VietNamNet Bridge – Online markets always attract customers thanks to ‘soft prices’, diversified designs and attractive offers.

Online markets always attract customers thanks to ‘soft prices’, diversified designs and attractive offers

Lan Anh, an officer of a media company, related that she always surfs the Internet at lunch time to look for things she want.

Lan Anh opened some familiar websites to look for dresses. After she found some dresses and was satisfied with her choices, she open Yahoo window, typed the nick of the seller, sent the link where the products were on display and asked to purchase the goods. Ten minutes later, Lan Anh successfully purchased a dress and all she needed to do was just wait for delivery.

“Previously, my friends and I had to go to shops to purchase clothes. Sometimes we could not purchase anything after one day of wandering to different shops. However, things are different with online shops. We can purchase goods more easily, while prices are always cheaper,” she said.

Products for sale on the websites include everything from clothes, footwear, handbags, interior furniture, to consumer goods, electronics goods, TVs, computers, laptop and digital products. Even cars and motorbikes can be purchased online.

‘Online markets’ have become the choice of many cosnuemrs, especially female office workers, who do not want to spend time going directly to shops and want to buy cheap products. As the owners of online shops do not have to spend money on premises, staff and do not have to pay taxes, they always offer softer prices.

Online business has also attracted young entrepreneurs, especially teenagers who want to run their own businesses to become rich. Just with small sums of capital, the young businesses can open small shops for themselves.

Pham Thi Thanh Huyen, student of Hanoi Economics University, said that she started a business with just a few million dong and she is now selling T-shirts for couples.

Huyen said that she is very happy with her business. “Some couples have related their love stories to me and asked me to give advice about which T-shirts to wear,” she said.

Tuan Anh, a student from NIIT, said that he has to go to China once every three weeks to get goods for resale online. Anh said that the total initial capital he and the other two friends put in was only five million dong. Meanwhile, each of the members can earn 2-3 million dong a month.

The troubles

However, businessmen related that they sometimes meet troubles. Huyen related that in principle, she needs to charge a shipment fee for the customers who live in other provinces. However, as she sometimes forgets the shipment fee, she has lost money in many cases, of up to one million dong.

When asked about working time, Huyen said that she does not have lunchtime, because it is the high time of selling, which forces her to eat lunch and work with the computer at the same time. “I am like the petty merchant at the market,” she said.

Sometimes, Huyen has to stay up until 2-3 am because some clients want to gossip with her. Sometimes, Huyen has to post her picture in new dresses to advertise goods. As a result, she receives a lot of unwanted messages.

Phuong Ha, the owner of an online shop, related that she has lost 10 million dong on a deal. As she did not have time to go to meet the goods suppliers directly, she had to order goods online. One time, after she remitted 10 million dong to a supplier, she could not get goods, while the supplier ran off with her money.

VietNamNet/VnMedia