To Follow or Not to Follow?

Did you know that the very reliable Multiply does not allow commercial use of its website?

According to its Terms and Conditions,

“The Multiply Web site is for the personal use of individual Members only and may not be used in connection with any commercial endeavors. Organizations, companies, and/or businesses may not become Members and should not use the Service or the Web site for any purpose. Illegal and/or unauthorized uses of the Web site, including collecting usernames and/or e-mail addresses of members by electronic or other means for the purpose of sending unsolicited e-mail and unauthorized framing of or linking to the Web site will be investigated, and appropriate legal action will be taken, including, without limitation, civil, criminal, and injunctive redress and the Member's account will be terminated.”(Source: http://multiply.com/info/tos)

With this being said, it would mean that all those individuals or businesses that use Multiply to sell all kinds of products and services are actually violating the law and are operating illegally. This would put into question the business practices of those involved, that they never bothered to read the rules and regulations of the site before engaging in any commercial endeavor.

But then again, Multiply has been an essential part in the spread of e-commerce in the country. More and more people are able to buy or sell products without ever having to leave their homes.

With this knowledge, what do you think is the right course of action? Should the commercial use of Multiply still continue and enrich e-commerce or should the law prevail?

By: Mikhail Gomez

My Paypal Experience

One of the benefits online shopping brings is we don’t have to leave our homes when buying things. When buying, we mean choosing the item, paying for the item and receiving the item. For us to truly say that we shopped online, we should have been able to do all these three without leaving the comfort of our homes. I’ve only done online shopping once and I can’t say that it was successful. However, it introduced me to one way of paying online, which is through Paypal.

I was looking for a Playstation 3 game which was quite hard to find in local stores here in Manila. A friend of mine advised me to look for it on Ebay and I did find it there. The person selling the item accepted payments only through either Western Union Money Transfer or Paypal. If I chose the first one, it would be such a hassle because I would need to go out of my house and find the nearest Western Union branch. That is why I chose the latter because I only needed a credit card, a sample billing statement, an internet connection and a telephone (well in my case) to make an account and begin with the money transfer. First of all I don’t have a credit card so I had to really convince my mom that nothing bad would happen to her credit card if she let me use it. That was the hardest part of the process.

For the credit card, the information you’ll need are the billing address for the credit card, the card’s type (e.g. Master Card), credit card number and card verification number. Even if I wasn’t an experienced credit card user, I didn’t have a hard time finding these credit card details because of the instructions and illustrations provided by the website. After entering your personal and credit card information, the next thing that Paypal will ask is the Paypal Code found in the Billing Statement of your credit card. It is their way of verifying that the credit card is real and working. Paypal will charge you $1.95 so that the code would appear in the statement. In my case, I had to ask my mom to call up the Citibank hotline to get the code. Since she was a credit card holder, I cannot be the one calling up the hotline. I found out that some banks allow you to see your billing statement online if you signed up for their online service. The $1.95 charge would then be refunded after entering the code.

Now my account was all set. The next thing for me to do was to pay for the item. Paypal has this option for users to send money. Sending money in Paypal is just as easy as putting in the email address of the person receiving the money and the amount of money to be sent. I don’t know why, but I had a hard time sending the money. A transaction error kept appearing. I told the sender what had happened and what he did was he sent a money request to me. Yes, there is a Request Money option in Paypal too. That worked and so I was able to pay.

I was so excited for the item I was about to receive. The seller would ship it to my house, thus a complete online shopping experience. The next day I received a text from the seller apologizing that he cannot push through with the transaction because he found out that the item was damaged. He sent back the money to me through Paypal. It was sad but at least the seller did not run away with my money or rather my mom’s money, which I was afraid of happening. The money I received was converted to a Paypal Balance. It’s equivalent to real money and I can use it to pay for things in the future.

Although my online shopping experience wasn’t very successful, it showed me the convenience of having a Paypal account. It makes buying online easy and hassle-free. A lot of websites and people support this service and most importantly, it’s free.

Do you have your own Paypal experience? Share it with us!

By: Carl Co

Thoughts from Inexperienced Buyer

When I first learned about E-commerce a few years back, I’ve never gained an appreciation of the “convenience” it offers. As stated by the articles previously posted, E-commerce offers buyers the opportunity to order items from a seller from the convenience of their own homes. In a sense, buyers are attracted to the fact that their next new item is only one click away. The ordering process might be fast as they say but the delivery process is whole different story altogether. From what I’ve heard and read, including from one comment posted, ordered items almost never arrive on time. This “convenience” also comes with a risk that the buyer isn’t given the opportunity to actually “see” his or her item. in order to determine whether the said item is real and without damage. Also, a buyer must solely rely on his or her instincts whether to trust the sellers and all of the items posted on their sites. A buyer’s security is also compromised since he or she must provide the seller with his or her mailing address and credit card number in order to finalize their purchase. These things summed up the reason why the thought of purchasing online never crossed my mind.

This has been my way of thinking about E-commerce for the longest time until I’ve acquired this interest on Japanese video games. I’ve found out that majority of the Japanese video games I like aren’t available in local video game stores. Upon reading game forums, I’ve discovered that gamers from other countries (excluding Japan) who take a liking for these games obtain their copies by buying from online sites. It is from this experience that I’ve understood the advantages of E-commerce. For one, E-commerce is able to provide buyers with opportunities to purchase rarities that cannot be found in local stores. Another thing is that through the internet, businesses are able to reach a wider range of customers thus improving chances for increased profits. Just these two reasons alone make me want to try out E-commerce in order to see for myself whether its pros outweigh its cons.

Looking at our very own local scene, E-commerce hasn’t actually boomed as of yet but businesses are slowly picking up. Majority of the businesses I’ve seen make use of Multiply to display their wares. Some of my contacts in Multiply are actually E-commerce sites. One of the sites sells customized pins while another one sells various computers and cellphones.

From a seller’s point of view I personally believe that businesses should try and venture into E-commerce for I see that its capability of becoming a highly profitable form of dealing business. Add to that that newer generations are easily getting hooked on the internet and on social networking sites thus further widening the range of potential customers businesses can reach through E-commerce. The success of this will be determined with how well the businesses’ manage their sites and how well they handle their relations with customers.

I, myself, have yet to try out E-commerce but sooner or later I just might buy an item online because of the opportunities it offers for people like me. It is a high risk, for both the buyers and the sellers, but its rewards are just as promising for both parties.

What about you? What do you think about E-commerce?

By: Li Ferrer

Pros and Cons of Ecommerce in Social Networking Sites

Upon reading the comments from the previous posts, we decided to list down the pros and cons of ecommerce shopping in social networking sites (such as friendster, multiply, and facebook)

Pros:
- Easy (with just a click of the mouse, one could search for almost anything that he or she wants)

- Convenience (saves a shopper the time and money of going to a mall to purchase an item since he or she can do it within the confines of his or her home)

Cons:
- Identity of the owner of the account (trust plays an important factor when trying to purchase an item online since there's a possibility that it might only be a scam)
- Quality of the products being sold (a customer could only check the item that he purchased only when the item arrives at his doorsteps)
- Some require credit cards for purchasing products
- Some require that the customer pay for the shipping costs of the item that they purchased

An experience while trying to shop online:
While using my multiply account, I stumbled upon a page that sells custom-designed shirts. After looking thru the designs, i found one particular shirt that i liked and i decided that i would buy that item. That was until i saw that the price of the shirt did not include the shipping costs (which was about 60 pesos for metro manila residents) that made the total price unattractive for me. Although the owner of the site received positive feedbacks from past customers, the only downside to his business is that shipping costs are shouldered by the people that wants to buy the items that he is selling. There's one person that commented on his site asking if they could meet someplace so that he could save some money. For me, it would be better if the stores include the shipping price when advertising their items since it gives the wrong information about a product and would surprise a customer when he sees the price quotation for the item.

Got some more ideas about the pros and cons of ecommerce in social networking sites? How about stories/experiences of shopping online? Sound off your thoughts in the comments section.

By: JC Ellescas

Online Shopping: A Safety Checklist

Think online shopping. Yes, thanks to the internet, you can do your shopping right in the safety and comfort of your home. Everything is available to you with just a click of a mouse – clothes, shoes, books, bags, flowers, cellphones and more. And with internet shopping, there is no rush, no long queues, and no worries.

Wait! Do you really have nothing to worry about online shopping? How safe is it really? You know and appreciate the convenience of it – with just a click of a mouse, the item you bought will be delivered, gift-wrapped even, to the person you’re giving your gift too.

So, how do you make online shopping safer and worry-free? Here are some simple tips that you should remember to make your online shopping experience more enjoyable:

Buy from established online shops – just like buying from real shops, you go for those with good reputation, that’s should also be your concern when buying from ‘virtual’ shops. Ask for referrals from friends, check the website’s background. Read the ‘About us’ page and the customers’ feedback page if there are any.

Understand properly the ordering and paying procedures – when you have made your choice of items to buy, read clearly the procedures and policies in placing your orders and how you can make your payment. Place your orders only when you are serious in buying.

Are there any policies on returns, refunds and cancellations? – look out for your welfare. Check if the website is accepting returns and/or refunds for defective or broken items. See if they have after-sales support, and if they offer warranty.

Is the website secure? – make sure that the website is secure before placing your order. You can do this by looking for a padlock icon on the lower right hand corner of the screen. Check also the website’s URL, it should begin with “https” instead of “http.” These are just some of the safeguards to ensure your transactions will not be accessed by hackers. For this tip, it only applies to non-social networking sites.

Paying for your purchases – internet shops usually requires credit cards as the mode of payment. Some entrepreneurs accept bank deposits, cellphone wallet payments and cash on delivery. Surprising as it may seem, credit cards appears to be the best choice for online payment. For one, you can ask for the credit card company’s help if the items purchased is defective and you’re claiming for a refund. You can also be sure that the payment will reach the vendor. Be sure to print a copy of your payment record just in case you want to file a dispute.

Check the merchandise – upon receipt of the item, be sure to check the merchandize so you can contact the vendor immediately if there’s a problem.

Give feedback on the vendor’s website – be sure to leave a feedback on the vendor’s website whether your purchases arrived on time or not, and if you have received them in good condition. This is for the benefit of other online shoppers who might want to buy from the same vendor.

If you remember these simple tips, your shopping online experience will be safer and worry free. And remember, other than your credit card number and number, you don’t need to give any other information to the buyer.

One last important reminder – trust your instinct, when you feel like something’s amiss with the transaction, don’t continue with it.

by JM Tee

Multiply to Ecommerce

Multiply has been a haven for young budding entrepreneurs in the Philippines. The usual scenario is an entrepreneur posts pictures of the things he/she sells, gives her cellular phone number and the payment and delivery options. And voila, the online store is now ready. Next step would be the actual buying. Millions of subscribers in multiply browse through or just stumble upon online stores, negotiate and congratulations! He/She has bought an item from the online store. This just shows that in a minute you can have a business, in hours or even minutes you can buy something. But are we actually talking about Ecommerce here? By definition, ecommerce is the purchasing, selling, and exchanging of goods and services over computer networks (such as the Internet) through which transactions or terms of sale are performed electronically(http://www.digitsmith.com/ecommerce-definition.html). But I define Multiply as the Philippine version of Ecommerce.

As a fourth year student in Ateneo, I have Ecommerce as the major topic for our year long project. Our group actually aims to introduce ecommerce to BSO Network, an NGO with a greater vision of alleviating poverty through social entrepreneurship. As I journey through the Ecommerce jargons for months, I realized that we are way behind of an actual ecommerce. It is a business model that could actually make our lives easier and move at a faster pace. Imagine Robinsons and SM, accepting transactions online. Imagine Abenson, delivering your gadgets on your doorsteps. But what would be actually great is, Filipino entrepreneurs (MSMEs) selling and transacting real-time online and can reach the global market. We’ve got a wide opportunity out there. Multiply is actually a good start for Ecommerce! Kudos again to the Filipino ingenuity! But at the end of the day we still ask, why are we not dwelling to ecommerce? As we study ecommerce, everything is ready! There are a lot of ecommerce tools and instant builders of an ecommerce website. But what’s stopping us? Or let me rephrase the question, what’s stopping the Filipinos in selling and buying products online? Concern for Intellectual Property Rights was raised in one of our FGDs, especially for those who design jewelries and furniture wherein competitors can easily replicate their masterpieces. Selling wholesale was also a problem and the elimination of having an actual experience with the product poses setbacks for some consumers. But above all, years ago and up to until now, Filipinos were always bombarded by media of unsafe transactions using the web, security issues and the like. This fear was actually instilled to the Filipinos and makes the people lean on to the traditional and “safer” way. The challenge now for the advocates of ecommerce is to change that mindset of Filipinos. But the bottom line is, we ponder upon how this innovation can be of value to the entrepreneurs and if this can actually be of complimentary to them.

by: Kristine Claire Ongcangco