Online Friday Vietnam: How to Check a Real Discount

Online Friday Vietnam is a one day online sale, and its first edition ran on Friday, December 5, 2014. Shoppers saw big discount labels and free delivery offers. Some labels were real. Others may not have been. This guide shows how to check any sale price, now and the next time a big sale comes around.

The short answer: note the normal price before the sale, read the return terms, and confirm the seller is on the government list of online shops. Three checks take about ten minutes.

What Online Friday was

Online Friday was also called Online Shopping Day 2014. The Ministry of Industry and Trade backed it. Its E-commerce and Information Technology Agency (VECITA) and the Vietnam E-commerce Association (VECOM) organised it. The Government Office said in November that the Government had approved the plan.

The idea came from Black Friday in the United States. The difference is that Vietnamese shoppers buy online, not in stores. The organisers promised free delivery and other offers for 24 hours. Two websites carried the offers: onlinefriday.vn and ngaymuasamtructuyen.vn.

Banks, a telecom firm and technology companies joined in. Google, VP Bank, Sacombank, Viettel Telecom, VNG, Tinhte and Hangtot were named as supporters. The agency also said it wanted to ask the Government to make the first Friday of every December an official online shopping day.

Sources: VietNamNet, September 26, 2014; Vietstock, November 2014; Viet Nam News (Biz Hub), November 12, 2014.

Check the normal price first

A discount only means something against a real starting price. A shop can raise a price in the weeks before a sale, then cut it back and call it a deal. You cannot spot this on sale day. You have to look earlier.

Pick two or three items you may want. Write down the price today. Check the same item in at least two other shops. Save a screenshot of each page with the date visible. On sale day, compare the new price with your notes, not with the crossed out number on the page.

Add the full cost. Delivery fees, payment fees and taxes change the real price. The organisers said delivery would be free on the day, so confirm that the offer covers your item and your address. Also remember that the promotion did not cover items ordered by phone.

Sources: Viet Nam News (Biz Hub), November 12, 2014; Vietstock, November 2014.

Read the return terms before you pay

A low price is a poor deal if you cannot send back a wrong or damaged item. Many sale items have limits. Look for the number of days you have to return an item, who pays for return delivery, and whether sale items are included.

Find these terms on the shop page, not only in a chat message. If the page does not state them, ask by email or chat and keep the reply. A written answer helps if there is a dispute later.

Check the item itself. Does the listing show the brand, model, size and colour? Is the warranty stated and who gives it? A vague listing is a warning sign. If the seller will not answer simple questions before you pay, it is unlikely to answer them after.

Sources: Ministry of Industry and Trade e-commerce portal (online.gov.vn), page for shoppers on safe online shopping.

Confirm the seller is registered

Vietnam has a rule for online shops. Decree 52/2013/ND-CP took effect on July 1, 2013. Under it, websites that sell goods must notify VECITA, and websites that offer e-commerce services must register with it.

The Ministry runs a public portal at online.gov.vn. It lists sales websites and service websites that have completed the steps. Search the shop name or its web address there. If a shop that takes your money online does not appear, ask why before you pay.

Read the portal's own notice too. It says the Ministry does not guarantee the business reputation of the companies that own the listed websites. So treat a listing as one check, not as proof of good service. Pair it with the price and return checks above.

Sources: Tuoi Tre News, June 24, 2013; Ministry of Industry and Trade e-commerce portal (online.gov.vn), home page.

Protect your payment and your records

Use a payment method you can dispute, and pay only on the shop's own page. Do not send money to a personal account because a message says the deal ends soon. A real sale does not need you to skip the normal checkout.

Keep your records. Save the order page, the price, the confirmation email and the delivery receipt. If something goes wrong, these show what was promised. Open parcels on arrival and take a photo if the box is damaged.

The Ministry portal also runs a page where shoppers can report problems with online shops, so use it if a seller breaks its promise.

Sources: Ministry of Industry and Trade e-commerce portal (online.gov.vn), home page.

A quick checklist

• Record the normal price a few weeks early.
• Compare two other shops.
• Add delivery and fees to get the true total.
• Read the return terms and warranty.
• Search the seller on online.gov.vn.
• Pay through the shop's own checkout and save every record.

Follow these steps and a sale becomes a plain question: is this price good for this item from this seller? That is a question you can answer with facts.

Sources: VietNamNet (September 26, 2014); Vietstock (November 2014); Viet Nam News Biz Hub (November 12, 2014); Tuoi Tre News (June 24, 2013); Ministry of Industry and Trade e-commerce portal, online.gov.vn (archived December 2014).