only as much as necessary to make sure that you remain the high bidder up to your maximum amount.

If another bidder places the same maximum bid or higher, It'll notify you the price is higher than your maximum and after you see it you can make higher maximum or give up. Your maximum bid isn't be expose to others until it is exceeded by another bidder.

Tips for biddings.

1.Come down to the wire.  
The first thing that you should do when you bid on you want to do is Wait. If you bid on it earlier, you've just decreased your chances of getting it later. 

2.Don't be too competitive.

When your maximum is exceeded by another bidder, you are really long for that item so you feel that you should set more higher. It's not your real thought.

3. Set a limit.
 Determine the maximum price that you are willing to spend to get it. This will prevent you from getting caught up in the excitement of the bidding and spending more money than you can afford.

4.Check the bid history. 
The bid history may give you a clue as to who your enemies are, how badly they want the item, and how closely they are keeping an eye out the bidding.

-reference 

-http://www.ebay.com

http://www.ehow.com/list_6511038_ways-bid-ebay.html

Social commerce

Social commerce

Social commerce  is a subset of electronic commerce that involves using social media, online media that supports social interaction, and user contributions to assist in the online buying and selling of products and services. (From wiki) The usual one is group purchase which have to be bought over the specific number of people. If the number is not enough, people can't get discount. We can buy not only goods but also vouchers for restaurant, accommodations, concerts and so on.
 

 ★4 popular social commerce sites in Korea★

1.TICKET MONSTER

- www.ticketmonster.co.kr/

Ticket Monster is founded in feb.2010 It's the selling of No. 1 social commerce. And they offers no imitation guarantee that if you bought an imitation through Ticket Monster they would offer  the double price of original price. Ticket Monster has another site called "Perche" is selling shoes, accessory, bags etc. In addition to, they are doing the program called "SO speCIAL Give". It's a kind of social contribution they donate some their good for free to poor people.

2. coupang

-http://www.coupang.com/

Coupang, the country’s fastest-growing social commerce firm, is focusing on drafting customer satisfaction measures. Coupang was the first in the local industry to run a customer center at lunch time and on weekends as well as public holidays as part of its customer satisfaction improvement scheme. The slogan of Coupang is "Color Your Days". And it was rewarded by the consumer sentiment.

3. GROUPON

-http://www.groupon.kr

Groupon derived from "group coupon" is a deal-of-the-day website that features discounted gift certificates usable at local or national companies. Groupon was launched in November 2008, and the first market for Groupon was Chicago, followed soon thereafter by Boston, New York City, and Toronto. By October 2010 Groupon served more than 150 markets in North America and 100 markets in Europe, Asia and South America and had 35 million registered users. It launched in Korea in March 201l. It's not that popular social commerce in korea like Ticket Monster or Coupang but it's global and international site.

4.WE make PRICE

-http://www.wemakeprice.com

We Make Price also launched last year with a huge marketing campaign and has quickly established itself as a frontrunner in social commerce. The site offers deals categorized by region: Seoul (Gangnam), Seoul (Gangbuk), Gyeonggi, Chungcheong/Jeolla/Gangwon, Gyeongsang/Jeju. The regions are then broken down into districts according to the deals offered.
The site is famous for cutting deals with big name brands on a large scale; their past deals include Everland, Lotteria, Levi’s, and Krispy Kreme to name a few. We Make Price also has a sister site “Private Lounge” which is exclusively for discounted fashion items.

Price comparison shopping site

  Price comparison site

When you buy somthing, you want to buy the same thing with more cheaper price than others thing. But there are so many oline shopping malls and so it's too hard to comprare every mall's price as you visit ecah oline shooping malls. How can we shop online more conveniently? The answer is Price comparison site.



On the internet, a price comparison service (also known as comparison shopping, shopping comparison, or price engine) allows individuals to see different lists of prices for specific products. Most price comparison services do not sell products themselves, but source prices from retailers from whom users can buy. (From wiki)

1.basket

- http://shopping.basket.co.kr/

In this site, you can comprise the price of things at 204 online malls like 11st, cjmall and g-market.   

When you search a product and click one of lists, you can see from the cheapest price to the most expensive price. In addition, if you get some promotion (paying by specific card or cupons) you could buy more cheaper.

 

  2. Google Product Search

-http://www.google.com/shopping

Product Search, which is transitioning to become Google Shopping, is a free CSE which generates the most traffic and conversions. Merchants can manually upload feeds.

3.One Way Shopping

-http://www.onewayshopping.com/

Onewayshopping is an engine for shoppers, announces a promotional 50% discount for online merchants advertising on its next-generation comparison shopping service.

I want to share a funny story related to online shopping. A month ago some pictures got popular with netizens.

This picture isn't just for fun. This is for an online shopping mall. The men is a model for an online shopping mall. Can you imagine how old he is? And how thin he is? He is Liu Xian ping from china and 72 years. His height is 165cm and his weight is just 50 kg. In short, his body is the envy of all women in their 20s. By now, I guess you are curious why he is doing that job or how he could be a model for an online shopping mall?.

  Liu Xian ping is a model for his granddaughter. She runs an Internet shopping mall so he wanted to help her. That's why he is doing that job. Eventually, the shopping mall of his granddaughter is becoming popular because of his pothos and the sales go up five times more than before.

 Some netizens commented that "That's hilarious" , "His body is better than women's bodies" and "Who buy these things?".

 -reference

http://www.tvreport.co.kr/?c=news&m=newsview&idx=283172



Online Shopping Addiction

What is Oniomania?

 Oniomania is the technical term for the compulsive desire to shop, more commonly referred to as compulsive shopping, shopping addiction, shopaholism, compulsive buying.
Compulsive shopping may be considered an impulse control disorder, an obsessive-compulsive disorder, a bipolar disorder or even a clinical addiction, depending on the clinical source. (From wiki)

Online shopping is similar to shopping addiction(Oniomania). But the difference is that it happens just online. Online shopping addiction refers to the excessive amounts of time and money spent on online shopping, often buying things which are neither wanted or used. Most people who are addiceted online shopping are women.

Symptoms of an Internet Shopping Addiction

• You spend too much time for online shopping.
• You determine to try to stop ordering but it's failed.
• Your frequent purchases and spending causes financial problems
• When you are not shopping online, you are planning your next online shopping.
• Neglecting family relationships in order to shop online.
• Compulsive need to shop online.
• Feeling empty when not shopping online.
• Feeling irritable when not shopping online.
• Feeling depressed when not shopping online.
• Lying to other people about amount of time/money spent on online shopping.

 

We should be careful not to be addcited to online shopping. Just shop online what you need and don't spend too much time for that.

-reference

http://www.addictionhelpcenter.com/online-shopping-addiction/

                                                                                    http://www.optenetpc.com/shopping-addiction.html

Shopping Safety Online

 How to shop safely online

As i said before, Internet frauds are increasing. So now we should get to know how to shop safely online. It's important to protect yourself.

Rule#1 Keep your computer Protected at all times!

-Check that your computer has your firewall enabled.
-Keep your anti virus software up to date.
-Use a wireless password that's difficult to guess.
-Never admit attachment from sources that you don't trust.

Rule #2 Buy from the good guys who they was given good feedbacks from others!

-You should look for evidence of a physical address and landline telephone number.

-Keep a copy of your order confirmation.

-Look for padlock symbol in the browser frames.

←padlock symbol

Rule #3 Keep your password safe.

-Add extra layer of protection when you buy from certain websites

because they are acquired a personal password every time you make a purchase.

-Ues a mixture of letters and numbers as a password if you can.

-Don't make password too easy like your name, family name or D.O.B

-reference : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkEzuDQvUh4 

Internet Fraud

Internet Fraud

The use of Internet services or software with Internet access to swindle victims or to take advantage of them. Internet fraud can happens in chat rooms, email, message boards, or on websites like online shopping malls. These types of fraud vary widely, from phishing attempts to steal personal information which can even lead to identity theft. or solicitation of money for goods and services that are never provided.

 As online shopping is becoming more popular than before, Internet frauds are increasing when you buy someting online too. We should be careful!!!!

 A article related to Internet Fraud

Illegal online trade jumps 7-fold: customs office

South Korea's customs office said that illegal transactions in cyberspace jumped seven-fold over the past five years amid the growing popularity of Internet shopping.

The Korea Customs Service said that it seized a total of 699.9 billion won (US$623.2 million) worth of illegal items traded through the Internet in 2011, compared with 99.5 billion won tallied in 2007.

The illegal items included fabricated bags, clothing, watches and other products that can cause safety-related problems to consumers, the agency said.

The spike is in line with the sharply increasing amount of cyber shopping, which came to 29 trillion won last year, up from 16 trillion won in 2007.

The customs agency said that it has shut down or blocked a total of 112 Internet sites selling such illegal products since 2007.

From The Korea Herald

When you are conned online in korea,

 you can declare to Cyber Terror Response Center.

Phone number 182

Web Site http://www.ctrc.go.kr/

Open Market

Open Marketplace

Open marketplace is a kind of online shopping malls. Online marketplace (or online ecommerce marketplace) refers to a type of ecommerce site where product and inventory information is provided by multiple third parties, whereas transactions are processes by the marketplace operator. Online marketplaces have become a driver of new business for online merchants that leverage them as channels for increased sales. Online marketplaces are the primary type of multichannel ecommerce. (From wiki)

Top 3 Open marketplace in Korea

1. G market

http://www.gmarket.co.kr/ -Korean version

http://english.gmarket.co.kr/ -Eglish version

Gmarket was founded in April 2000. It has English-language mini-site featuring some of Gmarket's best-selling merchandise and items of particular interest to overseas customers.

-Korean version site



-Eglish version site

2. Auction

http://www.auction.co.kr/

Auction started online auction service first in korea in 1998. And it changed to oline market place and became better in 2002.

3. 11street

Founded in 2008, 11street was utilized by cutting-edge technologies of SK Planet, innovative and unparalleled model itself. It has Korean version and Eglish version.

http://www.11st.co.kr/html/main.html - Korean version

http://english.11st.co.kr/html/en/main.html - Eglish version

-Korean version site

 

-English version site



What is Online shopping?

Literally, Online shopping is to shop online.

More specifically, Online shopping is a form of electronic commerce whereby consumers directly buy goods or services from a seller over the Internet without an intermediary service.( From wiki)

Why is Online shopping so popular?

Online shopping has grown dramatically in popularity over recent years where now so much money are spent annually by people all over the world shopping online. Everyone from the young to the old, men and women every group of people, all shop online.

The most common reason to shop online is the convenience.

you can shop 24 hours a day 7 days a week at your home. Online shopping allows anyone to shop at a time when they are free, not just when the shops are open. This is a huge advantage for many people such as those who work during shop opening hours, people who have mobility or transport problems that make getting to the shops difficult, even couples who work different hours and find it difficult to shop together.