Bob Shop is a legitimate e-commerce platform, but not all of the sellers on the platform are trustworthy.
Bob Shop allows almost anyone to sell their items on the platform. But this kind of variety does come with a few drawbacks.
Bob Shop: Understanding the platform that has taken Bidorbuy’s place
South Africa’s popular online marketplace, Bidorbuy, has been launched under a new name – Bob Shop.
But though some of the entities that make up the new Bob Group have been around since the 90s, Bob Shop’s way of doing business has stirred up some confusion.
If you search Bob Shop on the review website, hellopeter.com, you will find that it has a fairly low rating of only 1.7 out of five stars.
Some deeper investigation into the poor reviews reveals that the main reason for the unhappiness amongst buyers is that there is just no real way to know which of the Bob Shop sellers are legitimate – and which are not.
Understanding who can sell on Bob Shop
Unlike a more traditional branded e-commerce store, Bob Shop does not only sell items from one retailer or brand.
Instead, Bob Shop allows sellers from all over to list their items for sale –much like Takelot.com or the newly-launched Amazon.co.za.
In essence, anyone with a Bob Shop account can register as a Basic or Advanced seller and list items on the Bob Shop site for free. However, it is noteworthy that a so-called “success fee” is charged for every sale made through the platform.
The Bob Shop Buyer Protection Programme
It can be quite difficult to ascertain whether a seller is trustworthy or not – since just about anyone can start selling on Bob Shop in just a matter of minutes. This is why Bob Shop has its own Buyer Protection Programme.
This Buyer Protection Programme will kick in whenever you cannot resolve a dispute with a Bob Shop seller within three days.
However, this programme does have a few fine-print details to take note of, so you should read through the information on the website carefully before you buy or bid.
How to protect yourself against scams
Bob Shop’s seller system means that the platform offers prospective buyers a wide variety of products from a wide variety of sellers.
But, unfortunately, this means that you never quite know what you will get when you purchase from a new seller for the first time.
If you want to protect yourself from fraud or low-quality products, keep the following in mind:
- Do not disclose your password, personal information or confidential information via email or over the phone
- Check the seller’s rating before you buy from them
- Be wary of deals that seem too good to be true
