Korean Job Discussion Forums

[taobenli]

Hi all-
It's been a giant headache trying to order some curtains for my newish apartment for the last two weeks from Gmarket. My orders fail every single time, and I have no idea why, as I used the exact same card for three earlier orders. They keep telling me to wait and try again in 3-4 days, and it's just getting idiotic. So, due to their incompetence and terribly designed website, I'd love to find an alternative.

Curtains at E-market were too expensive, so I'd love to find somewhere similar to order them online so they're shipped to me quickly, somewhere that will take 1) foreign credit cards (MC/VISA) (my preference) or 2) a bank transfer from my Korean bank.

Any other websites you'd recommend? Even if I have to borrow a friend's ID number or straight up get a Korean to order for me, I'm SICK of dealing with Gmarket. Gmarket was quoting me about 145,000 for three big curtains and all the rods, rings, ties, etc., so I'd like to keep the price similar.

And please don't tell me to "just make your own"- I don't have the time or patience now.

Thanks in advance!

[ttompatz]

have you tried http://www.auction.co.kr/

.

[taobenli]

Hmmm, that looks like an option. Just browsing around, it looks like I'll need to enter my alien number (whereas that's not a requirement for Gmarket- a lot of good that does them, though, since their site doesn't work well). Is this one of those deals where because of the real name system I'll have to wait weeks and weeks after faxing in my information to even be allowed to spend my dirty foreigner money? Because I need curtains by this weekend (having a dinner party, kind of embarrassing to have no curtains).

[ttompatz]

[uhfotis]

[oldfatfarang]

If you just want cheap curtains for privacy, go to the local 1,000 won shops (Daiso etc) and get some large bamboo rool-up curtains. They're super cheap, but won't be any good for keep heat in. You can throw them in the bin on your way out.

[Weigookin74]

Yeah, just another barrier to being a foriegner in Korea. It really irritates and infuriates me sometimes. This issue is a real pet peeve of mine.


MY INQUIRY TO GMARKET:
Payment won't go through.

Why won''t you accept my payment. I am trying to make a purchase with my visa and you keep blocking it. There is nothing wrong with my VISA and I have used it in the past, as recently as one month ago. Can you fix the problem with your site so I may make my purchase? VISA is VISA, therefore it should work and I would expect no problems. Thank you.




GMARKET RESPONSE:
This is from Gmarket Customer Center.


Dear Customer,







Dear Customer,



If you try to use foreign issued credit card in KR, you won't be able
to order properly.



You can either pay via KR issued credit card or use paypal ,Gaccount




We are sorry for the inconvenience.







Thank you,


MY REPLY AGAIN:

Payment by Credit Card.

Your refusal to accept my Canadian credit card is a very stupid business model. It especially infuriates me when you can''t even give me a compelling reason. I guess you don''t want to make money. Please don''t tell me to use the bank transfer. The credit card is convenient from my home or if I am making a large purchase. Many foriegners will are saying they will stop using your service. If you view my own history with you, you will see that I have sspent a lot of money on your site with my credit card. Now I will forced to order from overseas sites that will accept my credit card. Again, your business model is severly flawed. Change your policy soon before you start losing foreign customerswho in many cases spend more than Koreans on these sites. See where I''m going with this? I''ve lived in Korea long enough that I shouldn''t keep having to put up with nonsense like this. Don''t tell me to get a Korean credit card unless you can tell the banks to lose their racist policies that bar me from getting one forcing me to rely on my Canadian ones. Please fix the policy soon and start accepting my Canadian VISA soon like you use to. Thanks.



THEIR SECOND REPLY:

This is from Gmarket Customer Center.


Dear Customer,



Thanks for contacting us again.



We know that you've used the credit card at our website



However, it won't work as normal like before since this week.




In you live in KR but you use oreign issued credit card , there's possiblity
that the system may refuse the transaction.



That's why we recommend using KR issued credit card or paypal or cash.



Since it's not an error and it's how it works, the suggestion we can
give you is using another payment method.



We seek for your understanding.







Thank you,

[Weigookin74]

My final reply to these idiots:::::


This is your own policy on payment. You or your merchants have made a lot of money from me in the past.

Credit Card Payment
Foreign Credit Cards : You can complete your payment using Visa, Mastercard or JCB credit cards, issued by major international card companies

So, can you at least give me a reason why you're not taking my credit card anymore? You have not given me or any other foriegners that are very upset a reason. Just typical second class treatment that we have put up with by living in Korea even when we aren't poor and actually have the economic means.

[Easter Clark]

Just do a bank transfer. It's really easy, especially if you have online banking (or from any ATM). It's something the banks back home need to pick up on.

[Drew345]

I just use the paypal option on Gmarket. Works great.
They've always been great to me.

[blackjack]

[taobenli]

Thanks for this information, I feel somehow comforted that I'm not the only one. I have been making a big fuss and complaining of second-class treatment, and I'm still annoyed, but probably need to take a step back and breathe. If I can pay by bank transfer all is great. However, I was trying to pay by Gaccount cybercash and that seemed way too complicated. Not intuitive at all.

So, you're saying I can just make the order and then transfer the money manually from an ATM (I have Nonghyup)? I don't have online banking set up yet.

[djsmnc]

They told me my foreign credit card is too dirty for them

[Lolimahro]

I second the paypal idea. It's easy and you can just hook up your Canadian credit card there. I always pay via paypal on gmarket and never had a problem. Sometimes due to the time difference I think it takes a little extra time for the transaction to go through, though (like maybe a day).

Sorry you're having so much trouble. Another web site I have looked at for household items in the past is Interpark: http://www.interpark.com/malls/index.html

However, there is no "English Version" like there is with Gmarket.

[itaewonguy]