Sunday, September 25, 2011

Daiso Mandarin Centre Chatswood: Not Just Another Dollar Store


Dollar stores have traditionally been one-stop shops for affordable products. They became popular among housewives, families and individuals looking for great bargains priced at just one dollar or under. Dollar stores have become popular places for finding low-priced housewares, office supplies, stationeries, decorative items and even collectibles. Unfortunately, dollar stores have gained an unfortunate reputation in some places, becoming the type of shops that people frequent when they want disposable, low-quality products. Not so Daiso Mandarin Centre Chatswood.

The Daiso magic
Daiso Mandarin Centre Chatswood is one of the many franchises from Daiso Japan, a chain of dollar stores that is the most famous of 100 Yen shops found in Japan. Daiso can indeed qualify as a dollar store but the similarity stops there. Unlike most dollar stores that chose to sell closeout items, factory surplus or secondhand items, Daiso offers only brand new product lines. That means that each time you purchase from Daiso Mandarin Centre Chatswood, the product you buy is guaranteed new - never been used, repaired or refurbished.

But what about the quality?
The unique thing about Daiso quality is that customers are always assured that while prices are so low, they do not need to be wary of the quality of the items they buy. Daiso sources many of its products from suppliers but they have stringent requirements regarding the quality. If a product does not pass their quality specifications, it does not get sold at any of the stores. Daiso also helps keep quality up by designing and producing their own brand of goods, all produced using the Daiso standard of quality.

How does Daiso keep prices so low?
As mentioned, the products outsourced by Daiso are imported, so suppliers and producers are chosen carefully not just for the quality of their items but also for their prices. Plus, they also supply hundreds of their stores from these producers so they can readily keep prices at affordable levels by purchasing in bulk. With the high volume, the company is always assured that prices are kept at manageable levels. It also helps that since the company purchases directly from sellers, they do away with markups from middlemen. Whatever savings they get from these then gets passed on to customers.

And of course, there’s the variety. Daiso Mandarin Centre Chatswood, like the hundreds of Daiso stores around the world, offers a wide range of products from kitchenware to personal care to gardening to arts and crafts. And yes, for customers looking for Japanese products such as chopsticks, bowls, dolls, fans and decorative items at bargain basement prices, there’s no other store that can meet their needs but Daiso.

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Lower Your Risk in Online Shopping


            Every year, the number of people who shop online increases steadily.  Also, the trend of shopping through a mobile device is increasing rapidly. Whatever people do, they can easily access the internet and purchase things online.  How convenient is that?

            Although there is the hype in online shopping, there are also some risks associated with it.  Number one is security. Some people, who are not used in shopping online, are worried that their purchased products will not be delivered to them or the product delivered is not the expected item shown on the website. But with today’s internet shopping revolution, more and more people are doing business online efficiently and honestly.  According to a recent research, only 1 out of 4 buyers considers the risk in shopping online.

            So, how can we minimize the risk when shopping online?

            In order to lessen or get rid off of the risk is to deal with reputable sellers. Shopping sites such as eBay, sellers are awarded as they do more successful transactions with buyers. They both give feedbacks to each other ( seller to buyer and buyer to seller). One thing to put confidence on a seller is that they have complete contact information if you want to ask for any details and clarification, they a clear return policy if you wish to return your product, have appropriate shipping policy, the seller have a set of positive feedbacks from previous customers and transactions.  And check appropriate documents regarding your product.

             Another way of minimizing the risk in shopping online is to check the authenticity of the website or store. Don’t be fooled with the enticing product presentations, images on the website.  Double check the listings of the products if they match. Most shopping sites have ways of letting the customers view the products through images and description of the products.  For the payment, check for third-party payment systems such as Paypal, Alertpay, Payment or equivalent. These payment sites have more security in payment processing than paying through credit card.
         
          With the internet revolution, comes the advent of online shopping. Virtually, you can do many businesses online. And that includes, purchasing products on the web. In order to avoid the risk of fraud, learn the simple reminders of double checking the website and before transacting with a buyer.  And eventually, you’ll get rid the risk of online shopping.