Online Ordering - a sign of the times?

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lindosfan1
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Re: Online Ordering - a sign of the times?

Post by lindosfan1 »

If I want to buy something, I research the prices and buy from the cheapest site. I have just purchased over the last 2 months a load of expensive camera lens and a camera. Every site delivered the next day, and I sold my old camera and lens on line. I use Amazon for cheaper items when they are the cheapest. A lot better than wandering round shops to research the prices..
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Re: Online Ordering - a sign of the times?

Post by HHTel »

I thought that but if it was, then it was very clever in that it understood what I was saying. There was none of the "press 1 or say 'Yes'" etc. I used very casual language with some abbreviations, and the language used in the response seemed quite spontaneous. However, although it was 3am in the UK, the response may not have come from there as call centre outsourcing is rife.
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Re: Online Ordering - a sign of the times?

Post by Big Boy »

You've just reminded me of a program I had to test for the RN many years ago (about 1991). It was an automated ordering system, and it responded just the way you're describing. I had to speak slowly and clearly (not easy with a broad Janner accent :oops: ). I had to speak everything in the correct order, but it worked. I seem to remember it was called OSWALD, but it was a long time ago, and my memory may have failed me.

I guess you could have been talking to one of OSWALD's offspring.
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Re: Online Ordering - a sign of the times?

Post by HHTel »

Lol. I was in the RN for 10 years, 3 months and 15 days (approximately!)
Never heard of that system but then again I was a matelot through the '60s. It's changed hugely since then. Wrens at sea..... whatever next!
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Re: Online Ordering - a sign of the times?

Post by Nereus »

E-business tax to be levied in 2018

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/te ... ed-in-2018

Published: 1/12/2017 at 04:00 AM
Newspaper section: Business

An e-business tax, a levy on any online transaction that takes place in Thailand regardless of the e-commerce operator's location, is expected to come into force next year, says the Revenue Department's chief.

A draft bill on the e-business tax sets a ceiling rate of 15%, but the actual rate will vary depending on the nature of the business, said Prasong Poontaneat, director-general of the department.

The bill will levy a withholding tax on all online transactions occurring in Thailand, he said, though the tax will not have to be tacked onto an operator's taxable income calculation.

Given that online purchases are gaining momentum and the Finance Ministry is recording lower tax revenue contributions from traditional sellers, the government is seeking to increase revenue from foreign online vendors who do not sign up to conduct business operations in Thailand.

The department already held its first public hearing on the tax law, covering overseas operators who earn revenue from digital service transactions in Thailand, such as digital marketing, advertising, music and software application downloads.

The department recently said the draft bill will require financial institutions, which now act as intermediaries for money transfers, to withhold tax for online purchases and advertising fees on social media networks, sending the tax to the Revenue Department.

The department hopes that the e-commerce tax will create a level playing field in the online world, as several online firms based abroad earn revenue from Thailand and are not subject to tax. Mr Prasong earlier estimated the value of online purchases in the trillions of baht, while online advertising is valued at 10 billion baht.

Mr Prasong said the draft bill will supersede the double-tax agreement, which stipulates that those who are liable for tax payments in any country must have a permanent presence in those locations.

The draft bill on e-business tax will also annul the Revenue Department's value-added tax (VAT) exemption for online shopping on goods worth less than 1,500 baht that were purchased from foreign vendors outside of Thailand. The move is intended to pave the way for the department to tax all online purchase transactions.

At present, purchases from foreign e-commerce vendors outside of Thailand are subject to a 7% VAT only if the value exceeds 1,500 baht.

Shopping online for products worth up to 1,500 baht from overseas sellers without an office in Thailand has become ubiquitous, with the revocation of the VAT exemption intended to create a fair playing field for local vendors who must charge VAT on all purchases, regardless of value.
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Re: Online Ordering - a sign of the times?

Post by Big Boy »

For the last week, I've been trying to order something for my son's business online. A common problem - even though the website is in English or Thai, any order in English is ignored. The order was worth 17,000 Baht (19,000 Baht according to their website :? ), so not to be sniffed at.

This morning, it was time for Plan B. Get my daughter to phone them in Thai, which she did. The response was one that we have also had from 4 other different companies that we deal with, and one that I find quite remarkable............"We don't deal with telephone or e-mails anymore. Please give us your Line ID."

Sure enough, 30 minutes later, the deal is done, and delivery will be within 7 days.

I really find it incredible that businesses do their transactions this way. The company is FBT, so not a 2 bit organisation.

As I said, this is now the 5th organisation that we deal with in this way. Further orders are made via Line. The one good thing is responses are immediate. I guess it works, so don't knock it. I just wish they'd update their web pages to reflect this, rather than have mugs like me trying conventional methods first, wasting many days - sometimes looking elsewhere. In this instance, the items are specialist, and we wouldn't know where else to look.
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buksida
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Re: Online Ordering - a sign of the times?

Post by buksida »

Thailand has virtually given up on traditional methods of online business such as websites and email - it is all done on farcebook and Line indicating to me at least that they are only interested in domestic trade. You can even book hotels using Line now ... well Thais can anyway.
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Re: Online Ordering - a sign of the times?

Post by Vital Spark »

A nice positive story about online shopping.

Mr.VS bought an electric razor online and it stopped working after about 4 months. It wasn't that expensive, so it didn't have a guarantee. He sent a polite note to the suppliers telling them about it. He got an email back saying if he sent it back, he'd get a total refund. Sadly, we'd thrown it in the bin. Never mind, they said, thanks for letting us know - we'll send you 50% of the cost of the razor. And they did. :shock:

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Re: Online Ordering - a sign of the times?

Post by STEVE G »

buksida wrote: Mon Dec 11, 2017 2:24 pm Thailand has virtually given up on traditional methods of online business such as websites and email - it is all done on farcebook and Line indicating to me at least that they are only interested in domestic trade. You can even book hotels using Line now ... well Thais can anyway.
I'm showing my ignorance of these things now but what exactly is Line?
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Re: Online Ordering - a sign of the times?

Post by HHTel »

It's a free chat/video/call system similar to Messenger (facebook), Whatsapp and Skype plus a few others.
When I contacted Argos in the UK via their website, I was connected to them using Messenger.
Seems it's the way to go these days.
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Re: Online Ordering - a sign of the times?

Post by STEVE G »

HHTel wrote: Tue Dec 12, 2017 1:22 am It's a free chat/video/call system similar to Messenger (facebook), Whatsapp and Skype plus a few others.
When I contacted Argos in the UK via their website, I was connected to them using Messenger.
Seems it's the way to go these days.
Cheers, I've never tried it.
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Re: Online Ordering - a sign of the times?

Post by PeteC »

(Mod Edit: New thread for discussing Instant Messaging started in Digital Realm)
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Re: Online Ordering - a sign of the times?

Post by Big Boy »

I received a worrying e-mail from Lazada yesterday. A couple of weeks ago, I'd ordered a couple of retractable dog leads - cost 392 Baht. They were being shipped from China. I paid using the counter service at Tesco. Order made, I thought no more of it,

The e-mail stated:
We would like to inform you that the item(s) listed below from your order #3225573222 has been canceled due to the seller being unable to fulfill your order.
For a quick and easy refund, please click on the link below to fill out your bank details:
Button to Click
You will receive your refund after 7 business days count from the date of refund email. We will notify you again via email once we have processed the refund.
This sounded mega-warning bells with me, and I immediately decided just to lose the money. There is no way I am going to provide my bank detail to an unknown company in China.

This highlights a big problem with paying cash over the counter. A few weeks back, I bought a sewing machine for my wife, again payment over the counter. When it arrived, there was a part missing. I contacted them, and they were very good - please return the item to any 7-11 and they would refund the money to my bank. Sounds good, but they didn't know my bank details, and I wasn't prepared to hand them out willy nilly. In the end, we went down to the Singer shop on Petchkasem and ordered the missing part - it wasn't expensive.
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buksida
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Re: Online Ordering - a sign of the times?

Post by buksida »

You should always try to use something like Paypal for online payments and refunds - much faster and safer than messing around with personal info and bank accounts.

Or there is Bitcoin :idea:
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Re: Online Ordering - a sign of the times?

Post by Big Boy »

We've discussed Paypal several times - I can't open an account from Thailand. Warning bells are sounded when my bank is in the UK and I am in Thailand. Trying to use a Thai bank account for anything useful as a Farang just doesn't happen.
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