Monday, Apr 29, 2013
Dubai: Shopping online may be fraught with dangers, but it is a smart way to shop and save money, insist buyers and sellers alike.
Online shopping has caught up with UAE consumers of late, with dozens of webstores coming to the fore, selling a wide range of products from cosmetics and clothing to electronics and home appliances.
But not all is well with the sector, as consumers often get cheated, prompting Dubai Municipality to issue new guidelines and controls.
Welcoming the municipality’s move, Sheriff Rizwan, CEO and founder of Alshop.com, a popular Dubai-based webstore, said it’s high time online shopping is more closely monitored and controlled.
“It is good to know that authorities are taking notice of some of the activties that are taking place in e-commerce. I hope consumers will be safer now,” said Rizwan.
However, he added that most of the webstores operating in Dubai are based in freezones and hence don’t follow the same regulations that Dubai-based firms need to.
But he insisted that online shopping is a safe and smart way of saving money while buying.
“Shopping online is smart and cost-effective, but consumers need to be careful when they make the deals and share their financial details. It is important that they make sure the webstores they are dealing with are registered with local authorities,” said Rizwan, whose webstore sells a wide range of consumer products.
He said that the best way to deal with webstores is to make payment on delivery.
“We offer cash or credit card payment on delivery and the majority of our customers opt for these payment modes, This way consumers can make sure they have their desired products in hand before they pay,” added Sheriff.
A regular online shopper, Mohammad Taha, also agreed: “I frequently shop online, but I make payments only on delivery after making sure the product is the same that I ordered.”
By Shafaat Shahbandari?Staff Reporter
Gulf News 2013. All rights reserved.
