Monday, July 4, 2011

Saudi Arabia: Online Shopping?



I love shopping. Which woman doesn't? Most of all, I love to visit a particular mall or store when I have something in mind. Who wouldn't want to feel the fabric of a bag or dress to make sure that it is what they really want? Or try a pair of shoes to see how they look like when they put them on? Yeah, most of us want to go the traditional way.


There are certain things that I could buy online without thinking a lot. These are books and CDs. If I couldn't find a book or CD at Jarir, Tihama Bookstores or Obekan, then that was it. I looked for it online. To me, it was out of question to buy clothes, jewellery, electronic appliances or any other thing online.


One day, I happened to come across an online store that claimed to be what? The first online private shopping club in the Middle East? I think so. I visited the site and guess what? I loved what I saw, but still I didn't bother to make an order because I was the traditional type. They had a referral programme, so I registered and invited one of my Saudi friends to join the site. To my surprise, she was already a member and she seemed to enjoy shopping on this site. This was a Saudi lady who loved to go out shopping, but now she took delight in buying handbags and jewellery sitting in front of her laptop. Later on, I met some ladies who were also members of this site, most of them Saudis. I was surprised because there were so many malls and shops in this city (Jeddah) that I couldn't imagine anyone buying things that could be found everywhere. That was the traditional me. 


My love story with this site began when I received an email from them, notifying me of their big sale. It was indeed a big sale, with the prices of designer products slashed dramatically by more than 80%. I was swept off my feet. At that time, my credit card had expired and had to be renewed. The sale was going to end in about 24 hours! I couldn't resist the temptation, so I called my Saudi friend who placed the order on my behalf. The products were fabulous, and I just couldn't stop talking about them.


You could be the traditional type, but I would be surprised if you could resist buying some items from this site, especially if you are the type who loves designer products. Honestly, I didn't think Saudi ladies fancied shopping online until I met some of them who did so. Whatever be the case, there are still some things I would rather buy at a mall or shop. Same old me.

6 comments:

  1. Masha'Allah! Sukar has many branded products. They usually have very big discounts which tehy announce on their website. I am a top fan.

    Thanks!

    G.M

    ReplyDelete
  2. je me suis inscrite aussi sur ce site.
    ils me disent que la douane saoudienne exige 5% à payer à la réception. est-ce que le paiement par carte visa est sécurisé? et en combien de temps ils livrent? je me permets de vous ^poser ces questions car vous l'avez déjà essayé.la livraison se fait par la poste saoudienne ou par un livreur privé ( j'ai eu une mauvaise expérience avec la poste saoudienne). il livre à domicile?

    merci d'avance.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Bonjour Nassima,

    Le paiement par carte de crédit (Visa ou Master)est securisé sur Sukar et Markavip. Je n'ai jamais eu à payer un riyal de plus à la reception. La livraison se fait toujours pas Aramex (en tout cas ceci a toujours été le cas pour tous mes achats). Markavip a aussi l'habitude de faire un rabais de 15% lorsqu'un client fait le paiement par carte de crédit.

    Sukar livre apres 10 a 14 jours. Le temps de livraison est plus long avec Markavip, disons 30 a 35 jours. Mais leurs frais d'expédition sont plus intéressants (environ un tiers de ce que je paie sur Sukar).

    Daprize

    ReplyDelete
  4. En ce qui concerne la livraison, ils livrent à l'adresse que vous inscrivez sur leur site au moment de faire le paiement.
    J'espère que je n'ai pas oublié de répondre à toutes vos questions. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Merci.
    D apres ce que j ai compris sur le site la livraison est gratuite pour le ksa mais 5% sont percus par le livreur à la livraison . ça reste très compétitif. Je vais me lancer.
    Nassima

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oui, j'ai oublié qu'ils ont tout changé après le Ramadan. La dernière fois que j'ai fait un achat sur ce site c'était le 14 Août 2012. La livraison était gratuite pour l'Arabie Saoudite pendant le Ramadan, mais ils n'ont pas mentionné que je devais payer quoi que ce soit lors de la livraison. Apparemment, ils ont fait quelques modifications. Merci pour le rappel.

    En ce qui concerne le délai de livraison, je me souviens qu'une fois ils ont livré mon colis 6 jours après le paiement. Je ne m'y attendais pas parce qu'ils avaient l'habitude de livrer au moins 10 jours après que j'ai passé la commande.

    ReplyDelete

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