When we look for a reliable Chinese online store to buy things, the biggest concern is always about safety. It is important to do research on the shopping site to uncover their nature and some general rules apply to all China-based online shops when it comes to seeking a legit foreign trade company to trade with. At the same time, note that different sites have different characteristics in running their business and thus we should deal with them differently. This post is meant to provide a helpful guide to safe shopping DHgate.com in particular.
As for shopping with DHgate.com in a secure way, I have summarized the key tips as below:
1. Review the feedback profile. If the feedback score of the seller is mostly positive, it is more likely that the seller is more trustworthy. Also, the detailed customer reviews for different products can give you some inspiration on how the products are or how the seller is. I personally value customer ratings and customer reviews so much that I would read pages of reviews in order to get a better idea about the product as well as the seller.
2. Read carefully the product descriptions, including MOQ (minimum order quantity), unit price, processing time, shipping methods and shipping time, payment option, shipping cost, material, size and more.
If you decide to buy a product, you are encouraged to save screenshots of the product page just in case a dispute happens due to item not as described. That kind of evidence can help you win the support of the DHgate dispute ruling team.
3. Use the contact tools to communicate with the sellers. For instance, you can choose to live chat or message the seller and ask questions as much as you can. From the communications, you can further learn the details of the products and also judge whether they are professional or not. At the same time, the contact record will serve as helpful evidence in a dispute case. So just prepare some good questions and the ask!
4. Use the order tracking number to see where your order is frequently. That way you can better know whether it is delivered normally or not. Anyway, not all orders can be shipped with a tracking number – many free shipping orders, for instance, are not honored with a free tracking number though.
5. Take photos or make a video when you open the package received from the seller. This action will help you keep all evidence about how the goods originally look when you open the package. If the item is damaged or looks not as described, the photos or video can be good evidence that will effectively support you claim.
6. When a dispute happens, follow the timelines and the official instructions of DHgate.com customer service to solve the problem. Open a dispute in time so that the site can withhold your money until the issue is resolved. Otherwise, the payment may be released to the seller automatically because time is due.
Also, when you reach an agreement with the seller, never take actions based on the ‘instructions’ of the seller; instead, you should follow what the DHgate service representative ask you to do. Some buyers lose money in a dispute case because they believe in the sellers and do everything based on their requests. For such scam cases, the sellers usually would ask the buyers to remove the negative feedback or complete the transaction in order to give them a return or a refund. It often turns out that after the buyer changes the feedback or completes the transaction, the seller does nothing and as a consequence, the payment goes to the seller while the site can no longer do anything to help you out. For more detailed discussions about DHgate scams, please click here.
P.S. the tips introduced above may also be suitable for shopping with any other China-based wholesale shopping websites such as DHgate.com or Aliexpress.com.