By Yoon Ja-young
The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) Monday revealed some of the best ways to make direct purchases ahead of the Nov. 28 Black Friday, the start of the Christmas shopping season in the United States.
“When purchasing through shopping agents, check information regarding refunds and exchanges closely,” said Park Se-min, an official in charge of e-commerce at the commission. “As these agents are subject to local regulations, consumers are allowed to return a purchase within seven days of receiving the item.”
Most consumer grievances involve shopping agents demanding huge commissions or penalties when a shopper demands a refund. In other cases agents have delayed a delivery or even lost the goods.
Park advised consumers to check whether an agent is officially registered as a telemarketing business.
“It is recommended that customers use widely known shopping malls, and thoroughly compare product specifications such as voltages and frequencies, as sometimes they differ between countries,” the official said.
The commission also suggested that consumers look for “world warranty” in case there is a problem with their purchases.
Consumers should also be aware that foreign shopping malls aren’t subject to Korean regulations, so they can’t expect any help from Korean consumer agencies.
According to the Korea Customs Service, online overseas purchases reached 1 trillion won last year — showing remarkable growth since 2010 when they stood at 274.2 billion won.
There are three main ways consumers usually shop online. Firstly, they can use websites operated by Korean shopping agents overseas. The agent then goes to the overseas shopping malls to buy the items.
Secondly, they can log on to the shopping mall sites, but enter a delivery agent’s office address in that country. The agent will receive the item and then send it to the customer in Korea.
Consumers can also go directly to the shopping mall websites themselves and have the items sent to their home.
These methods of shopping can often lead to complaints, however.
Roh Min-a, an office worker in Seoul, paid an overseas shopping agent 400,000 won to purchase a foreign brand bag.
When she got the bag, however, it had neither a warranty nor a dust cover that usually comes with luxury bags.
Suspecting the authenticity of the bag, she asked for a refund, but the agent demanded that she pay 280,000 won for delivery and other fees.
Kim Gyu-hyun, a freelance writer in Seoul, purchased garments worth $2,000 through a shopping mall overseas, but the items he received were not his original choice.
He then contacted the seller overseas and requested an exchange, but this was ignored.
As Korean consumers increasingly buy from foreign sellers, so too abuses of the system are growing.