I've been wanting to write this because it is really satisfying.
The first part of this post is not really necessary to read (basically I'm only talking about how I liked a dress but couldn't get it), so you can skip to March 24th 2017 to understand why I won't buy again from ZenMarket.
December 2016
I see this Liz Lisa dress (brand new) listed for auction on eBay.
And I really liked it.
I naively thought I could sniper bid on this dress at a decent price (the original price was $20 US lol).
Anyway, I didn't get the dress cuz in the last minutes, everyone started outbidding each other. Like no one was even trying to wait until the end to place their bid... So I just watched the price going higher and higher with a wtf face until the time was up. Then I was quite sad and disappointed I had been thinking about this dress for a week straight and didn't get it in the end.
(The winner got the dress for $66 US + $9 shipping. This is about 100$ CAD. I mean, I didn't have the money at the time to pay 100$ for a dress, especially since I wasn't sure yet if I really wanted it.)
Then a couple of days later, I saw someone on IG with the same dress (I believe the color was pink) and she said she had bought it for $20 on Kei Market... I couldn't help but feel a little jealous. It wasn't the kind of "I want to burn this girl's dress" type of jealousy. I was more like "What the heck she's so lucky".
I was also seeing the same dress on IG, but it was only sold by Thailand stores. 😢
March 24th 2017
I had started to surf on Fril for clothes a couple of days ago (after having purchased my Liz Lisa boots, I had realized how easy it was to buy from Japanese sites with a proxy service).
And since my first order with ZenMarket had gone smoothly, I was planning to use the website again to buy from Fril.
While skimming the Liz Lisa items, I saw this:
It's the dress I wanted in December! (and still want)
Condition is almost new (according to Google translation, let's hope it's accurate)
I immediately transferred money to my ZenMarket account and sent them the link to purchase the dress. I was so nervous someone would buy it before ZenMarket.
Several hours later, they sent me back this message:
My day was really shitty after receiving this message.
I was kind of angry with them, thinking they had not been fast enough to buy the dress (my Liz Lisa boots had been purchased in like not even one hour after winning the auction, while for this dress it took them a working day to get back to me about it.)
Then I checked on the dress' page and didn't see any Sold out sign. I thought maybe the owner was keeping it for someone else, or it was just Fril being slow updating its items' status. I think I continued stalking the dress for 2 days (with no Sold out sign still) then stopped because ZenMarket had told me the dress was sold out, so I didn't see the use of looking at it again and again and feeling sad.
April 5th 2017
Almost two weeks later, I'm still looking for clothes on Fril when I see
The same dress still for sale.
Wasn't this dress supposed to be SOLD OUT?!
I sent a message to ZenMarket to see if they could provide me an explanation as to why they had told me the dress I had tried to buy two weeks ago was sold out when two weeks later, it was apparent the dress was still for sale. This was their answer:
Wait
You told me two weeks ago that you couldn't purchase the dress because it was sold out, but now you're telling me you couldn't purchase it because Fril has refused to deal with proxy services?
After digesting this answer, I realized there must be proxy services buying from Fril (that are not labeling themselves as proxy services since Fril supposedly refuses to work with them.)
So I did some research on the internet and emailed 4-5 proxy services in Japan, asking them if they were able to buy the dress from Fril (I had provided them with the item link).
I got a reply from three of them, who told me they could buy the dress. And it's clearly obvious on their website that they are proxy services, such as Japan Goods Finder.
After comparing different estimates, I chose to go with From Japan. I have no idea whether it's considered a good proxy service or not, but I thought their price was alright and they had replied me quite fast. I haven't mentioned it but from the moment I had read ZenMarket's message and had realized the dress was actually not sold out, I wanted to buy it the fastest possible so that no one would buy it before me. I couldn't believe the dress was still for sale all that time between March 24th and April 4th and that someone could have bought it in that period. So I really didn't have time to search for the best price among all proxy services and then ask the cheapest ones if they were able to buy from Fril and wait for their answer.
Then, after the usual money transfer and purchase procedures, From Japan notified me they had bought the dress. Two minutes later I saw the Sold out sign on the dress:
I do take part of the blame because I naively thought I could order from almost any shop in Japan with ZenMarket (without asking them first), and since Fril seems a quite popular Japanese secondhand shopping site, I thought there was no problem ordering clothes from there. I should have asked ZenMarket first.
And does Fril really does not deal with proxy services?
Well yes. LOL.
I admit was wrong when I foolishly thought I could buy from any shop in Japan with a proxy service. Japonica Market states it on their homepage:
I feel stupid since everyone must have known it except me.
Following this, I asked From Japan if they were able buy from Mercari and Mbok. Turns out From Japan can buy from Mbok and Fril, but not from Mercari. The reason they gave me was because Mercari refused to deal with them. Since I know other proxy services deal with Mercari, I suppose these services "hide" their activties like From Japan does when buying from Fril.
This is kind of disappointing since I really like Mercari, but I like From Japan's service fees.
BUT what frustrates me is that ZenMarket lied to me (a customer) and I (stupidly) trusted them.
They told me the reason they couldn't buy the dress was because it was sold out. Jesus.They should have told me right away they couldn't buy the dress because their proxy service just can't. I almost "lost" this dress because ZenMarket preferred to lie to me (so that I wouldn't get the item via one of their competitors) instead of telling me the truth.
Maybe any shopping service would have done that since I understand they all want to keep their customers loyal.
Will I use ZenMarket again?
No, because they can't buy from Fril and I really like that website along with Mercari. But also because they lied to me (and I happened to discover it which is kind of frustrating and doesn't make me want to use their proxy service again). \(◕ᴗ◕)/
Happy Easter!
Fril doesn't accept proxies, this is a thing you would have known beforehand by just looking up. This wasn't Zenmarket's but your miss. The "sold out" message is probably a default one they send to all Fril requests so customers don't get feely about it.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, auctions and regular purchases don't work in the same way. They have an automatic system for auctions that makes your bids and then a worker purchases the item after you've won. Purchases always require a worker, bidding doesn't. Their working schedule is from 9 AM to 6 PM Mon-Sat, Japan time. You would've known this by simply checking their FAQ.
Hi Ariel,
DeleteThank you for your comment. I hope you don't mind me quoting you just so I can give you a full reply.
1. "Fril doesn't accept proxies, this is a thing you would have known beforehand by just looking up."
I had no idea Fril didn't accept proxies at that time. A lot of proxies don't state on their page which shops they can buy from, and being a newbie, I didn't know I had to contact the proxy service to know this info.
2. "This wasn't Zenmarket's but your miss.
Of course. In fact, I did write « I do take part of the blame because I naively thought I could order from almost any shop in Japan with ZenMarket (continuing…) » And right below I took a screenshot of Japonica Market, another proxy service, stating Fril doesn't deal with proxies. So I believe I did my fair share and admitted part of this was my fault.
3. "The "sold out" message is probably a default one they send to all Fril requests so customers don't get feely about it."
"Probably"? How do you know this? Anyway, I don't think this is being honest to the customers.
And finally, about your last paragraph -- Thank you for the info. When I was comparing the "buying time" between auctions and regular purchases, it was only a small detail I felt like sharing though. The "slower" buying time is NOT what made me disappointed with ZenMarket. I would have still dealt with them again.
Again, I repeat : I am disappointed in ZenMarket (and do not wish to use their proxy service in the future) because they told me they couldn't buy the dress because it was "sold out", when the true reason was because they couldn't buy from Fril considering that Fril doesn't deal with proxies.
This being said, I won't mention the name, but I did try to order an item from Mercari with another proxy service. I already knew the proxy didn't deal with Mercari because I had contacted them before, but I was just curious on how they would handle my request.
When I submitted the item link, an automatic message immediately told me their proxy did not buy from Mercari. I thought it was an honest way to inform me.
Thank you
Hi Sophie,
ReplyDeleteCould you please share some proxies that can buy from Mercari?
Thanks!
Hi,
DeleteWhen buying from Mercari, I've been using Japonica Market only. While I find this proxy a bit more expensive compared to FromJapan, I haven't had any bad experience with them and their shipping time is reasonable, so I didn't really bother looking for other proxies.
I'm sorry this reply can't give you a complete answer.
If you google "proxy mercari", you will find proxies that do buy from Mercari. Although I haven't tried any of them, I'm sure there are reviews written by other people.
Have a nice day :)
Thank you for your prompt reply!
DeleteMay I ask which Japanese sites you often use to source new/secondhand clothes?
You're welcome :) And sure, although I'm not the most knowledgeable person to ask.
DeleteFor secondhand clothes, I usually buy from Fril or Mercari. They are my preferred sites (in terms of choice and prices) and sellers often include domestic shipping in the product's price.
There’s also Shoppies that I haven’t tried yet, but I might give it a go in the future.
I also bought secondhand from Yahoo Japan Auctions and Mbok (auctions). I had a smooth experience both times, but it seems that few sellers (compared to Fril/Mercari) include domestic shipping in the product's price -- which is a drawback for me.
Next, there's Rakuten (new/secondhand), but I’m not familiar with this site (which is a little embarrassing because I think it’s really well-known...)
I’m not certain to understand (in your question) if by "new" you mean brand new from the store (ex. buying Liz Lisa from Tokyo Kawaii Life) or secondhand in new condition.
I generally don't buy brand new from the store, so I cannot direct you to sites I bought from except for Tokyo Kawaii Life. I do plan to buy from Ank Rouge, Lodispotto and Prime Pattern though.
I don’t mean to promote my blog, but I compiled a list of the sites I like to window-shop/buy from on this page: http://prettysecretmemories.blogspot.ca/2018/01/list-of-online-shops-secondhand.html
There are a lot of Taobao stores and not all sites listed are Japanese, but Fril, Mercari, etc. are all there, apart from Rakuten. It's okay if you don't look at it, just wanted to point it out since it somehow related to your question.
Hi There,
DeleteYou can use Sendico.com Japan Proxy service to buy items on Marcari JP.
Best Regards
Jeez. I was looking up some reviews on ZenMarket. I've been using them for over a half a year now and love them, but was curious how others felt and stumbled upon your post.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, I would like to mention, though its unnecessary to, that it's your responsibility to ensure that whoever you buy from will work with a Proxy. Period. If you find a proxy that can work around that, fantastic, but that's not a risk worth taking. I understand you acknowledged it was partly your fault, but I disagree. It was entirely your fault for not looking into it first. Even if the store's requirements arent blatantly plastered on the page, you should always check.
Secondly, I have to disagree, I don't feel they were lying. I've had them flat out tell me they could not buy it, it's sold out, or in the case of Mercari, they've had too many bad transactions so they won't deal with them. Perhaps it seemed misleading to say it was "sold out" when it was available, but for you, someone dealing with a proxy when the merchant doesnt allow it, it was as good as sold out.
I'm trying to be very neutral about this situation, as I can understand, it might have been confusing from your standpoint but all it does it unnecessarily make ZM look bad. They are one of the very few proxies worth using, and compared to most proxies, have good feedback. Judging by the other comments left, others can agree this was definitely a "you problem."
Thirdly, regardless of you not knowing ZM's available store hours, it was common sense to know that people sleep and are not available at the snap of a finger. We're not in Japan, Hun, they are asleep when we're not. It'll be good to consider next time, with whoever you are using, that we may not get the items we want in time if they are not available in their timezone to get it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Anyway, happy to see you were still able to get the dress you wanted.
Hi Nattie,
DeleteI'll only address your second point, where you say you don't feel ZenMarket was lying to me and give what appear to be two arguments or explanations:
1. "I've had them flat out tell me they could not buy it, it's sold out, or in the case of Mercari, they've had too many bad transactions so they won't deal with them."
-- Well, if in the three scenarios you brought up ZenMarket was in fact telling you the truth, then I'm glad for you.
But I'm not sure to understand the relevance of this. I mean, if ZenMarket told me the dress was sold out and Fril stated that the dress was indeed sold out, then I agree, the dress was really sold out. Only, that's not what happened: the dress was still for sale on Fril.
2. "Perhaps it seemed misleading to say it was "sold out" when it was available, but for you, someone dealing with a proxy when the merchant doesnt allow it, it was as good as sold out."
-- So your logic is "if the proxy one uses is unable to buy an item, the proxy can label that item as "sold out" because they can't purchase it."
This thinking is absurd and attributes an incorrect meaning to something being sold out. If the dress had truly been sold out, it would have been marked as "sold out" on Fril's website. Consequently, I would have never been able to buy it whether I would have used ZenMarket, FromJapan, or any other proxy that could or couldn't have dealt with Fril.
However, while ZenMarket told me the dress was "sold out", FromJapan didn't say so at all. In fact, I was able to purchase the dress with FromJapan.
So yes, ZenMarket did lie. Here is a definition of the verb "lie" found on Dictionary.com: "an inaccurate or false statement; a falsehood".
Still, thank you for sharing your honest point of view.
Sophie
“Perhaps it seemed misleading to say it was "sold out" when it was available, but for you, someone dealing with a proxy when the merchant doesnt allow it, it was as good as sold out.“
DeleteThis logic doesn’t really work because you reinforce the fact that she is indeed right, but okay.
“We're not in Japan, Hun, they are asleep when we're not. It'll be good to consider next time, with whoever you are using, that we may not get the items we want in time if they are not available in their timezone to get it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯“
Then you should check out Japonica Market who have bought things for me at 3am JST at the drop of a hat, Hun ;)
I am all for differing opinions, but the salty, passive-aggressiveness of this one left a bad taste in my mouth. This honestly turned me off from ZM.
I was looking at ZenMarket reviews because I have items waiting to get packed and shipped from their warehouse and I wanted to know how long it takes on the average... but man, I just had to reply to this comment. Honestly: Sophie, you've been so polite and graceful even after two random people told you how you're obviously in the wrong for ... being new to buying things from Japanese sites?
DeleteOne of the things I look for in a proxy is the trust between us. I can't personally navigate Japanese sites because I suck at the language, so that's what the proxy is for. My usual proxy was nice enough to explain to me how sites like toranoana works and how 'sold out' books get re-stocked after the event they were made for. Things like that which you don't know as a beginner but is old news for a proxy. Obviously, I don't expect ZenMarket to hold my hand through the details of buying from Japanese sites--especially since they get a ton of orders per day--but if they do send automated replies when they can't buy from specific sites (in 2020 they have an automated 'We are not allowed to order from Mercari' message pop ups), then they should have written a better automated reply. 'We could not order this item because it is sold out or because we cannot order from this site' would be fine. 'It's sold out' is a lie. Doesn't matter if Sophie checked Fril's rules or not--the matter in question is if ZenMarket sent a message with false information. They did. That's honestly not Sophie's fault??? What even is going on with these people.
I cannot reply to a reply (only to a comment), so I'm not sure if this will send correctly but thank you for writing here and for your support. I agree with what you say. Now I make sure to ask any new proxy I buy with if they deal with Fril and Mercari, and in an ideal world I should have done the same for ZenMarket, but I didn't even know that was a thing to ask when I started to use proxies. It's nice to know that ZenMarket added an automated pop-up, with a clear message that will not confuse users.
DeleteThank you again and hope everything goes well for the rest of your order. :)
Hello Sophie(^^)
ReplyDeleteWould you consider reviewing our shopping service? We provide similiar services as ZenMarket and FromJapan but our team only consists of two people (Husband & Wife) from Japan. You can find us on the net or Facebook. If you are searching for a shopping service provider with personal touch, please reach out to us.
http://www.wakwakumono.com/services or https://www.facebook.com/Wakuwakumono-604030933084298/
We hope you try us out!
- Kim & Chie
Hi, thank you for your message. I'll let you know.
DeleteThank you. We look forward to it!
DeleteZenmarket's model is not good comparing with other competitors.
ReplyDeleteFor example, I once try hoyoyo.com service. I can visit mercari or fril in their website and don't need to provide a lot information by myself. It is just like I am buying directly from mercari/fril Japan( http://world.hoyoyo.com/mercari~index.html ).However, the website is a little bit slow when I use their mercari function.
The purchasing speed is ok, and I don't need worry about proxy service problem...What's more they don't charge for leaving message in mercari, so I can ask them to bargin for me, which will save me a lot money and time.
I think other websites provides service same as hoyoyo, maybe some of them.
Hi mor_card,
DeleteI didn't know about Hoyoyo. I checked out their website and how you could buy on Mercari's platform itself. It looks interesting. Unfortunately, they don't seem to ship to Canada. The only North American country they seem to ship to is the USA.
I've been ordering quite some clothes on Mercari with Japonica Market (since I wrote that blog post) and I've never been dissatisfied with their service. They're really fast at buying the item once you send them your order. I do find their service and shipping fees to be a little bit expensive, but I think most proxies are expensive anyway.
Thanks for your comment.
try jessestreeter.com, hes a genuine guy with reasonable fees , am from INDIA and i have bought some car stuff from him, it was an easy process for me with him, so i would recommend him ,
ReplyDeleteDear CEO Mr Viacheslav Surovyi sir,
ReplyDeleteObjective:
You are an important and busy man, I shall come to the point. I have started taking actions against Zen market in the public courts of opinions, co-opting Zen market as part of CANCEL; and seeking legal redress. However, my personal attorney advised me that, out of respect and corporate decorum; protocol and civility; I ought to consider reaching out to you first.
Executive Summary:
Using your Zen Market service, something fishy had happened akin to a scam. I have repeatedly tried to reach out to Zen Market customer service who took too long, was unhelpful, and the latest reply was to claim that you and upper management decided to wash your hands.
However, your customer service staff (who are different every time and I understand you hired distributed staff globally):
- missed all my points and concerns.
- lost the forest for the trees
- did not address concerns and areas where Zen Market could have done to prevent
- did not exercise due diligence
- displayed at best unhelpfulness; at worst irresponsibility
- did not address areas where Zen market failed or could have prevented
As mentioned in my introduction:
- Formally: am seeking formal action in legal court:
I spoke to my personal banking relationship manager to consult his legal team to take a legal case against your company
- Informally: have been seeking redress and publicity in the public courts of opinion. (Sorry, but I have notified your staff) posting FACTUA: reviews or messages with EVIDENTIAL screenshots and messages ON A DAILY BASIS about:
- the risks of using Zen Market and
- my experiences with Zen Market being really not secure reliable or responsible (time lag, unhelpfulness, how due diligence was not exercised; rudeness)
- Overall: have joined hands with some groups in USA and am starting a CANCEL movement against Zen Market. The PUBLIC should be worried about using Zen Market.
Conclusion:
However, it does make sense that I ought to reach out to you, in your capacity as CEO of Zen Market. (Reading your bio: from Ukraine to Japan to global; I am sure a man of your stature can see farther, wider and higher). If you may, please read my message exchanges under my zen market account japanlovessuxiaxie@gmail.com
PS. Your customer service staff (who are different every time and I understand you hired distributed staff globally):
- missed all my points and concerns.
- lost the forest for the trees
- did not address concerns and areas where Zen Market could have done to prevent
- did not exercise due diligence
- displayed at best unhelpfulness; at worst irresponsibility
- did not address areas where Zen market failed or could have prevented
Respectfully
Joelyn
I've also had a not-so-pleasant experience with ZenMarket. I had wanted to buy some merch from Johnny's Online shop since I saw they were advertising they were able to buy from there. I followed their instructions exactly and waited for them to confirm my order.
ReplyDeleteWhen it was confirmed, I saw that one of the items they charged me 770yen when it the price listed on the original site was 700yen. So I sent them a message asking if this was a mistake. It took them a while to actually respond (but it was within the 24 hours they promised so whatever) and they said they couldn't check the price on the site because it was under maintenance and to message them back again.
I checked the site and indeed was down, but only for 3 hours. How was I supposed to control when a representative was going to check the site!? Because the site was down for 3 hours I had to send another message and wait another 24 hours for a response. The next response they finally acknowledged they made a mistake and fixed the price.
But at this point it was already too late because the Black Friday sale where the service fee for each item was only 100yen and not the regular 300yen was already over. So I had missed the deal because it took more than 2 days to get this shit sorted out. Feeling frustrated I shot them another message explaining I had missed the deal through no fault of my own and if I could redeem the discount. But of course they would never.
TL;DR Don't use ZenMarket
Hi,
DeleteThank you for sharing your shopping experience with ZenMarket. I'm sorry your experience didn't have a good ending. If I had placed my order following the rules, yet was the one to cop with the consequences of ZenMarket's mistakes, I'd be frustrated as well. I hope you found another shopping service that handles your orders better.
Really very informative and the way you present your information attracts visitors to read a more informative blog from your website. Buy Things From Japan Online .
ReplyDeleteGet a life you weirdo.
ReplyDelete