[Store Review] Althea.kr Online Store #2 - Discounts and Parcel Tracking

Hello there! Here's an update on my previous Althea.kr Online Store review.

(click here to view my first Althea.kr Store Review ).

This is a review of my 2nd purchase through Althea.kr, and I'll be sharing with you some of the stuff that I did to get more discounts, and some of the differences I found when tracking my parcel.

Getting Discounts:

During my first purchase, I made the error of not waiting. Being patient can be rewarding. In this case, waiting till the festive season! Signing up for their newsletters is also a good way to get notified of new discounts, campaigns and promo codes.

My second order from Althea.kr

For my second purchase, I did it during the Merdeka month (August 2015), thus getting the top 10 Merdeka products at a discounted price. On top of that, I've subscribed to their newsletter, and was given a Merdeka event promo code that awards you a RM40 discount with purchase of RM200 (promo code shown as ata40 in the picture above).

For that month also, they had a campaign whereby new sign-ups are given RM20 credit to spend. So in total, I've saved RM66 from just discounts, promo codes and free credits!

Although, the new sign-up for free RM20 campaign is over, I saw a new advert saying that if you sign-up now you'd get RM15 credit free! So what are you waiting for? Go sign up! and collect them credits! hahaha

Getting Rebates:

Another way to get discounts is by rebate. It maybe from your credit or debit cards, banks, and even other websites!

For me, I came across milkadeal cashback, and purchased Althea products from there, gaining me an extra 5% rebate which amounted to around RM10 for my second purchase.

(CLICK HERE FOR MILKADEAL CASHBACK SITE)

Milkadeal Homepage

As you can see, there's not only Althea, but other really popular websites too. So check them out by clicking here.

My Pending Cashback Activity

To show you how it works, this is my cashback activity page. As you can see I have 2 Althea purchases, and one groupon purchase cashback still pending for confirmation. This is the part that might take awhile.

Reason for that is explained in Milkadeal's FAQ page.

Why is my Cashback pending?

When you first receive your cashback in your account, it will be stated as “pending”. It will be confirmed once our partner websites inform us that there will be no further issues with your purchase (no disputes / refunds / cancellations). In the case of holiday, hotel and flight bookings, it will take slightly longer until you have consumed your booking (no amendments / cancellations).

How long will it take? Well it differs from companies to companies because some companies have a 30 days return policy or cancellation whereas some don't. Those that has returns, disputes, refunds, or cancellation policies will take a longer time. That is, after the end of the 30 / 40 days policy.

So, just be patient I guess?

*** TRACKING UPDATE***

Now on to the tracking updates:

There was some difference when I was tracking my parcel this time around, and I'll show you what it is and why not to worry.

e-cargo tracking

So this was what I've gotten when tracking through e-cargo. It says delivery failure, and of course I panicked, because I was home all day, and skynet did not come. At first I thought there was a problem in my address or information. So I contacted Althea, and Daniel, again, very efficiently, gave me a skynet tracking number to track my parcel locally.

Skynet Tracking

So as you can see, on the 3rd of September, where e-cargo shows 'delivery failure'. In SkyNet, it shows departed to HUB, meaning it's on its way from the airport to your local SkyNet hub for processing. It was not sent for delivery to your house. Thus, there was no delivery failure. It just wasn't sent.

I got my parcel on the 4th of September eventho SkyNet tracking shows 'delivered' on the 5th. But it's all good.

So don't worry if you get 'delivery failure' when you track your parcel on e-cargo, sometimes, there's just a little misunderstanding there.

Thanks for reading!

See ya soon!

[Review] Althea.kr Online Store

Honk Honk Honk!~ Store Review coming thru~!

Hey there! I'm here with another online store review! This time? ALTHEA.kr !
and the webpage looks somewhat like this:

Althea's Homepage

So you'd think that ohhh, it's another one of those beauty store like hermo.my right? Not so fast people!!

It might be another one of those online beauty stores but the thing is, prices here are wayyyyy cheaper! So cheap I'm not even going to walk out of my house, spend on my petrol, and drive all the way to a shopping mall to buy the same things ever again!

Seriously tho, price on this site is unbeatable! It's even cheaper than prices in landed stores during promo period. Plus, Althea boasts a best price guarantee where if you are able to find products cheaper than theirs, they'll match it for you! Fantazaaminggg concept, if you ask me.

Also, they provide expedited shipment straight from the land of K-pop FOR FREE!!! (actually with purchase of RM150 and above, but what is RM150 nowadays? It's so easily achievable!) And it took only 5 shorter-than-my-mynonexistenteyelashes days from Korea to Malaysia! and that's inclusive of the weekends! So in actuality it took only 3 working days!! So freaking unbelievable right?

hahaha I'm filled with so much excites I'm puking rainbow as I type.

Don't believe me? Just take a look at this:

Shipping status

As you can see, it starts out from Korea, and goes straight to your house using Skynet! btw, the skynet delivery guy in my area is super duper friendly. Asks about your day, smiles and all. Sungai Buloh's Numba1 deliveryman!

Now, on to the customer service. And it was just sweet baby cakes INCREDIBLEESSSSS~~
Daniel was such an efficient sweetie, he replied my mails within a day! And that guys, is how you treat a girl, by being attentive! Whatever you're doing just keep on doing it Danny boy!

Email conversation

Next, Unboxing!!! laalalala confetti coming outta my ears~~

I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves.

Here comes the hot pink parcel! <3

Bubble Wrap Layer #1 - Box

Personalized receipt in a letter form +
Pretty baby pink Althea Box!

Bubble Wrap Layer #2 - Each Product
Bubble Wrap Layer #3 Below underneath pink frilly papers

My babies! 

Don't you just love the super cute pink package? and the baby pink box? filled with baby pink frilly papers? And The triple layer of bubble wrap!... Just so you know your baby was 100% safe from the dangerous and treacherous process of transportation!

The limited edition Laneige Play Nomore BB Cushion may also be why I'm absolutely in love with this site. Eventho it was shown to be a normal Laneige BB Cushion on their website, they actually sent me the latest Play Nomore edition! So rest assured that even with the amazing low prices, all your purchases are new genuine products, and not rejects!

The only downside i feel, was the lack of variety, but I'll cut Althea some slack, because they are quite the new comer in the field, and what they lack (product range) they make up for literally everything else!!

But hey, maybe they'll bring in more products once they get more business flow. Fingers crossed! XX

(Update: Actually, they are updating their products, albeit a little slow, but definitely progressing!)

Overall: ❤❤❤❤❤ 5/5 Lowest price, amazing qualilty, efficient and fast delivery + Customer service. I have no complaints at all. It's 99.99% perfect! I'll definitely be purchasing from Althea.kr again!

So that's all peeps!
Hope this review was useful to you, and I'll see you soon!

*Disappears into my tiny barbie doll house*

Oh by the way, Althea's giving out free RM20 credit for new sign ups in the month of August, so go grab those before it ends!

Good luck!

***CHECK OUT MY UPDATE ON ALTHEA.KR STORE - DISCOUNTS AND PARCEL TRACKING HERE! ***

[Review] StrawberryNET.com Malaysia Online Store

Hi there, after a long hiatus, I'm BACK!

Today i'll be reviewing an online beauty store based in Hong Kong - StrawberryNET Malaysia. 

StrawberryNet Malaysia (English version)

Why Malaysia when it's based in HK you ask? 

Well, they have different sites set in different languages to cater for worldwide customers!

For example, the Malaysia site has both Malay (Melayu) and English to choose from.

StrawberryNet Malaysia (Malay version)

Navigation on the site is 'so-so'.. It's not a shop that I would go 'window-shopping' on because it doesn't have a page that shows all their products in any order, such as best selling or best discounted etcetera. It always brings you back to a particular brand. So, I would say that this is a site for people who already know what brand or products they want , add into cart and then just check out. Fast, efficient shopping. That's it. 

***PRICE, DISCOUNTS & PROMOS***

What's good about this website is the currency setting. It's in RM so you don't need to go thru the hassle of converting from USD to MYR. However, USD will be used during payment.

Another amazing thing is, the amount of discountssssss on top of already cheap product price (compared to retail price in Malaysia) and free shipping!

Below are some of the permanent discounts given by StrawberryNet:

Special Volume Discounts

Special Loyalty Discounts

What's even better about this site is that it allows you to get discounts and freebies on top of discounts.

To show you, what i mean:

This is my second time shopping with them so that entitles me to a 1% loyalty discount. On top of that, I got a Bourjois concealer for free (a promotion in conjunction with Malaysia Day), a renewal bonus that entitled me to an extra 10% off + 3 gifts, and lastly another 10% off again because there's a 10% off promo on all orders during the time of my purchase.

StrawberryNet Confirmation Email

Get it? Promos on top of promos! However, since I only bought 1 item, I missed out on the special volume discount. Still super worth it tho.

***DELIVERY, TRACKING & SHIPPING TIME***

Shipping worldwide is free!

Except for perfumes, fragrances, colognes, there will be a charge 10% but to a maximum USD 15,00. The reason is also answered by StrawberryNET in the FAQ section, and I've quoted it below:

Q. Why is there a charge for shipping fragrances?
A. At the moment, fragrance must be shipped using special procedures to comply with international postal regulations. Unfortunately this dramatically increases our transport costs so we regret that we have been forced to now charge a small fee to cover these costs. Please note that the charge is 10% of the value of the fragrances in your order, and the maximum shipping cost for any fragrance order is US$15, which still reflects excellent value.
However, if we can combine fragrance with skincare in the same order, much simpler documentation is involved and we can send more quickly using registered post for FREE.
Please also note that all discounts are still applicable to fragrance shipments (1-5% Buy More Save More discount, plus up to a 10% loyalty discount), and shipping for skincare and makeup is still free worldwide.

Delivery time is said to be 4-6 days to major cities and 7-10 days to other areas. 

The delivery agent or company used was directlink. You can track your parcel via directlink homepage here or you can just track your order through StrawberryNet's track your order page by supplying your order number given to you in the confirmation email, as shown below.

Tracking StrawberryNet's Order

I'm in Kuala Lumpur, so it should take less than a week, but since 31st August - 1st September was a public holiday in Malaysia, my order was only delivered to me on the 2nd of September. A total of 7 days including Saturday, Sunday and public holiday, or only 4 working days! 

Kudos to fast, efficient and not to mention FREE shipping and delivery!

***PACKAGING***

Of course, the parcel came in a plastic envelop wrapper thing like any other EMS deliveries.

Open up the plastic envelop and you'll see a little white gift box tied with purple ribbon, like below. In the box, are 2 foam boards on the top and bottom lid, filled with a bunch of foam peanuts to keep your little babies (purchases) safe from impact.

Little gift box.

Products wrapped in foam boards and peanuts.

***CUSTOMER SERVICE & REFUND***

StrawberryNet's customer service promises email replies in less than an hour and all cancellation must be done within an hour after the confirmation of an order.

Here's an email conversation for a cancellation of order.

Email conversation for cancellation of StrawberryNet's order

It took around 20-30mins for customer service to reply. Pretty fast for an international shopping site I'd say. Easy cancellation too! No questions asked. Plus, I got my refund the next day (27 August). Very very efficient.

Overall: ❤❤❤❤♡ 4/5 Website navigation can be better, even more if there's a sign in option where I can track all my historical purchases. Nonetheless It's a trustworthy, very efficient, no hanky panky website. Will definitely visit again!