Scared of buying big bill items on internet ?

It was my personal experience and I wanted share it with my fellow shoppers. I wanted to buy a server computer for my small business. I tracked and made a prompt bid for the item in one of a popular auction site. I eventually won the item and it was time to pay. As a meticulous shopper I chose to pay through a reliable payment gateway. I made my payment through a popular and most reliable agency.
I have bought many times in the past in internet and made prompt payments in order to get my items as soon as I have bought or owned them. After all, why should I hesitate to pay for an item that I have already desired to buy and bought. I thought my responsibility is over in filling my role of an honest shopper. I also strongly believe that the trio of Shoppers-Vendors-Intermediary web platform should play their respective roles in a fair and proper manner. This will ensure the market function hale and healthy.
Did I get my goods delivered promptly? No.
Why? What went wrong? Practically speaking there can be several reasons that would have made the situation different and difficult. It happened to me also but for a strange reason I didn’t have forethought. Before going into my problem, let us see the issues that are very well over there everywhere.
There could be issues with shipping or transportations related ones; there could be issues related to incorrectly shipped item; issues with wrong address delivery; issues even with payment channels; issues with schedule and time span taken to deliver; even a bad weather could cause havoc in the transaction somewhere.
The list could go further if I want to say that the system is faulty. I cannot say that because I am a big internet buying fan. I am seeking a way out of a few issues by building a better shopping model.
Note: At the end of this article I have explained an innovative shopping concept that would eliminate certain problems explained in this part of this article. Please stay tuned.
Coming back to my story, I indicated earlier, I had a problem with my shopping online. Yes, it was something I or another layman shopper couldn’t have predicted. It was related to the payments. No wonder, it’s about money.
I waited for a couple of days to allow the packing schedule to pass through. After a couple of days, rather than receiving the item, I received an email from the merchant. It said, the payment agency has put the funds on hold. It will release the funds only after 20 days. I was surprised and worried what went wrong with my payment. Did I make any wrong credit card transaction or do I have any hidden, very remote, problems with my financial vehicles. The mail message had advised to me to contact the payment agency to request for release of funds. I called the agency immediately without wasting even a second.
When I called the payment agency they also let me know the funds are on hold. Puzzled, why? The customer service representative simply suggested that I should give a positive feed on the merchant. I was wondering how I can leave a positive feedback on the merchant whom I never know in the past. I have never heard about them and never in the past bought anything from them. I had no any explanation why should the funds be on hold, Even the customer service representative did not take any effort in explaining why I should leave a positive feedback to get the funds remitted to the merchant. I was clueless but decided to be positive out looking and immediately left a positive feedback on the merchant. Upon my insistence, I was told the item I ordered is high-bill item, meaning it is above their threshold limit where caution is to be exercised in moving money between parties. The payment agency promised me that the funds will be remitted to the merchant and I should expect to receive the goods as promised. At this point, I think the payment agency feels that I have assumed the responsibility of remitting the money to the merchants.
Is the story ended? No, it continued and I had to write several emails and make phone conversations including a conference call with all the three parties involved.
What is the wrong with such a system? I had learnt from merchant that they too had several bad experiences in their sales history. Several times they had delivered items but the transaction was dubious and they lost their money and the goods. There are several people who make their ugly livelihood by cheating others. Unfortunately they exist in all societies. But it should not make a beautiful shopping system scary, mistrusted and stressful.
When it comes to big bills, things go slow and awkward sometimes. Can we invent a new system that would address some of the problem we have in the current shopping model. Yes, please read further about my shopping model that has been implemented in my own website. Link is provided below.
What is the innovativeness in it? --- Eliminate the money transactions on line.
What else? --- It uses the Social Networking principles for shopping.
How does it use Social Networking? ---- If allows the shoppers to register their intentions to buy.
Why the group is virtual? --- First of all, the group exists only for a one purchase cycle. Group forms; bargains made; and they buy. That’s all, the group is then no longer is active.
Bargain – who bargain and where? --- When the group is formed, the site sends emails to a few randomly selected members requesting them to bargain for the group from their local stores.
Bargain in local stores? Yes, absolutely. The group is formed for a specific product and from a specific city. Hence, this model insists the members to bargain in their local stores.
What next? --- The randomly selected representatives fetch the quotes and submit them to the website back.
What if the members do not submit any quotes? --- The site can fetch some quotes and submit. Even the vendors can submit their quotes for a specific product well ahead of time.
So, how this system eliminates credit card? --- After fetching the quotes, they are processed and a best quote is picked and served to all the members in that particular group. The members can now go to the local store and pay and buy the goods as quoted.
Is it not wonderful? This model not only eliminates the credit card requirement but also boosts the local businesses. Shoppers get a chance to apply their bargains skills by being a group representative. Moreover, the shoppers get more power to bargain. It’s a collective bargain done through web platform.
Great! In short, it is a Social Networking based Group Shopping targeted towards volume discounts. Bargain on line but buy from your local stores. No credit card required to use on line.
www.ShoppingReps.com is the first such a website developed on the shopping methodology described above. The website offers free membership to the shoppers and vendors. It encourages shoppers to acquire quotes for themselves when a group is formed. The shoppers will know the size of the group and the complete product details for which they will be requested to fetch quotes from their own localities. The website takes care of forming the groups based on the product, and the geographic location of such intentions of purchases. Analyzing and finalizing the best quote is also performed by the website itself.