Lazada Philippines: Giving in to Online Shopping for My Son’s Gift

                 I finally gave in to the fad that is popularly called as online shopping. Don’t get me wrong. I’m impressed with how popular e-commerce sites have become these past few years. But coming from a very traditional family, I have always found it extremely unsafe to submit personal information online especially credit card account details. But I just couldn’t stop myself from buying my son a tablet for only P3, 000 in Lazada. 

            I’m not ignorant on the fact that this generation is ultimately the most technologically obsessed era there is. And my son is no exemption. I went to his school last Friday to pick him up and since his dad and I are separate, getting him what he likes is always on top of my priority list. I get him every other week and the arrangement started when my son entered grade school. We live in the same area so it’s not much of a stretch for my child physically as compared to other children. 

            I was looking for a gift to get my son to help him better catch up in school. I noticed how everyone in his class had some sort of tablet to download educational games and videos in. And since my child is top at his kumon class, I think it’s safe to get him a reward just for growing up so responsible given our family’s setup.

            I work for the government, which is synonymous to saying I don’t earn much. If I’m lucky, I get my salary on time. And that’s the sad truth. So the BDO installment mode of payment by Lazada would help me incredibly on making the payment process work for me. The installment would allow me to pay in 6 monthly installments making my payments for my son’s tablet only P500 per month. A huge factor to why I even considered buying online. 

            But the BDO installment only works for purchases with a minimum of P3, 000. So just to be able to avail it, I bought my son a digital watch worth P300. Not only did it allow me to make use of the installment promo but it also qualified me to a free of charge delivery. I know the P55 delivery charge would have been a small stretch, a very small stretch. But like I mentioned earlier, I’m not well off and every penny would very helpful.

            I didn’t just fall into temptation because of the affordability though. I still did a background check prior to ordering. Apparently, Lazada’s PCI DSS approved that makes it secure from different forms of privacy attack. PCI DSS is short for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. It’s a respected company that assesses online stores by the systems used for customer protection. E-commerce websites are mostly the one in dire need of evaluation to ensure customer peace of mind. Lazada was successfully able to pass the Self Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) and the PCI DSS Security Scan. I only knew about such seal of approval when I researched about it but I’m sure glad it exists.

Lazada Philippines: How I Got Involved with Jake Cuenca

I have heard of Lazada a couple of times through friends. And even before that, my friends have been urging me to try out shopping online instead of spending all my time in the mall on weekends. I know I do some pretty serious damage when I go shopping but it has been my only way of forgetting about my recent breakup. But as much as it helps, I end up worrying even more after seeing how much I spent each time.

            It’s not my fault I live right next to Rockwell and that everything there is literally priced in gold. What’s worse is I end up eating at really expensive restaurants each time out of sheer boredom. So maybe giving online shopping a shot was for the best. Not only would it take me away from the outrageously priced stores but also I’d be able to avoid spending on food more when we have a made in the condo to do that for me.

            The back-story to why Lazada’s recently always being brought up is because of Jake Cuenca. Okay, I know it sounds bizarre but you have to hear me out first. One of my officemates went to school with Jake before and she’s been obsessed with him ever since. Kind of scary if you ask me but she’s totes nice making her obsession just a side story I learned to deal with.

            I was driving along EDSA when I saw Jake Cuenca’s face plastered on one of the buses in front of me endorsing some sort of Tablet being sold on Lazada. I called my friend up and told her about it and of course, she knew way before I did. That’s when I became completely familiar to it because before that, I’d just see my friend checking it out on her laptop and phone.

            So I thought to myself that it would be the safest online store to buy from since Jake Cuenca’s endorsing it. Yes, I am a victim of marketing and I’m a little bit ashamed of it. To cut the story short, I basically bought a pair of maroon high heels from Lazada and maybe a few more items.

            It wasn’t really that hard to get around. The site had a section dedicated to clothes and make up. I was simply doing them a favor by supporting its efforts and plus they have an installment-based payment method making my payments a lot more manageable as compared to having to pay in full each month.   

            I haven’t bought anything after that but it’s something I’m definitely game to do again in the future. I’ve been scouting on some other sites these past few days but I haven’t really gotten into choosing. Since I like so many, I have to downsize it to just the few I desperately need. It seems a lot harder to let go of money now for some reason. I’m guessing it’s because I know the moment I loosen up I’ll probably end up exhausting my savings.

Lazada Philippines: How NOT to Order a Loot Bag Online

             My brother can be such a pain in the ass when it comes to these things. My eldest brother of six years asked me to order goodies for my niece’s fifth birthday party. I was more than happy to do it. I saw a party website (I’ll keep it anonymous) online and was drawn to its packages. It seemed legitimate and there was no ounce of doubt in my mind it would pull of the stunt it did.

            Two days before my niece’s celebration, a package was delivered to us by the party planning website I ordered from. And we were surprised to see how the figurines were as small as the green toy soldiers in Toy Story, the candy coated chocolates were Wiggles (No offense. I love wiggles but I could have gotten that myself), and a note attached to a few cheap bracelets with black and white ‘Thanks for Coming, insert kid’s name’ written on it.

            I distinctly remember seeing the figurines shaped like little princesses to be bigger on the site. The marshmallows were described to be homemade and the bracelets were supposed to be freaking engraved with personalized names of the kids invited. I spent P7, 000 on a package deal worth less than a thousand. So I get why my brother was furious but he was so mad like it was something I couldn’t remedy.

            To prove my ass of a brother wrong, I decided to make my own loot bags with the previous package included too. I went online and was linked to a page on Lazada with items less than a hundred each. Now, I’ve ordered from it a long time ago but never got to visit it after again. Since I was spending my own money this time, I needed the cheap thrills. Lazada has an option where items can be listed from cheapest to most expensive giving me less time to haggle.

There were spongebob and princess Disney beach balls each costing P99. There were other designs but I made a wild guess that Spongebob was all the rage of kids today. The dimensions were included so it was a lot easier to decide this time without apprehensions. My mistake before was not asking for measurements prior to depositing the money. There were also Marvel Heroes and Disney Princess puzzles around the same amount as the beach balls. The beach balls and the puzzles were right next to each other so it wasn’t easy to find. I bought 10 pieces of each and was happy that it got delivered in time for my niece’s birthday.

            My brother later on apologized but I swear that I will never forget about that experience. So my suggestion is if you can do it yourself, avoid relying on package deals with no specifications. It’s not so difficult to please kids anyway. Just buy something with their favorite cartoon character on it and you’re all good. Online shopping is okay. It’s the recklessness that you’ll have a problem with. Because some sites just make its items look so damn worth it.

Lazada’s Backbone on Securing Information

If security is all that concerns you when it comes to finally allowing yourself to get into online shopping, then I would be more than happy to give you some peace of mind. Parents never fail to remind us about how careful we should be when it comes to spending our money. And they’re right. And that’s exactly why it’s a shame you’re not taking advantage of the perks that come along with online shopping.

Online shops particularly Lazada bag on the quality of its products and its affordability. In short, it sells its products cheap. With so many competitions the day it was launched early last year, it needed a strategy that would set it apart from its other competitors. And pricing made a whole lot of difference for the site’s popularity gain. It has more than 20, 000 items today that shows immense improvement from the number of items it had when it kick started last year.

If you allow yourself to be eaten by your anxieties fueled by other people’s online bad experiences, then you end up missing out on the potential good deals from well-developed online websites, Lazada Philippines included. You take care of your spending when you know that every cent is put to good use or is worth it. So getting something you really life for a very cheap price but in very good quality would be doing exactly what your parents asked you to do.

Rocket Internet owns Lazada, a building company ranked as one of the top two biggest online ventures in the world. As part of its goal to maintain its 100% customer satisfaction rating, it is an unspoken requirement to have it assessed by legitimate companies that specialize on online security.

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard or PCI DSS is known for testing online companies that require personal or financial information from customers. As part of PCI DSS’s requirement, Lazada took part in the Self Assessment Questionnaire and PCI DSS Security Scan tests to help evaluate the safety of their customers. Once approved by PCI DSS, the company is therefore acknowledged as protected from any possible online hacks endangering the information of the customers.

PCI DSS has approved other e-commerce websites that are up to this day consistent in the safety they provide their customers. Another way to find out if the website you are about to buy from can be trusted is by reading reviews from legitimate sources. Meaning, you should stick to articles that are published from well-respected forms of media.

Lazada has been featured numerous times this year including feature articles and advertisements from the likes of The Philippine Daily Inquirer, Business World, Mega, GMA, ABS-CBN and Adobo Magazine. The internet has every answer to your problem and all you have to do is research a little because that little research can make or break your successful online shopping story. What’s a little effort on google if you can assure yourself of your safety hence giving you the peace of mind you deserve? Don’t rush into making decisions. But also, don’t run away just because of ignorance.

Catch Up on Your Latest Movies, Music and Good Reads with Lazada’s Impressive Collection

Catch up on your favorite series with complete season collections available at Lazada Philippines! Whether you are looking for the iconic international series Friends, or the latest local favorite, Be Careful with My Heart, you can surely find it available at the Best Shopping Mall for 2013 according to the Golden Globe Annual Awards. A website who has been consistently commended for its overwhelming number of selections available and accessible to Filipinos all over the country.

Lazada is known for many things specifically consumer electronics, mobile and tablets and computers. But what very few people know is that is sells a variety of items covering even books, music and movies. It has over 50 TV series collections both local and international. Heck, it even has the updated collection of Be Careful with My Heart. I didn’t even know it released such. I guess that goes to show just how many people are obsessing over the said show. From your favorite social media controversial blogger, Gossip Girl, to your favorite suspense surgeons from ER, Lazada has it conveniently stored in its website ready for shipment anytime you please. You can even pay in cash or credit, depending on our choice.

Since the majority of the season collections they have on hand are priced a little over P1, 000, it is most likely that all are entitled to free delivery as the website claims. It’s a perk they created for all consumers with more than P1, 000 worth of single receipt transactions. A perk I have very well taken advantage of since the first time I bought from the said site.

More than 200 movies both for children and adults are also available on the current favorite online shopping mall most of which are discounted. To have an easier time figuring out whether the item of your choice is priced at the lowest possible rate, look out for Best Price Guarantee seals on selected items seen on the upper right hand corner of every product picture.

If you are not a fan of watching and you are more of the type who prefers listening to everything else, Lazada has a section made especially for you. The Music category consists of local and international artists from old school to the present pop culture. It’s a good online sanctuary for many bands and singers as it imitates the likes of iTunes where you can purchase certain music online. But instead of only having the soft copy of the said song/s, the albums will be delivered straight to your choice of delivery.

It’s also a great way to cheer your friends up. You can send books, CDs and DVDs to your friends’ houses and you can make it all possible without even getting up from your bed. A convenient way and a more untraditional manner of making your loved ones feel remembered. A form of gift giving that not everyone has figured out yet. Be unique and come up with ways to use online shopping to your advantage.