Do’s and Don’ts of Ordering from Instagram Sellers

Do’s and Don’ts of Ordering from Instagram Sellers – Part 4

Hey gorgeous gals,

In part 4 of the Decoding Series (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3), we will cover all the Dos and Don’ts of ordering from Insta Resellers and decoding some of the jargon. If you missed reading the first 3 parts, please do so 🙂 Part 1 of the series discussed how to identify a potentially fake Instagram reseller from a real one; Part 2 covered the pricing aspect in detail and the markup; Part 3 was all about the behind the scene activities. So, let us get down to discussing what are the things to be kept in mind before you place the order with a reseller, so here goes:

Dos and Donts of Ordering from Instagram Sellers Part 4

1. Inquiry:
Before ordering, please reconfirm the price of the product. Every reseller has a bit of workable margin. So the rate given to one person may sometimes be slightly different than the rate given to a second person. Do not go by their rate quoted to another person – unless the rate has been publicly shared by the reseller on their Insta post or Insta story.

2. “Confirmed” orders:
A reseller will update you about a new launch or a cult favourite and will inform you that they will be placing orders for this product, but will state that only “confirmed” orders will be paid. If you are new to this, you will probably message the reseller and “confirm” that you are interested. At this point, a reseller will generally share their payment mode with you – so that you can go ahead and make a payment. Please note, if you don’t make this payment – the order is not “confirmed.” Simply put – a “confirmed order” is a paid-for order. Conversely, you cannot wake up a week down from placing your order and ask for your money back as you have changed your mind or have decided to order from someone else who is offering the product at a lesser price. Once you pay the amount to the reseller, the reseller places the order with the respective retailer. Post this, they do not necessarily have the option of cancelling the order with the retailer and honestly, they shouldn’t be made to do so anyway.

lipstick shades

3. Upselling:
The reseller is in the business of selling makeup. You would come across a few who are extremely interactive and will constantly share makeup swatches or application with you. While some may be genuine, please do understand that it is their business to sell products to you. They obviously will say that this palette is so amazing or this primer is the best thing since sliced bread – and the XYZ product readily available in the market or on an Indian website is crap. Their business depends on you buying the product from them. They will post well searched swatches of the product – where the product looks absolutely stunning. However, please do due diligence on your end. Please check reviews, swatches of the product yourself, before committing on buying. The reseller’s account or their personal account does not become your reference point for product quality/swatches/reviews.

4. Returns/Exchange:
There is NO possibility of Return/Exchange when it comes to makeup. This may not come as a shock to most people in India because 99.99% brands in India anyway do not offer exchange/return, but considering the products come from US, especially a lot of the products are sourced from Sephora, some people assume that the Exchange/Return offer will come into play. It does not. Once shipped into India – the reseller has little to no means of sending the product back to Sephora or wherever it came from. Also, being a small entity, they cannot absorb the cost of your return/exchange. The only exception to this would be if you received a damaged product or a fake item!

5. Shipping charges:
And we keep coming back to this point. Please ensure when you enquire about a product, you clearly ask about the shipping charges. Always make sure! I appreciate insta sellers who update their post clearly mentioning shipping charges included or separate. You will not believe how many times I have been bit by additional shipping charges. I will have made the payment and then someone will state – “Ah! you forgot to pay for shipping charges (which till then you had thought were included)”. I once had someone asking me for shipping charges even when she had confirmed shipping to be free. I actually had to go back and screenshot the conversation and send to her. The best was when someone stated “no shipping charges over INR 2500.” And when I purchased Kylie Lip Kit – INR 2800, I was still asked for shipping. And when I reminded the reseller that she had clearly stated no additional shipping over INR 2500 – she responded back with – “Ah! But not for Kylie products!!!” WTF!! Needless to say, such transactions left a bad taste in my mouth and I don’t go back to those resellers. However, just a reminder to the customer to be aware and ask upfront.

Cosmetics and perfumes

6. Packaging:
This is a crucial aspect. Please ensure you insist that the reseller packages the products really well. I mentioned my experience earlier of having received a limited edition eyeshadow palette so badly packaged that it came to me with a number of shades broken. The sad bit is that you can only do so much here. The rest is upon the reseller. The good ones understand how crucial this aspect is and will send you stuff which is so well packed that it will take you 20 minutes, just to figure which side to open the package from!

Packaging cosmetics