Is Buyma Legit? Should You SHOP There?
The online apparel industry has continued to rapidly expand year after year, as many luxury brands have moved away from traditional storefront locations.
With over 7 million users, Buyma is one of the world’s most prominent online fashion apparel marketplaces, selling items ranging from clothing and shoes to jewelry and cosmetic bags.
Buyma – Transaction Process
Buyma specializes in providing customers with some of the best designer brand fashion products on the market.
With all transactions exclusively handled online.
The hallmark of Buyma’s transaction process is the “personalized shopper” who is responsible for taking orders from customers.
And then purchasing the merchandise directly from the manufacturer, vendor, or warehouse.
Once the items are purchased, the Personalized Shopper will then ship them directly to the customer.
While delivery can take up to 18 days, it is important to note that the brands offered on Buyma are some of the highest quality apparel items available and would otherwise be difficult to obtain.
Customers can choose to have their items gift wrapped.
Making it a great option for a special occasion, or simply packaged normally.
Is Buyma Legit?
Buyma has established itself as a legitimate online marketplace.
With 80,000 registered Personal Shoppers from 128 countries servicing over 7,600 brands from around the world, the platform is big enough.
Founded in Japan in 2005 by Enigmo, Inc., and headquartered in Tokyo, Buyma has a massive mobile presence with more than 5 million downloads to date.
It has an active presence on almost all forms of social media including Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn.
The Platform
It’s important to note that there are two websites featuring the brand’s wares.
One is the official website at Buyma.com and the other is Buyma.us which seems to be affiliated with the company from the look of things.
Now, if you look at the reviews on Trustpilot, you’ll see that most of the reviews are on Buyma.us.
This means those who are trying to buy on there aren’t getting satisfactory service.
And if the products still have to be shipped from Buyma’s headquarters in Japan, then you can expect some hiccups along the way.
But that isn’t to rule out the fact that some shady stuff can be going on all the Buyma platforms.
With so many sellers and nothing to stop them from being scammy, stuff can happen.
I’m sure those who are in Japan will likely have a good experience since they can physically verify the seller if they want to.
But for those outside the shores of the country, it’s either praying you to meet an ethical/reputable seller or shop elsewhere.
Buyma’s Reviews and Ratings
Although it has generated much success since its founding, Buyma currently gets mixed reviews online.
Trustpilot currently rates the company at a 3.2/5.
While scam-detector.com gives the company website itself a rating of 48.5/100.
Many of the complaints revolve around problems with shipments not arriving on time or at all.
However, it is important to note that many other reviews report no issues at all with shipping and give high ratings.
The most accurate assessment of Buyma is that the online fashion marketplace is still a developing medium.
So, it can suffer from supply chain issues due to the large numbers of personnel employed across many countries.
How to Avoid the Bad Actors
From the look of things, it seems buying on Buyma may require you to do your homework if you want to avoid being scammed.
Check the Seller
The most important thing is to ensure the brand/seller you’re buying from is legit.
Even if you’re buying on Amazon (and the seller isn’t Amazon) this also applies. So, look at the reviews and the star ratings.
You can even check reviews about the particular seller outside the platform using Google. That way you get unbiased opinions.
Is it too Cheap?
The next thing you want to do is to not be greedy.
If the price looks too cheap for what you want to buy, it’s probably a trap.
aAlways have a range in mind by checking some other places. Once you have a range, you know whether to buy or not when the price falls within or outside the price range.
Ask for Pictures of the Product
Ask to see pictures of the product you want to buy. This isn’t foolproof and may crash down due to two factors.
First, they may send you real/good pictures without intending to send the actual product.
Second, there is a language barrier that may affect communication where they don’t understand you.
But the more you do, the better your chances of avoiding being scammed.
Conclusion: Is Buyma Legit?
Buyma is a reputable and legit platform to shop on. However, you have to be very careful when buying from there since there are lots of different sellers there.
Some of which are unethical.
Try and do your homework by making sure you find out as much as possible about the seller as well as the product you’re buying.
