Sunday, October 07, 2007

About the Waekookin mall

So, we have this new online mall called waekookinmall.com that sells mostly IKEA furniture. I'm thinking, great, maybe i can get that (Fusion) table i wanted to get. I saw it on another Korean site and it was about double the price from stateside and I just wasn't willing to pay that much for what is usually supposed to be cheap DIY furniture. So, I went to the mall to see if it was there and it wasn't. Then, I sent a message to see if they had it or could order it for a reasonable price. Below is my question:

Is it possible to get IKEA's Fusion table here for a reasonable price?...the
korean retailers seem to be marking up more than 100% and i'm just not willing
to pay that for what is supposed to be affordable furniture.>


The response took just a day or so, but was dissappointing to say the least:

Sorry, We don't have it in stock. Maybe you're right but here is Korea.>>Thank you,


This kind of response just puzzles me. Seems polite enough at the end, but those words "...here is Korea" just get me all hot under the collar. Particularly when dealing with businesses that claims to be 'foreigner friendly.' A company whose motto is "For your better life in Korea" and whose very name suggests that it exists to serve the foreign community seems satisfied to teach me about living in Korea. I can understand that they do not have the table I'm looking for and I can accept that but to come back with "here is Korea" just makes no sense. But having been in Korea a long time, I am used to communication difficulties and thought it might just be a communication problem. Nonetheless,I asked for some clarification:

Perhaps you could explain what you mean by "Maybe you're right but here is
Korea." Do you mean that I should EXPECT to be marked up 100% because this
is Korea? Do you mean that Korean businesses are normally usurious? With
this reply are you suggesting that this practice is ethical or justifiable? Is your glib
response simply a result of your desire to take advantage of the foreign community without using the appropriate global business practices? Perhaps it is just a lack of English communication skills. Please help me to understand this brief and enigmatic statement so I may share it with the foreign community as I am sure they would like to know where you stand on the subject of ethics.

Was I too harsh? I sent the previous message on 7 October....Thusfar, no answer has been posted. I guess they must be busy.



1 comment:

William Robert Frog said...

I also toured the same website in search of a futon. After seeing a few varieties, there was not much that pleased me there, particularly the designs. But I found exactly what I was looking for on Gmarket. I would highly suggest searching for anything you may desire there.

Cheers from a fellow expat!