I have shopped online with baazee/ebay, rediff, sify and indiatimes in the past. Most of the time there was not nuch reason to regret although almost all transactions required further correspondence. I guess this is the experience with almost all customers who shop online more particularly when they deal with items which are very popular brands. However, INDIATIMES SHOPPING CAN BE RATED AS THE WORST. They have online auctions classified as 1paisa auctions, limited quantity auctions and big brand auctions. To participate in the auction it is required that the bidder (prospective customer) has to either make a payment of Rs 500 or mention the credit card details. The logic behind this is to ensure that they do not end up with non-serious bidders. They have clearly mentioned that the amount of Rs 500 will be refundend on the date the auction ends in case the bid is not highest i.e. unsuccessful. They also promise that the credit card is debited if we do not win the auction.
I made a payment of Rs 500/- to participate in a 1 paisa auction for a nokia mobile on 12-11-2006 and the auction ends on 15-11-2006. My bid was not the highest. I wsa not declared as the winner. So as per their website, the money should have been credited to my account on 15-11-2006. This did not happen. I wrote to their customer care people. They reply that they require the order no which is just ridiculous. When I did not win the bid, where is the question of order number.
The telephonic conversation with their customer care execute was practically useless as he appeared to be unaware of the process of auctions on their website. Sometimes they say that they have forwarded the details to the concerned department and th erefund will come in 4-5 working days. Despite sending all the details including the account number and the bank reference number several times by now, they are not giving refund. **Dealing with them is obviously risky as they cannot trace the transaction even after furnishing the complete details. Is it not absurd that they cannot locate the transaction based on the user id. The worst part is that they do not provide a direct email id and every time you should use their feedback interface. So each time you write to them it will be a new ticket number and a new automated response. There is no continuity in correspondence.
I THEREFORE REQUEST YOU TO USE THEIR FEEDBACK FEATURE BEFORE VENTURING WITH TRANSACTING WITH THEM OR GETTING TEMPTED BY THEIR AUCTIONS.
*By the way this appears to apply to all sites where online shopping is available. Personally, I feel sify.com could be a better bet though it is not so popular.