Using HTML to Spice Up Description

From my observation, alot of newbies do not use even basic HTML to write their description on their sales page. It doesn't attract browsers if the write-up is all in one paragraph and worse, without much infomation either.

A good basic HTML guide is here: http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/Guide/

More advanced Sellers are encouraged to use templates. There are alot of free ones on the net. Just make a search.

Also, try to include as much information as possible, so that prospective Buyers need not write in to ask the same questions and it will save you a lot of time as well, otherwise you will find yourself repeating the same answers over and over again.

~*~ Happy trading ~*~

Making Buddies Out of Buyers

Being a responsible Seller, I always feel that I have to give my utmost to my Buyers, in terms of customer service which include speed in replying to all enquiries and shipping. I myself wouldn't like to wait for ages for my purchases to arrive either.

Because Cyberpartygal's WebStore is a small set up, I'm able to handle all these pretty well and I'm fortunate that most of my Buyers are comfortable with the way I operate and some have become returning Buyers.

And I am very happy and appreciative that we end up being friends too, even if they are only one-time Buyers.

Facing the computer for long hours daily can make someone lose contact with the real world and real people. It can be boring, it can be lonely.

So it is a joy to receive e-mails from my Buyers, even if they are just forwarded jokes. And it is also nice to turn on the computer and get an offline "Hello" message from them.

This post is a tribute to all who have supported me in my online endeavours. Thank you very much!

Utilising "Contact Seller" Feature

Sometimes, there are Buyers who simply bid on an item without fully understanding what condition the item is in or not knowing the real shipping rate when all they have to do is to utilise the "Contact Seller" feature to clear their doubts.

Sometimes I wonder IF Buyers read AND understand our description, terms and conditions or not.

And then when shipping is a little more than expected, or if the item is not of their desired conndition, or if it's of a different colour, or size or whatever, ALAMAK... Buyer without even communicating with Seller to work it out, will simply leave a negative feedback for the Seller.

I have mentioned before, and it does not hurt to stress again, that communication is the key to success, more so in e-trading. This is because, Seller and Buyer mostly communicate via e-mail and we have no way to know what goes on on the other side.

Spotted on Google Earth ~ Cyberpartygal's WebStore

Cyberpartygal's WebStore is spotted on Google Earth!

Co-ordinates shall not be revealed, unfortunately, because after all, Cyberpartygal's WebStore is a webstore and not a brick and mortar retail store that depends on walk-in customers.

We serve the world.

Spreading the News

~*~ Click on image to enlarge ~*~

Above is a screenshot of a warning posted by the Support of Lelong.com.my on 25th July, 2006.

A fraudster is on the prowl again, after being banned from trading by Lelong administrators some time ago.

All we, as responsible citizens and members of the Lelong community, can do is to help spread the news and hope that victims will be aware of this guy and group together to report to the higher authorities and to seek justice.

By doing this, we also hope that there will not be new victims.

Unfortunately, money may not be recovered, but it can serve as a warning to other people with ill intentions, that coming online to con innocent people will not be that easy anymore.

Click HERE for the above Lelong Forum post.

The Purpose of Forum Boards

It pains me every time to read of new scams. I feel that nobody deserves to go through such an episode and of course, there are better ways to spend the hard-earned money.

Additionally, scams will dampen business for e-traders like me and the e-commerce market as a whole. No one who has been conned of his money through a failed online deal will look at e-commerce in the same enthusiastic way again.

Let's not point fingers at who is to be blamed in such a situation. The point is, a little bit more knowledge on the mechanism of e-commerce will never hurt anybody.

And to get that little bit of information, one has to do lots of research, read, understand and evaluate. With infomation readily at our finger tips, thanks to the internet, one just need to spend a bit of time and all the information will be available.

This is where the forum boards come in. Not just any forum, but specifically forums set up and managed by the various trading sites.

Sad to say, most scam victims only will visit the Boards AFTER they suspect they have been scammed. And most often than not, their suspicions turn out to be their worst nightmare.

There must be a way to create awareness to everyone, whether one plans to make purchases over the net or not.

With proper education, I foresee that e-commerce will be a way of life for many of us in the near future.

This Isn't Right, OK?

The following scenario is what most e-sellers have to face once in a while.

Buyers make payment for their purchases, but not the amount stated in our invoice, but any amount that they deem to be sufficient.

For example, although Poslaju within Peninsular Malaysia is MRY4.73, most Sellers will charge MYR5 but some Buyers will only send payment for the item plus MYR4.73 for shipping. This isn't right, considering that Buyer has already agreed to the charges prior to bidding since the amount is already stated in the shipping terms.

What is worse is that, there are some people who pay for the item but conveniently forget about shipping charge.

Too bad there are still some narrowminded people who try to save a few cents this way.

Adding to the Satistics

Fraudsters have struck eBay Malaysia once again. Some of our innocent members, Buyers and Sellers alike, have reportedly been scammed.

One Seller has been conned of shipping out a mobile phone to, of all countries, Nigeria. I wonder how this Seller can ship out an item when payment is not in his hands yet. Ya, these Nigerians can be very persistent and convincing but still .... is it voodoo?

There are also a few Buyers who were conned of quite a large sum of money by a smartie joker who was "selling" laptops. Isn't it typical? These conmen ALWAYS "sell" highend electronic items which cost thousands of Ringgit. Moreover, such a Seller will always bid on and win the item himself and then offer it to the second highest bidder.

This way, the Buyer (second highest bidder) will not be protected by eBay's Buyer Protection Policy, since the sale is not on record.

This Seller will be so kind as to sell his item at way below market price, and also reserve the unit for the Buyer (eventual victim) and then "chase" for payment by making up plenty of sob stories.

Chasing for payment is understandable even in a legitimate transaction, but only if there's no response from the Buyer and if it has already been longer than the stipulated time period.

If the Seller is unreachable by mobile phone, despite him giving you a number to call, to allay your fears, then Buyer should be alarmed. In today's IT world, being unreachable is not an excuse anymore.

Alot of victims have already sworn off e-commerce due to the rampant fraud cases. If trading platform companies like eBay and Lelong do not continue to crack down on members with ill intentions and tighten rules for the benefit of everyone, then where would that leave legitimate Sellers like me?

Going the eBay Way

When friends and associates know of my WebStore, many expressed interest of opening a similar WebStore as well. And every time, I tell them that not all is rosy.

Having a WebStore doesn't mean anything if there are no browsers. Browers are our potential buyers. We can only hope that our WebStore look professional enough to maintain a browser's interest AND make him confident enough to place an order and part with payment. And not everyone has faith in charging credit cards online.

A WebStore is so sterile unlike a brick and mortar retail store where there is the human touch and the shopper gets to touch and feel and maybe even try the item out before making a purchase.

What I suggest to anyone who would like to try out online selling, is to go the eBay Way. Of course, one can go the Lelong Way too but "eBay Way" RHYMES!!!

The point is, when we utilise ready-made selling platforms like eBay and Lelong, we already have a pool of ever ready browsers who have the confidence on the eBay and Lelong brand names. Companies like these have already spent alot of money in advertisements and almost everyone who has internet access know of these two companies.

Do we want to have a WebStore just for novelty's sake, and let it be drowned among all the other millions of online Stores or be drawfed by huge retailers who have gone online for the sake of having a web presence?

Or is it better to be in a trading community where the chances of getting a REAL sale is so much higher and only at a fraction of the cost of running an online store?

Moreover, by giving ourselves a trial run selling via established trading platforms, we get to explore the workings of e-trading and we have the chance to iron out the kinks in our shipping methods, tariff, packing and all the earlier unknown nitty-gritty issues.

eBay's Prohibited and Restricted Items ~ Used Clothing

eBay has a full list of items that are "Prohibited and Restricted" and it's up to the Seller to make sure that the item that is to be listed is legal in the eyes of the Law.

As a lingerie seller, naturally I was curious about Used Clothing.

According to eBay:

Used clothing (except underwear) may be listed on eBay as long as the clothing has been thoroughly cleaned according to the manufacturer's instructions. Listings that contain inappropriate descriptions will be ended.

Violations of this policy may result in a range of actions, including:

Listing cancellation
Limits on account privileges
Account suspension
Forfeit of eBay fees on cancelled listings
Loss of PowerSeller status

So what does that mean about "Used clothing (except underwear)"? I don't quite get it.

Does it mean that on eBay, one can sell unwashed soiled underwear?

House of Tools

Guess what I found in my random surfing? Toolhaus.org (it means "House of Tools" in German) is a free set of tools related to feedback of eBay members. Use this to check if your Bidder is a baddie hehehe

Being Spammed by "Chinese Wholesalers"

Times aren't that rosy all over the world, we all know that, and indirectly, this has caused me to receive spam mail; averaging three per day, from people from China who claim to be wholesalers for some branded goods, soliciting for my business.

HHmm can they be trusted when some do not even have a website, or did not list their contact details? You be the judge.

Introducing www.cyberpartygal.com

~*~ Click on image to enlarge ~*~

Cyberpartygal's WebStore is now exactly 11 months old.

It will turn one year old on 18th August, 2006.

Christmas came early for Cyberpartygal.

Cyberpartygal has opened her present today.

Guess what's the present?

It's her own domain name.

Yippee!!

Cyberpartygal's Webstore

address is now:

http://www.cyberpartygal.com/
http://cyberpartygal.com/
www.cyberpartygal.com/
cyberpartygal.com
or the original
http://cyberpartygal.vstore.ca/
all the above works just as well
Do come make a visit

>> YaY <<

Reputation in the Hands of ISP

I've been trying to access my e-mail since early this morning, and half the day has passed and yet, I couldn't even log in to my account.

Not to say that I can't live without the internet but I can't help but think that I'll be giving my Buyers a bad impression due to this delay in replying to their e-mail or acknowledging their payment.

I strive to give my Buyers the best customer service I can afford, but it's not helping if TMNet is this unreliable. If I had mentioned that my reputation as a trusted e-trader lies in the hands of Postal Staff, I'd like to append that it lies in the hands of my ISP too.

*sigh* *sigh* *sigh*

I hope that my internet connection will be better soon. It's frustrating and a waste of time sitting here staring at "The page cannot be displayed" and hitting the F5 button every minute.

Updated ~ Product Overview

~*~ click on images to enlarge ~*~

Here are the sexy lingerie available ON HAND that are being offered by Cyberpartygal's WebStore right now.

All items are sold on first come, first served basis.

As always, the early bird catches the worm.

Problem ~ Multiple IDs on eBay

Whilst Lelong.com.my has set up a few proceduces to deter registration of multiple IDs, eBay's free sites have this big loophole where all that's required to register for an ID, apart from the usual Name, Address and Contact Numbers (which can be fake info), is any e-mail address (webmails are welcomed) :-)

However, in paid eBay sites, a Seller has to verify Credit Card, but that's so that eBay can bill the Sellers hahaha

Lelong.com.my, on the other hand, allows members (be they Buyers or Sellers) to choose either verification by mobile phone number or identity card, at a nominal fee, of course.

Moreover, in the early days, Lelong.com.my specifically wants our primary e-mail address to be the one given by our Internet Service Providers.

The complusory registration of prepaid mobile lines by the end of this year will solve the problem Lelong.com.my once faced when telco companies were having price war on prepaid packs.

In conclusion, Lelong.com.my has a tighter control over membership and this can reduce the number of potential joybidders, scammers and fraudsters.

My eBay Quickies

End Your Listing

Block Bidder/Buyer List

Cancel Bids on Your Listing

eBay Bidder List
(replace XXX with UserID)

eBay Customer Support

Contact eBay

Alexa Says ....

Ever wondered which is the better auction platform to list your items? According to Alexa, the top three websites accessed by Malaysians today are: Yahoo, MSN Network and Friendster.

And for e-traders like us, we are more interested to know the traffic to auction sites. Lelong.com.my is at no. 25 while eBay Malaysia is at no. 59. eBay main site (USA) is at no. 33.

On the other hand, eBay USA is the 9th (or is it 5th?) most accessed website globally.

From here, although the statistics may not be 100% accurate, we can see that if we only intend to market our products locally, Lelong should be given more priority.

And if we do decide to break into the international market, then eBay USA should be the way to go, perhaps followed by eBay UK, then eBay Australia.

Of course I'm only taking into account English Language eBay sites.

The Problem With Malaysian Mentality

What I noticed about MOST (Update: some people took offence, but I said MOST; it's not a sweeping statement, just a general observation) Malaysians is they like to be spoon-fed. I don't think these people even realise their weakness. I guess we should blame the education system here. And all thanks to that, we have a new generation of copy-cats.

Being an early Seller on eBay Malaysia, I have had my fair share of newbie Sellers copying my text and format, including payment terms, shipping method and tariff, right down to font size and colour too. That really pissed me off, at first.

The only thing they did not copy was product image and description, except for once. Thank God for small mercies!

I'm not sure if there are still people copying from my auctions, I don't bother to check anymore.

Now the new trend on eBay Malaysia is, perhaps business is THAT bad, Sellers are starting to undercut each other's prices, and even offering lower shipping fees than normally charged by Pos Malaysia or other major courier companies.

Even I can't beat Pos Malaysia, despite walking to the Post Office, thus saving "handling" charge for my buyers. By the way, I do not believe in charging "packing & handling" charges unless it's a gift wrapping service, to be fair to both Buyer and Seller.

Trading, after all, is a two-way thingy. AND it's a dog-eat-dog world.

Maybe a "Virtual Office" Would Help

Was just randomly surfing the net today and came across a few companies offering "Virtual Office" services. And I thought, this could be the answer for those of us who would like to open a savings account with a Singaporean bank, to enable withdrawal of PayPal funds.

Opening a savings account with any Singaporean bank will require a local Singaporean address, and not all of us are lucky enough to have relatives in Singapore. So, this is where "Virtual Office" comes in.

And of course, with the savings account done, we can actually transfer our PayPal funds to our savings account and withdraw the funds via ATM in Malaysia.

Taadaa problem solved :-)

P/S: This service is only worthwhile for big time PayPal users :-p

Best Viewed Products

After about seven months since my post on HOT PICKS, it's time once again to reveal what are the new Best Viewed Products on Cyberpartygal's WebStore.

~*~ Right click to enlarge image ~*~

Cyberpartygal REVEALS .........

....... TWO American financial institutions that accept opening of an account by NON-US Residents/Citizens.

Disclaimer first:
Proceed at your own risk. I have not tried these services before, as I do not need to open such an account (yet), but I know that there are people who are paying good money for such information, all because Malaysia (and some other countries) are not allowed to withdraw funds from our PayPal accounts. blehhh

1. HSBC USA
For more information, contact them at their webform.

2. E*Trade Financial
To open an account, complete and return this form.
Non-US citizens MUST complete and return this form as well.

Good luck and let me know if this works for you. :-)

eBay Board Usage Policy

Using the public chat, help and discussion boards on eBay can be informative, helpful and entertaining. People receive support, learn about eBay and their collecting interests, and meet new friends on the boards. When members abide by the principles found in the eBay Community Values, the boards are a positive and enjoyable experience for all members.

By following the rules listed below, the entire community will continue to find the boards helpful, educational and an enjoyable place to meet and converse with other members. Courteous and respectful postings are expected from all participants.

Messages posted to the eBay chat, help or discussion boards by eBay community members are solely the opinion and responsibility of the person posting the message. eBay is not responsible for messages left by eBay members. You are responsible for your own posts.

Grounds for Immediate Post Removal, Board Sanction and/or eBay Suspension

The following types of postings are cause for immediate post removal, warning, board sanction and/or suspension from the site. Other inappropriate postings not listed below may also warrant removal and/or suspension from the site. eBay reserves the right to remove any post without warning or further notice.

* Posting contact information about another individual
* Posting material containing profanity, vulgarity, hate speech, or threats of violence
* Posting material (graphic or text) that is obscene, pornographic or adult in nature
* Using JavaScript, active or other coding, making repetitive posts, or other actions that interfere with site operations
* Posting material with the intent to impersonate eBay Staff or another member through the use of similar IDs or any other method or device
* Encouraging others to violate eBay policies or the eBay User Agreement
* Advertising merchandise, auctions, services or commercial web sites, including offers to trade, or charitable solicitations
* Refusing to follow eBay staff instruction or direction
* "Wanted" posts, or posting solicitations of interest in the sale of an item or service
* Posting private emails
* Posting material that in any way violates the eBay User Agreement or Community Values
* In the title of a threaded discussion: Posting user ID's in a derogatory manner, posting URLs, auction numbers, or web sites, or violating any other board posting policy
* Inappropriate threads started in Community Help Boards. For example, eBay policy commentary started in the Community Help Registration Board.
* Posting auction reports or member violations
* Discussion or reposting of deleted posts or discussion of no longer registered members
* Only persons aged 18 or over may post to the boards, without regard to whether an adult actually owns the registration or parental/guardian permission.
* Reporters and third party representatives need permission from Legal prior to posting or emailing members in their official capacity.
* Posting copyrighted items without the permission of the copyright owner

Note:
eBay may sanction an account from the boards without suspending them from the site. eBay may suspend any member from the boards and from the site who has been previously warned of board policy violations, though we reserve the right to suspend a member immediately depending on the violation. Sanctions / suspensions may range from one day to indefinite. A sanction or suspension of one ID will apply to all IDs of that member and may, at our discretion, apply to members of the same household. The use of false registration information or creating multiple accounts for use on eBay's boards for the purpose of disruption or to avoid detection may result in permanent sanction or suspension of all associated registrations.

All warnings and suspensions are in accordance with the guidelines set out in the eBay User Agreement and the eBay Trust and Safety guidelines.

Please note that due to the variety of eBay boards, additional policies may be implemented on specific boards. At our discretion, there may be exceptions made for certain eBay sponsored programs or events.

eBay Board Usage Policy explanation can be found in the following pages:

New to eBay Boards? Here are some tips to get your started!

Moderation: How it works and how you can help

Understanding Post Removals and Tips for avoiding posting violations

Board Sanctions for Repeated or Egregious violations of Board Usage Policy

Cornerstone: the eBay Community Values

Board Usage Policy Introduction: Personal Responsibility

Grounds for Post Removals: How to cope with disruptive posts

Profanity, Vulgarity, Hate Speech, Hostility, Disputes, Threats of Violence

Posting listing reports or member violations: Discuss general, not specific

Posting Contact Information or another individual's Email Address

Obscene, Pornographic, or Adult Material (graphic or text)

Site Interference, JavaScript, Active Code, Repetitive Posts

Impersonation of eBay Staff or other eBay Members

Encouraging others to violate eBay policies or the eBay User Agreement

Advertising Items, Websites, Wanted Posts or Charitable Solicitations

Refusing to follow eBay staff instruction or direction

Posting email content from private parties

Posting Material that violates the eBay User Agreement or Community Values

URLs, Item Numbers, or Websites in Titles of Discussions

Off-Topic Posting: When allowed and when to avoid

Discussing Deleted Posts, Board Warnings, Sanctioned or Suspended Members

Signature File Guidelines

Must be 18 years or older to use the eBay Boards, Answer Center & Groups

Media Representatives, Researchers, and Third Party representatives

Posting copyrighted items without permission

Board-Specific Guidelines and Exceptions

Drive + Passion = Successful Netpreneur

While I myself do not claim to be a successful netpreneur, having been in discussion with some pretty successful ones from eBay and Lelong, I have found that these people all share the same drive, passion and enthusiasm for their "job".

Most of them are into eCommerce alone, one-leg-kick, so to speak, and have no superiors overlooking their shoulders, therefore, the trader himself decides if he wants to make or break. That's where self-motivation and drive come into the picture.

As for passion, most traders started off trading with things that they are passionate about. Am I suggesting that I am passionate about sexy lingerie? hehehe I digress....

Back to topic.... these traders already know their product well since they have been passionate about their hobby since before they decided to trade online. And what is better than to turn a hobby into a money-making concern, right?

Are Online Auction Platforms a Pasar Malam?

Seems to me there are many online Sellers selling so-called designer items at, of course, designer prices. They all claim that their items are genuine, that they are authorized agents, bla bla bla and yet, after the Buyer has received the item and it's found to be fake (imitation/counterfeit), the Seller is not contactable anymore.

Does a cheated Buyer have an avenue to recover the money?

Yes, if the transaction was closed according to eBay (for example) regulations and if item was paid for via Paypal.

No, if the transaction was closed off-eBay (for example) and item was paid for via some other way, perhaps Western Union?

Although Buyer may have followed eBay rules in making purchase for a designer item which turned out to be an imitation, to make a claim for charge-back, Buyer has to take the "item" to the nearest authorized boutique to have it authenticated. Therefore, can you image how leceh it is?

To read more of what steps a Buyer has to take in order to qualify for a charge-back, if the item purchased is suspected to be counterfeited, check out this very informative page:
http://ihatecounterfeitbags.info/iwonafake-whatnow

~*~ Knowledge is POWER ~*~

Bobal to Boston Fund

The eBay community is raising funds to send Bob Bull (eBay ID: bobal) to eBay Live 2007 in Boston! This is one of the ways to say "Thank You" to him for the past eight years of selfless contribution to the Community Boards and helping newbies and forging friendships along the way.

Who is bobal?
http://cgi3.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=bobal

Bob and MS (multiple sclerosis)
http://www.nationalmssociety.org/IMSJan04-BobBull.asp

Bob is a generous man and will donate all funds above his expenses to the MS society.

Is Malaysian e-Commerce Scene Catching Up?

Being involved in e-trading for 1.5 years, I have the good fortune to get to know fellow e-traders. Some are doing this on a small scale basis, utilising ready-made trading platforms like eBay and Lelong, while some really impressed me with their professional webstore, with shopping cart and various payment gateway.

Despite having my own WebStore for almost a year now, I'm still fascinated with the shopping cart feature.

I personally feel that it is not possible to survive on e-commerce sales alone IF we only cater to the Malaysian market. I know of a few people who are into this full time, and they can manage pretty well financially, but all these people are selling to overseas buyers.

Maybe there are successful sellers who are only selling to Malaysians, especially powersellers in Lelong, and maybe there are sellers who are successful enough and yet do not wish to go into e-commerce full time. There's always exception to the rule.

I feel that the big money is actually in the foreign currency exchange. This is one of the reasons why sellers are willing to pay listing and final value fees to eBay to list on eBay's paid sites (for example) - to be exposed to a ready pool of potential buyers from overseas.

To some, even this isn't enough, that's why they pay a few extra bucks to be featured on the front page, for added exposure =)

Sellers are also willing to pay to set up an eBay Store for the exposure. At least they do not have to do as much marketing as those having a stand-alone WebStore, like me.

I think the downside of having an eBay Store is the long URL but this can be solved by getting a domain name and redirecting it to the Store. Other than this, Store owners have been telling me that their goods are literally flying off the shelf.

~*~ Happy trading, everybody! ~*~

It Takes All Kinds of People ....

... to make the world go round.

For the benefit of readers, here's a screenshot of a very unique auction on eBay Malaysia.

Malaysia indeed BOLEH!

~ click on image to enlarge it ~

This auction will soon be delisted and member will be Naru-ed.

Phew ~ H1 2006 is Over

It's really hard to believe that the first six months of 2006 is already over. Time flies when we're having fun, I supposed. Well, it moves just as fast even if we're sweating blood. Ya, that's how hectic life has been.

I will never believe if someone tells me what an easy job it is to be an e-trader. "Just sit in front of the PC and click here and there only, mah."

IF ONLY IT'S THAT EASY!

Clicking too much will cause Carpal Tunnel Syndrome hah... I hope I do not develop this although I do feel pain in my wrist and fingers due to too much clicking and typing.

I wish I'm ambidextrous but I'm not. BAH... too bad.

Oh yeah, I need a better screen too =) OOwww my eyes .......

Weekends Are Always Quiet

From experience, weekends have always been quiet for e-trading. Many people do not have time for the internet. Weekends are family time, or courting time. Time away from the computer, away from work.

As for Cyberpartygal's WebStore, it is open 24/7 to cater to the world :-)

My First & Last Time

...........@ Tesco Ipoh's post office.

When I first found out the new operating hours of this particular post office, I was very happy as this is the only branch in Ipoh that operates after 5pm. I even blogged on it HERE.

As I had a Registered Airmail letter to send out yesterday evening, I decided to take this opportunity to try out its service at Tesco, Ipoh.

I reached the post office 25 minutes before closing time. And there was only one other customer who was being attended to at one counter, and I was being attended to at the other counter.

There were only two counters opened, so what's new, eh?

The clerk told me it's MYR5.90 (MYR2 for postage, MYR3.90 for international registration), which is correct. Like I said, I always weigh my mail at home first.

I paid him and he stuck the Registration sticker on my envelope and *chopped* (*stamped* in proper English) on the Registration slip and handed it to me and gave me the signal like, "OK, you're done."

But I continued to stand there waiting for him to stick the MYR2 postage stamp on my envelope. So, he asked me, "What?"

I said, "You haven't stick on the MYR2 stamp."

And know what he replied? "THERE!" pointing at the envelope. But his "THERE!" was only the writing of "2" on the envelope.

So I said, "Tak lekat pun."

And he replied, "Yalah, nanti saya lekat la. Let me clear the crowd first."

Hello, there was NO crowd just now but because you delayed your job, a few people had gathered at the counter. And these people, don't they know how to wait for their turn to be called?

What's so difficult in taking out a MRY2 piece of postage stamp and stick it on? Most clerks will let the customer do it so that they can attend to the next customer. And I'm OK with that.

But this clerk, he took my letter and I couldn't ask him to return to me since he already *chopped* the receipt. And I couldn't make a bigger fuss in case he delayed or destroyed my letter altogether.

So, I have to trust him to "do it later." But he has created doubt in me. I don't have a good feeling about it. I just thank God that I tested this post office out with just an unimportant mail, and NOT my merchandise.

I feel like taking this issue up to the authorities. MYR2 may not be much but imagine what if it happens ten times a day?

For all my important mail and packages, I will continue to use the one I have been using since years ago, despite its, at times, humongous crowd and the slightly slow counter service.

All I care is its excellent delivery service. A percentage of my reputation as an e-trader is in the hands of the postmen too.

Convenience in its operating hours and the practically empty-of-customer office is immaterial to me IF its service is not up to par.