Before clicking on the ‘buys‘ in a great deal online, make sure the product is genuine, because it turns out that fakes and replicas of name-brand products are flourishing in India’s booming online clothing retail markets.

When it comes to online shopping, legitimacy is the number one factor for anyone buying for the first time or multiple times, especially when shopping for clothing and other tangible items.

Before you take your Visa/master out of your wallet and click “Buy”, there are several security measures you should take, even if you are a seasoned online shopper.

Why we should be careful with fake online stores

If you are determined to buy online from an international website, please take a few minutes to assess the validity of the site. First, check the proper contact details, including a phone number and email address under the same domain as the website address. An immediate red flag should be raised when you can’t find a phone number (and if it’s present but contains a dodgy country code, call it and see what happens). Physical address details must also be available.

If you can’t find the right address and phone number in the contact section of any website, don’t buy there.

Avoid shopping on Marketplaces when planning to buy clothes

While the business of online shopping sites is growing rapidly in India, so are complaints about fake or duplicate products being sold on these marketplaces.

When it comes to clothing purchases in India, almost 67% of the products sold in these markets are returned by buyers. These marketplaces allow anyone to sell whatever they have without QA checking. The worst scenario is when you order from these marketplaces, the items are shipped directly from the sellers without any quality checks.

There are famous market places like craftstvilla, mirraw, zipker, indiarush which are struggling with extremely high return rate.

Review websites are inundated with complaints and bad reviews about these markets.

Giving multiple sellers the opportunity to sell the same product on the same platform, these sites can attract crafty sellers who trick consumers into making a quick buck by displaying the image of the branded item but shipping an entirely different product or products. Similar.

That huge discount on such websites could soon lead to frustration.

People love discounts. The word “Sell” is used to physiologically convert buyers’ minds when the MRP has been rigged to set it high and then slashed the purchase price.

When you see “40% off”, “70% off”, the chance of getting fake items is higher. So do not covet big discounts.

You have to shop smart and not fall prey to attractive discounts and offers. Remember, there are deals, good deals, great deals, and amazing deals. And then there are the too-good-to-be-true deals. It is the last one that one should be careful with as the chances of it being a fake are high. For example, an original image of a sari worth Rs 6,000 can be used to sell a fake/replica mother sari for Rs 800 or even less, or a branded wedding lehenga worth Rs 25,000 can be sold. you can buy only for 2000 rupees (of course, a fake one).

One of our regular customers from Trinidad and Tobago, Usha, placed an order on mirraw.com because she found the prices very cheap. His experience turned out to be the worst buying experience. Later, when he came back to us, we informed him that he could have googled it and looked for mirraw reviews before trying it.

You should also check on quora what people are saying about them. So the bigger question is why do those sites still exist? The answer is simple: they take advantage of the person’s greed. (Sale, Discount, Offer)

The story is the same for other markets. They have tons of bad reviews on the internet, but still they are able to lure customers with great deals and discounts.

Therefore, customer reviews are a great tool to verify the authenticity of the website.

According to the managing director of an online research agency

“I have been observing the pattern of the problems buyers are facing in recent years. Just 3-4 years ago, customers had their trust in websites and they were sure that they would get the same thing that is shown on the website.But these days, customers are so scared that they ask for an original (non-modeled) photo of the product.

Make sure someone is behind your butt to help you.

Most of these newly flourishing markets do not have any direct contact numbers where you can speak to someone and discuss your purchase or post-purchase concerns. Always try to talk to someone who can understand your concerns and can always help you.

When you talk to someone before your purchase, you get the satisfaction that you’re in safe and genuine hands.

We have been in business for the last 10 years and our customers love talking to us. We provide one-on-one customer service, whether for pre-sale or after-sale. This is why we have a near 0% return rate.

“Customers call us and discuss their requirements with me before making a purchase. This gives them confidence and reduces any chance of confusion or order discrepancies,” says Natasha, Head of Customer Service.

8 important tips to remember before making a purchase

If you see a great deal online, it can be tempting to grab it right away, but first, protect your wallet by knowing how to spot some important warning signs.

1. Don’t fall into the trap of discounts that are too big.

Always remember that quality products are never heavily discounted.

2. Avoid buying in specialized clothing markets

The reason why markets are not a good idea to buy, they are neither manufacturers, nor retailers nor complete sellers, they have not even seen the products that sellers supply to customers. They are just a commission agent who earns from the seller when he sells something on his platform. They do not care about the quality of items sold by different sellers. They don’t listen to you if something goes wrong. They offer you attractive and lucrative offers to catch you.

3. If the site has not existed for a long time

Then check their background like reviews

If a site is new, there are chances that it is not legitimate. Genuine, good companies have been in business for decades and you can trust them.

4. If you cannot pay by credit or debit card.

You should be alert when there is no option to pay with credit or debit cards. Paying with credit cards is the safest way to pay as it protects you against any mishap.

5. Never pay into anyone’s account unless they are trustworthy.

Many sellers are cheating by selling through Facebook WhatsApp. They ask you to pay by bank transfer or directly into anyone’s bank account. Beware of such sellers.

6. If there is questionable contact information

If the contact email provided is a Yahoo email address, Gmail, or if there is simply a form to fill out on the page instead of an address or phone number, be careful. If you do not find a suitable contact address and telephone number, please never visit this website again.

7. If there is no clear refund policy

Trusted companies always provide the right information in case you need to return your purchase or are not satisfied with your order. So always look for the refund policy.

8. Bad reviews

As you know, no business can have 100% positive reviews, but if most of the reviews are negative, you should run away from that website. Of course, more negative reviews from other users are one of the biggest signs that a website is fraudulent. Type the name of the website and “reviews” into Google and see if there are any complaints about the site.