Question: Buying from Carousell

[travwasd]

Share your experiences. Do you usually buy parts from carousell? Any advice?

 

[singupingu]

Positive all the way coz
1. Cash upon delivery only
2. Request to inspect the goods. Final decision upon meet up and after I inspect and happy with it
3. Request for seller contact details
4. Do your research on market prices and 2nd hand prices. Don't get carrot headed.
5. Don't lowball. Pls. It's a very bad practice, unless the seller is selling that cheap in the first place for whatever reason, as long as the parts not faulty and be caution for scam if price is really too low {like $500 for gtx 1080)

Sent from Finally Unbanned using GAGT

 

[wwenze]

TBH my carousell happiness rate is even higher than buying from official shops...

Official shops just take your money and dun care if you item is DOA or has some minor but critical damage

 

[travwasd]

Positive all the way coz
1. Cash upon delivery only
2. Request to inspect the goods. Final decision upon meet up and after I inspect and happy with it
3. Request for seller contact details
4. Do your research on market prices and 2nd hand prices. Don't get carrot headed.
5. Don't lowball. Pls. It's a very bad practice, unless the seller is selling that cheap in the first place for whatever reason, as long as the parts not faulty and be caution for scam if price is really too low {like $500 for gtx 1080)

Sent from Finally Unbanned using GAGT

TBH my carousell happiness rate is even higher than buying from official shops...

Official shops just take your money and dun care if you item is DOA or has some minor but critical damage

Thanks singupingu you have been giving good advice.

 

[Desmond_]

many siao lang inside...

 

[LLCSG12]

not all are trusthworthy and those that u see as sold are sometimes fake

some users have multiple accounts

many are flipping IT parts.. so buy only if you do not mind the $$ gone

 

[tmfwy]

Share your experiences. Do you usually buy parts from carousell? Any advice?

Been selling on carousell for quite a while

I can say that there are good and bad both sides

Aside from SinguPingu's comments

People sell on Carousell either for personal or commercial reasons. Likewise, People can also buy for both reasons ( hence lots of bowling balls )

Do take a moment to click on the seller's profile and read the comments. Look for sellers whose comments are a bit different than your usual thank you and goodbye, coz that means the seller is more apt to go out of his way to help you.

Having said this, lowballing is a bad practice
DOn't be worried about paying the " correct " price, but more on whether you can accept the price. If you have camped out for vouchers before, you will know that time and tide waits for no man / woman. So that item, may suddenly disappear when you least expect it

Process for a sale
Chat with the seller
Once ready, " MAKE OFFER "
Once offer accepted, exchange contacts
CONTACT EXCHANGE IS IMPORTANT.
Do not rely on Carousell alone coz their servers can be unreliable.
Contact exchanhge is a sign of trust and can be used to spam call in times of emergencies. If a buyer / seller does not want to exchange contacts, be uber wary. It is to your disadvantage

Also, buyer is free to change prices of his goods without informing you. This happens normally. If you have not made an offer and the seller increases his price, you LLST. Either go look for another seller or pony up the extra $$$.

Hence, making an offer is sort of like a handshake / offer of acceptance between both buyer and seller. Once seller has accepted the offer, it is bad form to increase the price unless the item is substantially different. Eg: suddenly discover his graphic card is an Asus Strix instead of a Palit. In such a case, both buyer and seller should be given a chance to back off without negative feedback.

My tips
1. Always ask if item is available first

2.Confirm what you need to confirm before paying.

3. Carousell is first and foremost a personal platform. Don't expect free delivery ( Yeah. I kena a buyer who asked me to meet him @ Changi Airport at a certain time, and messaged me a 2nd time to remind me not to be late, for a $2 VGA cable. $##$%#$% ) which he had not made an offer.

4. Have mutual respect for each party's time
If you are living in Jurong and the seller is in Pasir Ris, either go to the seller or ask nicely if he can meet you at a mutually agreed location.
Sellers will not usually lug a 5-10kg pc component like a monitor, without asking for transport costs / deposits. ( We all know how it feels to lug a 10kg Steel casing, only to kena fly aeroplane at the other side of the island.. )

5. Arrange the deal time and price. Once you are satisified, MAKE OFFER to seller to indicate you are ready to deal. Once seller has accepted your offer, exchange contacts.

6. Do not try to snipe and make multiple offers, it is confusing.
Eg: Item price $100
Same buyer
offer $ 70
no response
offer $85
no reponse
offer $100
and suddenly
offer $85 coz buyer think he offer too much and backtracked.
So on the screen, there are 3x offers @ $85 and 1x offer @ $100
If seller " ACCEPTED OFFER " he can say he accepted offer @ $100

7. Confirm exactly what you are getting
Eg:
You are buying a PC
it lists everything EXCEPT THE POWER SUPPLY/ Adaptor
Make sure the Power adaptor is also included and if not, at what price to include / exclude it.

8. Again on Delivery
Carousell is NOT Lazada.
There is no slow ninja to deliver your items @ $2.99
2nd hand items Eg: Monitors, may have to be hand carried. Couriers may not accept bare units without packaging so don't be surprised if your delivery costs for a monitor is a 2 way uber/grab/taxi trip... In theory, if you don't want to meet the seller and want him to deliver to you, don't expect it to be free / cheap. If seller is willing to take first world transport, then uber/grab back, it is already a bonus to you ( when dealing with bulky items )

9. DO not ask seller to pass you stuff over the mrt ticket counters.
This is NOT allowed
Always exit first to meet the seller

10. Always prep exact change
A good practice is to reg for PAYNOW / PAYLAH.
Easiest way to transfer cash with a record...

Another thing is when you transfer money over internet banking
MAKE SURE YOU CHOOSE FAST.
if not, its 3 working day interbank transfer, hard to cancel and requires a leap of faith on both sides..
Seller is not wrong if he does not want to pass the goods to you.....
Hence why i recommend PAYNOW / PAYLAH

11. Do use common sense
If one orders a high end system, be prepared to pay a deposit. This may be substantial to certain people and is where ratings/feedback help

12. Change of mind Returns
Change of mind returns are in general, solely at the discretion of the seller. Most sellers will not allow a change of mind return, but hey, it never hurts to ask....

13. Understand TERMINOLOGY
SPOILT = SPOILT la. Dun blame the seller if he sells an item marked as SPOILT coz it is supposed to be SPOILT. You are trying luck yourself if you buy and hope it is working

USED: Item is secondhand Eg: USED mobo means that it is a 2nd hand mobo. May not have been tested. CMOS battery will most prob have not been replaced

REFURBISHED: Higher class secondhand item. Item has had some work done to it and is usually tested. Eg: Mobo would have had CMOS battery replaced.

BNIB = Item is still in box. Should be sealed and can be bought a while ago but still sealed. hence Brand New in Box

NEW = Item is " New" unused. May or may not come with receipts.

JUST OPEN BOX FOR TESTING AND CLOSE BACK = I am flipping and want to sell my item which i bought @ a cheaper price to earn a profit.Eg: Telcop Handsets.

RECEIVED ITEM AS A GIFT & NO RECEIPT = Sometimes, really a gift. More often than not, Seller bought from overseas and no warranty. Saying it is a gift sounds nicer...

Selling Lots of graphic cards usually all of the same generation = Seller has been mining / Outlet to dispose of mining goods. STAY AWAY unless you know how to handle the problems...

 

[singupingu]

Thanks singupingu you have been giving good advice.

You're welcome just doing my best to help others

Edit: wah.. Tmfwy kor kor extensive guide is satki

Sent from Finally Unbanned using GAGT

 

[tmfwy]

many siao lang inside...

There are alot of siao langs everywhere, not just inside carou " hell "

 

[tmfwy]

You're welcome just doing my best to help others

Edit: wah.. Tmfwy kor kor extensive guide is satki

Sent from Finally Unbanned using GAGT

Yeah

Insights from both a buyer and a seller POV..

I think if you read what i wrote, you will know what i hate most. haha.....

 

[jtjt00]

Of late, more success buying/selling at Carousell than garages sales at HardwareZone & VR Zone.

 

[watzup_ken]

I feel as with any online garage, you will need to exercise precaution. Typically, I am the one selling on Carousell with few instances of my buying something there. But I did got conned there once as a buyer, so currently what I do now is to check the person's rating and what the person is selling before I determine to buy.

Whenever possible, make sure if deal cash on deliver, and not DO NOT do any fund transfer before deal. If it is a small amount like 10/ 20 bucks purchase, you could take a risk if you want. Also, test the item thoroughly before transacting if possible. For computer parts where you can't check, then have to check to ensure no physical damage and if there is any warranty.

 

[lifeishard]

many are flipping IT parts.. so buy only if you do not mind the $$ gone

Don't understand your statement, who cares if they are flipping or not as long as you are ok with the price.

If you were saying- many are selling fake IT parts...so buy only if you do not mind the $$ gone then I understand.

 

[travwasd]

Been selling on carousell for quite a while

I can say that there are good and bad both sides

Aside from SinguPingu's comments

People sell on Carousell either for personal or commercial reasons. Likewise, People can also buy for both reasons ( hence lots of bowling balls )

Do take a moment to click on the seller's profile and read the comments. Look for sellers whose comments are a bit different than your usual thank you and goodbye, coz that means the seller is more apt to go out of his way to help you.

Having said this, lowballing is a bad practice
DOn't be worried about paying the " correct " price, but more on whether you can accept the price. If you have camped out for vouchers before, you will know that time and tide waits for no man / woman. So that item, may suddenly disappear when you least expect it

Process for a sale
Chat with the seller
Once ready, " MAKE OFFER "
Once offer accepted, exchange contacts
CONTACT EXCHANGE IS IMPORTANT.
Do not rely on Carousell alone coz their servers can be unreliable.
Contact exchanhge is a sign of trust and can be used to spam call in times of emergencies. If a buyer / seller does not want to exchange contacts, be uber wary. It is to your disadvantage

Also, buyer is free to change prices of his goods without informing you. This happens normally. If you have not made an offer and the seller increases his price, you LLST. Either go look for another seller or pony up the extra $$$.

Hence, making an offer is sort of like a handshake / offer of acceptance between both buyer and seller. Once seller has accepted the offer, it is bad form to increase the price unless the item is substantially different. Eg: suddenly discover his graphic card is an Asus Strix instead of a Palit. In such a case, both buyer and seller should be given a chance to back off without negative feedback.

My tips
1. Always ask if item is available first
2.Confirm what you need to confirm.
3. Carousell is first and foremost a personal platform. Don't expect free delivery ( Yeah. I kena a buyer who asked me to meet him @ Changi Airport at a certain time, and messaged me a 2nd time to remind me not to be late, for a $2 VGA cable. $##$%#$% ) which he had not made an offer.
4. Have mutual respect for each party's time. Eg: If you are living in Jurong and the seller is in Pasir Ris, either go to the seller or ask nicely if he can meet you at a mutually agreed location.
Sellers will not usually lug a 5-10kg pc component like a monitor, without asking for transport costs / deposits. ( We all know how it feels to lug a 10kg Steel casing, only to kena fly aeroplane at the other side of the island.. )

5. Arrange the deal time and price. Once you are satisified, MAKE OFFER to seller to indicate you are ready to deal. ONce seller has accepted your offer, exchange contacts.

6. Do not try to snipe and make offer to lowball, then make several more offers to inc / dec price. It is confusing.
Eg: Item price $100
Same buyer
offer $ 70
no response
offer $85
no reponse
offer $100
and suddenly
offer $85 coz buyer think he offer too much and backtracked.
So on the screen, there are 3x offers @ $85 and 1x offer @ $100
If seller " ACCEPTED OFFER " he can say he accepted offer @ $100

7. Confirm exactly what you are getting
Eg:
You are buying a PC
it lists everything EXCEPT THE POWER SUPPLY/ Adaptor
Make sure the Power adaptor is also included and if not, at what price to include / exclude it.

7. Again on Delivery
Carousell is not lazada.
There is no slow ninja to deliver your items @ $2.99
2nd hand items Eg: Monitors, may have to be hand carried. Couriers may not accept bare units without packaging so don't be surprised if your delivery costs for a monitor is a 2 way uber/grab/taxi trip... In theory, if you don't want to meet the seller and want him to deliver to you, don't expect it to be free / cheap. If seller is willing to take first world transport, then uber/grab back, it is already a bonus to you ( when dealing with bulky items )

8. DO not ask seller to pass you stuff over the mrt ticket counters.
This is NOT allowed
Always exit first to meet the seller

9. Always prep exact change
A good practice is to reg for PAYNOW / PAYLAH.
Easiest way to transfer cash with a record...

Another thing is when you transfer money over internet banking
MAKE SURE YOU CHOOSE FAST.
if not, its 3 working day interbank transfer, hard to cancel and requires a leap of faith on both sides..
seller is not wrong if he does not want to pass the goods to you.....
Hence why i recommend PAYNOW / PAYLAH

10. Understand TERMINOLOGY
SPOILT = SPOILT la. Dun blame the seller if he sells an item marked as SPOILT coz it is supposed to be SPOILT. You are trying luck yourself if you buy and hope it is working

USED: Item is secondhand Eg: USED mobo means that it is a 2nde hand mobo. May not have been tested. CMOS battery will most prob have not been replaced

REFURBISHED: Higher class secondhand item. Item has had some work done to it and is usually tested. Eg: Mobo would have had CMOS battery replaced.

BNIB = Item is still in box. Should be sealed and can be bought a while ago but still sealed. hence Brand New in Box

NEW = Item is " New" unused. May or may not come with receipts.

JUST OPEN BOX FOR TESTING AND CLOSE BACK = I am flipping and want to sell my item which i bought @ a cheaper price to earn a profit.Eg: Telcop Handsets.

RECEIVED ITEM AS A GIFT & NO RECEIPT = Sometimes, really a gift. More often than not, Seller bought from overseas and no warranty. Saying it is a gift sounds nicer...

Selling Lots of graphic cards usually all of the same generation = Seller has been mining / Outlet to dispose of mining goods. STAY AWAY unless you know how to handle the problems...

Thank you so much for the guide!

 

[LLCSG12]

try it.. buy some experience..

nothing is free

Don't understand your statement, who cares if they are flipping or not as long as you are ok with the price.

If you were saying- many are selling fake IT parts...so buy only if you do not mind the $$ gone then I understand.

 

[joshuaho]

Very good detailed guide.

Just a quick sharing, I kena this once.

If possible, do bank transfer (FAST or paylah) that way u still can track down seller. Opens up the option to proceed to small claims.

If u feel item has been repacked AKA cheapo quality plastic, and if u INTEND to buy and not be a ** if u don’t intend to buy. Make payment, and then OPEN product in front of seller. Anything wrong recitify on the spot, check for serial number if there is. Usually matches with receipt. If seller seems dodgy and refuse, it’s quite a sign since u have already offered to pay first.

What happened:
Bought a PSU from a seller, COD. Met him at bus stop, and he sold me a SEALED PSU. Didn’t know how a PSU should be packaged that time. Went home, opened the plastic and found ALL cables missing and wattage was different (bought 1200, end up as 750) receipt didn’t tally to item, essentially no warranty. His account was subsequently banned from Carousell but quite sure that he has more than one accounts as last time no handphone number required. Paid cash and didn’t ask for personal phone number. LLST, learn from expensive. Expensive experience as last time that PSU almost $400

PM me for cookie (; HardwareZone Forums app

 

[batniss]

Do not understand the rationale for exchanging contact numbers. One can simply use a temp sim number.

The ratings i feel is more important.

 

[riotpatriot]

i thought buy prepaid sim need to present IC one?

 

[tmfwy]

Do not understand the rationale for exchanging contact numbers. One can simply use a temp sim number.

The ratings i feel is more important.

1. It is an important step in establishing trust. If one has nothing to hide, one will have no reason to NOT exchange phone numbers.

2. It is for the simple reason to be able to SPAM CALL when you reach the destination and need to notify seller that you are here

Carousell servers are unreliable and do have delays during very peak hours.

Once kena someone who wanted to buy an item
He messaged me and i replied available all day if he meet near my block
The next day, at 12 noon, he sent a series of messages saysing something like he was coming and ask me to get ready.

I didn't see the messages until 1800hrs which by then, i found out that he arrived at 1500hrs and was irritated before leaving at 1530hrs. I felt sorry that i stood him up like that ( 1st time )

but

a. He never made an offer
b. He never exchanged phone numbers

The rationale
a. If buyer made an offer, it would have put the seller on alert that a transaction is going to happen at a certain timing
b. If he exchanged contacts, he could have spam called the seller and at the most, unless seller is a **, seller will be late abit, but the trip would not be in vain.

Sellers often have to deal with lowballers who lowball and never show up

 

[tmfwy]

i thought buy prepaid sim need to present IC one?

Yep. I think you are limited to 3-5 prepaid sims.