My shopping experience with "purplle.com"

The story behind my first purchase in purplle.com :

Winter has faded away and summer has almost arrived. Scorching rays of the sun have already caused sun burns and my skin has tanned badly.On searching for some remedies to remove the already present tan as well as prevent the harmful effects of sun rays, I learnt that a sunblock is a must. 

I was checking out a few e-commerce sites to find some good deals on sunblocks .This is when I stumbled upon "purplle.com"

Home screen of purplle.com

A wonderful purple color header that presents the name " Purplle" with a list of few offers and products below the header is the welcome screen.The layout of the website looks decent. Not  flashy , not dull - just decent. A wide range of products are available on this site and the discount ranges from 3% to 25 % . Currently they do not service orders outside of India.

I felt impressed with the site and registered . 

Before placing my order , I wanted to read some reviews and other people's experience  with this site. Surprisingly, what I found was a lot of complaints and only a few people have ever had a good shopping experience with purplle.

Even after reading through the 'worst case scenario' reviews from many other review sites I was tempted to go ahead with my purchase.

Why did I want to buy products in purplle even after reading the negative reviews?
1. Cash-On-delivery option
2. Good discount [ at the time of buying this was the only site that had good deals for sunblocks]
3. Wanted to try out shopping in purplle 

I ordered 3 sunblocks [ each with some 10% - 15% discount] for Rs 541 on 10th March 2013 . The list price was Rs 649 but due to discount the final price I had to pay was Rs 541 inclusive of the Cash on delivery charge. [Shipping is free when your order exceeds Rs 499. ]

Immediately after I placed my order, I received a message saying that I would be receiving a call from the customer care "soon" in order the confirm the order. I was having my mobile with me for a very long time expecting the so called verifying call. Finally, the next day evening ,I got a call from their customer care to verify the order . After confirming my order I asked the customer care person details regarding the shipping and delivery dates . She said that  the products will be delivered within 4 business days and that I would be receiving e-mails regarding the shipping and tracking. 

I received a mail with details on shipping and tracking on 12th of march , just as she said. I received the products on 14th of March 2013. The packing was very cheap but the products were in good condition. 

Conclusions drawn from the first purchase :

1. Good deals for most of the products that they sell

2. Even rarely available products are 'in-stock' 

3. Shipping and delivery time does not exceed 4 business days.

4. Shipping is free when purchased more than Rs 499/- and COD option is available.

5. Virtual Makeover is available [ Though I haven't tried it yet , I did want to mention it]

6. Points that can be used for discount [ not available in C-O-D]

Wonderful experience right? So guess what I would have done for my next online purchase...

Purchase No : 2 

Overjoyed with the discount and the brands available I decided to make my next purchase here. This is where I went wrong. My next order was placed on 18th march 2013 for Rs 697. After the usual procedure of receiving a message and a confirmation call , I was expecting to get an email with the shipping and delivery details the very next day.

Today is 21st March 2013 and I haven't received any mails from purplle till now. My order status is still "verified" and I wonder why the products haven't even been shipped yet. 

My order history page 

I wanted to know why I haven't received any mail from them. I called up their customer care number only to find that it doesn't even exist. So I was left with no option other than sending them an email. No response from purplle till now and  I don't think they are going to respond at all. Even if they do, it won't be today...

I have made up my mind to wait till tomorrow evening for some kind of a response from them. 

(I will add an update to this post in a few days regarding what happened to purchase no 2.)

Points to remember :

1. Don't even try calling the customer care number ... IT DOESN'T EXIST. 
2. Packaging is bad [Even though the products are in good condition]
3. Be prepared to wait , wait and wait till you forget that you have ordered something 

I wonder how they expect to survive in the market with this kind of a lame service. 

Now, you decide for yourself whether you want to go ahead with your purchase at purplle.com

[Update: I received a mail from Purplle customer care today[22/3/2013]. The mail states that the shipping was delayed due to the unavailability of a product .Finally , I asked them to cancel that particular product and ship the rest. Seems they have shipped it and I will be receiving it 3-4 business days. ]

Bubbye :)

Have a happy day !