We’ve all heard the stories. People buy expensive gadgets or products on Lazada (and maybe Shopee) and when they open their boxes they get rocks or crumpled newspapers inside. Essentially the buyer got screwed over and the seller – or someone along the chain of custody – pilfered the actual product and replaced it with worthless junk. Nobody would admit to know what happened to it or if the seller was even legit in the first place. It’s all assumed that the lawlessness and greed of Filipinos are to blame and people take it as a precautionary tale when buying online. That’s why a lot of consumers still insist on buying items offline or with cash on delivery – because there’s little to no chance of being scammed.

But I’ve always been skeptical of these rumors – because Lazada does have pretty good consumer protection policies for when this happens. If any of their sellers actually deliver rocks to their customers, then both Lazada’s and the seller’s reputation would get irreparably damaged. And what good is an online store if it has a bad reputation?

Additionally, my previous experiences with Lazada’s customer satisfaction guarantees have been good so far. I’ve once returned a tablet that developed a faulty backlight, and also got an action cam with a buggy user interface. In both cases I wrapped them both up, took them to LBC for return, and I was refunded quickly and offered an apology. It was clear neither Lazada nor the sellers were intentionally selling lemons. But this time its different.

You remember the article I wrote about Lazada no longer accepting Paypal, where I mentioned I was looking to replace a cabinet? Well the new cabinets just arrived, but I got them in kiddie-pool colored Baby Blue instead of Gray. AND ITS NOT EVEN THE SAME CABINET.

The item’s page clearly puts gray in the product name and on the product image. Plus, what I got wasn’t even the same cabinet – they sent me a single column shoe rack instead of a 2 column bookshelf. (I needed the wider shelf for longer items.)

That’s not all. The item’s description clearly says the shelf measurements are 125cm x 31cm x 82cm. (I know this because I’ve measured the space where the cabinet will go.) The shoe cabinet I got is a mere 60cm x 30cm x 86cm. By size of cabinet alone, I just received HALF OF THE CABINET I PAID FOR.

WHAT LOAD OF CRAP IS THIS?!

There is no mistaking the intention. I was clearly sent the wrong item on purpose. They even included a receipt that says I ordered a GRAY BOOKSHELF. What kind of dispatcher at a warehouse would see a delivery order that’s clearly marked as GRAY BOOKSHELF and pick up a BLUE SHOE CABINET to ship?!

What kind of really smart person would then put this same receipt onto the package, carefully bubble wrap it, and not notice the item is clearly not the same one on the receipt?

I mean, its fricking blue!

So its pretty obvious. This is clearly not a mistake. This seller, named Lucky 313 Inc., knowingly sent me the wrong item. A cheaper, arguably less popular item half the size and much less desirable than the one I paid for.

This is a scam. A clear as day scam.

Whether or not the seller actually had Gray Bookshelves in stock, they opted to – very knowingly – sell me a product that’s clearly not the same, with a lower value.

Yes, it’s still a cabinet. And I assume that’s how they get away with it. I’ve seen a lot of products with bad reviews claiming they received the wrong color or didn’t get all the parts. I’ve always chalked those up to human error. But this one is clever.

This company sends the buyer a complete item, but cheaper than what he or she bought. Then, by hoping the buyer won’t complain or wouldn’t notice the difference, they’d have just sold them a lesser product for full price. That’s the modus.

There’s no denying this one. We caught them in a bold faced lie. You really can’t explain what’s happening here other than the obvious.

If they didn’t have any gray bookshelves in stock, they could have simply cancelled my order or marked the product as sold out. Instead, they thought I was a sucker that would keep this kiddie blue shoe box nobody wants.

I could only imagine HOW MANY PEOPLE THIS HAPPENS TO EVERYDAY. If this has happened to me, then it has happened to hundreds if not thousands more. This company clearly preys upon those people who are too busy to complain; too far from an LBC to ship it back; or haven’t checked the item before the refund window has expired.

In all those cases, this Lucky 313 would have gotten away with it. And if they did get caught, they’d just refund the order and call it a day at virtually no cost to their bottom line.

But who pays for the time I’ve wasted waiting for the delivery to arrive? Only to get the wrong item, having to pack it again, and carting it off to LBC? Yes, Lazada does shoulder the costs of return shipping, but the whole afternoon I’ve wasted returning this I’ll never get back.

How about Lazada compensate us for wasted time and stress? How about they punish erring sellers like this Lucky 313 with harsher sanctions for erroneous, clearly scammy, practices? There needs to be better control over these sellers other than just the slap on the wrist of a bad review and seller rating.

And if you think I’m being too dramatic or harsh about this, just remember: PEOPLE ARE OUT THERE GETTING SCAMMED BY THIS EVERYDAY.

Lazada needs to get their crap together. Now if you’ll excuse me I have a trip to LBC I need to plan this afternoon.