Reader 82

Hi

Am sending this email with the intention to give all blogshop owners a break. I read a lot of stories by buyers complaining about their unfair prices but honestly you really can't blame them cos they're running a business & they need to make a proper profit after deducting various costs such as petrol bills to the suppliers or post office (not to mention during the jam), parking, toll charges, stationary, even ink cartridges to print those cute 'thank you' cards, initial cost to start up business like digital camera, steam iron (not all blogshops), mannequins etc.. Even the sellers time has to be calculated into the cost of the item. From a business point of view, if the profit is a measly Rm8 - RM 10 p/item, it's really not worth doing.
It's not always their fault

I used to run a boutique & I do understand the costs that add up & the time & effort needed to put in. Most of the blogshops owners are college students & they don't really calculate all these kind of things as selling online are just a supplement to their allowances, but what about actual people who are trying to earn a living by running an online business? You'll hv to be fair to them. I suppose, as long as the items are sold substantially BELOW 'actual' boutique prices it should be deemed as fair. When I say substantial, I mean at least 30%-40% cheaper (does not apply to accessories) than outside boutiques & not a mere 10%-15%!!! Yes, shopping with online boutiques are meant to be cheaper because they don't have the overhead costs of an 'actual' one but it doesn't necessarily mean ridiculously low that the blogshop owners make peanuts.

Let me share with you my experience as a blogshop shopper. I recently bought an item from Autumn Closet for RM59. A week later I stumbled upon the same item at TicTacToe going for only RM45! Yes I feel the pinch & wished I hadn't bought that particular dress from Autumn's Closet but I can't really blame them as that was what I thought was fair at the time. Thankfully, the owner was kind enough to give me a slight discount because i bought 4 items from her, so the difference wasn't too much! (I hope she will give me store credit now :p) On the plus side of things, I managed to get 3 other items that are nice & rare as I've not seen them on other blogshops. So you see, there is always a silver lining & there will always be repeats of the same item in 2 or more blogshops with various pricings, so it's really up to you as the buyer, to decide, what's its worth.

I also feel that buyers should not thrash blogshops unnecessarily unless it is something serious & intolerable like being ripped-off. Why screw-up someone's bread & butter? Its just not nice. And to all the blogshop owners who have been pretending to be buyers & bringing down their 'sister's in fashion', shame on you!! Competition is one thing but being unethical is close to being the devil himself!!

I hope this letter does not upset/ offend anyone as I'm not siding any party. I am first & foremost a shopper who loves a good bargain but strive to be a fair & reasonable customer as well. I would one day like to be a blogshop owner as well! It's nice having a hobby as a job & I applaud all the owners for pursuing their interests & making shopping so much easier for us shopaholics. After all, us girls shop because it makes us happy. All these tense & unfriendly letters just takes away all the fun :p

- Fair & reasonable Shopaholic-