Tips for buying books online on ecommerce sites or in group buys

A lot of parents are turning to buying books online because of the MCO and prolonged home learning. Many buy in group buys from parents whatsapp group recommendations and also online from ecommerce sites like Shopee or Lazada.

First I want to quickly mention about group buys before doing a mini case study on tips for buying online from an ecommerce site. 

Group Buys

A group buy is when a group of people use their collective buying power to get goods at cheaper prices.

When it comes to group buys, the most important thing is to ask yourself whether you need it and whether the book is suitable for your child. 

It is so easy to get carried away in group buys. "I want! Add me. Me too." and adding your name to a long list of names makes you feel like you are getting a really good bargain and who doesn't love a bargain? Most times, it really is a good bargain too but only if you really need it. 

I remember once a parent in our kid's class whatsapp group started a group buy for a historical Chinese book when my kid was in P6 and sitting for the UPSR that year. Now the lady who started it was very involved in her child's academic progress. She even came to school to volunteer to teach or read to the students in the mornings. Her child was consistently the top student in class. 

So, when she initiated a group buy and recommended this historical Chinese book as an extra reading activity book for those who need reference for the ancient Chinese part of questions in the Chinese paper, all the parents in the whatsapp group became very excited and started adding their name to the list. 

I also added my name in jest. To be honest, I got carried away. I was worried that if I didn't have that extra reference which everyone would be getting, my child would be losing out somehow. My child and her child are not the same. My child's Chinese was not all that good and I did not understand Chinese at all. So when the book finally arrived, a thick cover book with lots of tiny little Chinese words arrived, we found it totally useless. My kid could not understand it at all. I still have this book to this day, a sore reminder of how I was once caught up in a useless group buy just because someone recommended it and almost the whole class bought it. It may have been really useful for those who are affluent in Chinese but not for us. 

So when it comes to group buys, ask yourself whether you really need it and don't get caught in the bandwagon. You should also check to see if your child or sibling already has the book! Sometimes we accidentally buy duplicate books which we already have because we are so caught up in a group buy. 

Tips for buying online from ecommerce sites

1. Search for the most competitive priced product.
When it comes to buying online, you will find that there are many sellers who are selling the same thing. Do a search to find the one that sells it at the most competitive prices. 

2. Go for sellers with a badge
On shopee, some sellers have a badge called the preferred seller badge. Preferred seller must fulfil the following criteria

On Lazada, sellers on Lazada Mall must fulfill the following criteria

3. Read the product description carefully!

It is very important to read the product description on the number of items, the colour and the dimensions of the product you are buying. Don't just look at the pictures shown by the seller. The description should match the picture.

4. Always read customer reviews of the product you wish to buy
Read the good as well as bad reviews. Check out the buyer's pictures and video to make sure they match with the seller's image. They don't always match but you don't want to find that out that the seller had put up a nice photo "for illustration purposes only" after you had already made your purchase.

5. Always view ratings or read reviews of the seller's store
If the product review is not available, make sure you at least read the seller's overall store review.

Here's a mini case study from a random seller on Shopee using the 5 tips mentioned above. 

eg. I wish to purchase these set of books and found this seller. Using the above, criteria, let's assume I have searched for competitive pricing and after looking at a few sellers, I found that this seller is charging within the normal price range that other sellers are selling and not at a marked up price. (Some sellers mark up prices especially during sales)

Next I will check to see if the seller is a preferred seller. Yes, the badge is there and that means this seller has met some important rating criteria as shown above.

Next, I am going to look at the ratings for this seller for this particular product. Has the seller sold many books or just a couple?  Things to look out for. 

• How many people rated this store? 
• What is their response rate like? 
• How long have they joined the ecommerce site? 
• How many products does the seller have in their store? 
• What is their response time? 
• How many followers do they have? 

Every one of these statistics tell us something important about the seller. It is better to have a seller who has been around for some time, who responds quickly to chats, and has many ratings compared to a new seller who sells only a few things and have a poor response time. Sometimes you need to chat with the seller to ask them a question or get assistance or ask why your item is taking so long to ship out. It is very frustrating to chat with a seller who responds slowly or not at all.

Speaking of shipping, you should also check out where your seller is shipping the product from in order to gauge the estimated delivery time. Are they shipping from overseas or locally?

Next, scroll down a little further to look at the specific product rating and read the reviews if any. How many rated 5 stars or 1 star, how many has comments and with media. Look at those with comments and media (pictures or videos) and check them out! Read the reviews on whether the seller ships out on time, packs the product carefully and whether the products are as advertised. Look at the buyer's pictures and videos to see if they match the pictures provided by the seller.

Next, read the product description carefully, how many books in a set you will be getting etc. If buying clothes or shoes, look at the size chart and do the necessary measurements. Other things to note in the description include the colour of the product and the dimensions.

After that, click on "View Shop" to check out the shop ratings further. This is especially important if the product does not have any ratings or reviews. If you can't read the reviews for the product, then at least read the review for the store.

At the store's home page, you can view the number of products, the number of followers, their chat performance, how long they have joined the ecommerce site and the shop's overall rating including how many buyers have rated them. Go for ratings as close to 5 as possible. Obviously the more buyers who rated is better than only a couple as it is harder to get high ratings from many buyers compared to just a few. 

You may perhaps have to spend a little bit of time to do all these but it is definitely worth it to avoid being cheated, short changed, not being able to reach the seller to ask a question or having to wait for your purchase for a long time

If you take the time to check out the pricing, sellers, product description and read reviews, you will have a more rewarding, stress free time shopping online.

You should also know the different types of online shopping scams so that you can shop safely online.

Happy buying!

This post includes some affiliate links. The example picked is for the Odonata Series of books for children just learning to read Chinese. It is rather like the Chinese version of Ladybird Keywords Peter and Jane series. Instead of Peter and Jane we follow the story of Ming Ming and Li Li and new Chinese characters are added. The series starts with 100 Chinese characters and move on up to 1200 Chinese  characters. Audio dvd read along is also available for parents who do not know Chinese to guide their children. Flash cards and activity books are available too. Some kindergartens are using this series to teach their students, so always check before buying to make sure you are not buying duplicate books.

World Book Day 2021: The importance of reading for children

 

Did you know that this year, World Book Day falls on the 23rd of April? To kick off the celebrations, we wanted to share with you just a few reasons why we need to continue encouraging our kids to read!

First off, for younger children just beginning to learn a new language, reading helps them improve their listening, speaking, and writing skills too. All four of these skills are intricately wound together and if one of them is found to be lacking, the whole foundation would crumble. Not to mention, these four skills will continue to follow them throughout their entire life whether it be at school, work or even their daily life.

Reading also helps children develop their own sense of self and understanding of the world. Through reading how characters in stories act to achieve their goals, children will be able to feel a kinship to these characters and mould their own attitudes and behaviours to what they feel comfortable with.

Here at the British Council we try to encourage our students to read as much as possible both inside and outside of the classroom. Just last year, before we went into our first Covid-19 related lockdown, we managed to kick off our annual reading challenge for our students. Each student was encouraged to read at least six books, which they can select themselves from our Reading Corner and upon completing the challenge, not only did they receive a special certificate but also the experience of going on six different adventures!

While we haven’t been able to continue our reading challenge this year due to safety precautions, we have been able to continue enriching our students experience in other ways through poetry, storytelling and presentation competitions which are all still closely related to the reading skill.

If you’re interested to find out whether your child would enjoy studying with us and participating in our activities, why not try out one of our classes for free! Just register your interest here and our team of consultants will be more than happy to make the arrangements for you.

This is a guest post from British Council Malaysia.

What learning English looks like for your child in 2021

 

Geoff Taylor, the Head of Young Learners at the British Council in Malaysia, shares your views on your children learning English and their broader education in Malaysia:

At the end of last year, we asked a group of Mumsgather readers to complete a survey about their child’s education and their experiences in learning English. The results were fascinating, and I am delighted to have the opportunity to share them with you.

As a British national who has lived in Asia for around 15 years, the first thing that struck me when I arrived in Malaysia was that everywhere I went I heard people speaking English. This is very different to places I have lived previously, such as Vietnam or the Czech Republic. This is also reflected in the survey results with an overwhelming number of parents saying that English is their child’s main language. However, despite saying that their child is fluent in English, they also stated that their child still has significant room for improvement in their English ability. English may be their child’s main language, but they still feel they have yet to fully master it.

Reading English books or watching English TV series and films were listed as being the main ways in which Malaysian children improve their English. In addition to English, parents expressed an interest in their children studying more topics such as Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM), and stated they were particularly interested in developing their critical thinking ability. Parents of 7-9 year olds also listed public speaking classes as something they felt would benefit their child. These areas are increasingly important in today’s global societies as we move away from the industrial age, with its foundation in hard skills, and embrace the digital age, where soft skills are increasingly vital.

According to the survey results, parents felt that getting the right teacher was crucial to their children’s education. For younger children the personality of the teacher was most important. Teachers working with younger students must genuinely love children and have a real passion and tremendous enthusiasm for what they do. For teenagers, the teacher’s expertise in the subject area was identified as being more significant.

When choosing between academic results on the one hand, and soft skills (such as communication and problem-solving) on the other, all parents chose soft skills. Again, this reflects the changing world. Obviously, our children still need to do well at school, but good academic qualifications are no longer enough to guarantee a successful future. Flexible individuals who can find creative solutions to challenges and work well with others are increasingly valued. When we consider how the world is changing, and the new global challenges we all face, is not surprising to see this strongly reflected in the survey results.

The questions parents ask about their child’s education are, in order of priority, as follows:

1. Will your child’s intellectual ability, perseverance, creativity, and other personality traits be developed?

2. Will your child’s communication skills improve?

3. Are the teachers of high quality?

4. Is the learning environment safe, supportive, and positive?

Surprisingly, it was only with teenagers that concerns about affordability and price are mentioned.

In general, what was most noticeable from the survey was that although for many children in Malaysia English is their main language, parents believe that they have a long way to go before they can be said to have completely mastered the language. Likewise, the shift from a traditional academic focus to developing core skills for life, such as communication or problem-solving ability, and even personality traits such as resilience and perseverance, reflects changes taking place in education across the globe. The British Council is proud to have been working in Malaysia for over 75 years, and we take great pleasure in doing everything we can to help Malaysian children prepare for the world of the future. Find out more about what the British Council does here. 

BenQ Shopee Mall Grand Launch Celebration Deals

In our previous post, we wrote about BenQ Eye-Care Monitor for home based learning. 

BenQ is now on Shopee Mall. Recently BenQ launched its official flagship store on Shopee Mall. Now you can get BenQ monitors and other BenQ products online from Shopee Mall. 

Below are some of the exciting deals during the launch period from 8th to 31st March 2021.

BenQ Shopee Mall Grand Launch Celebration Deals

- Follow BenQ Malaysia store on Shopee Mall to get vouchers when you purchase

- Get 10% Shopee coin cashback for every order during this period

- Bonus RM10 Grab Food voucher for product reviews made during launch period

Terms and conditions apply

About BenQ

BenQ stands for "Bringing Enjoyment 'N' Quality to Life". The BenQ brand aims to bring products that impact the enjoyment and quality of life in all areas including lifestyle, business, healthcare and education. Products are designed after taking into account the views of  business professionals, families, doctors and patients, teachers, and even gamers. 

BenQ uses design and technology to bring enjoyment to people's lives , to improve the quality of their lives and help them achieve their goals with products that fit people's ever-changing lifestyle and needs

Find out more about how BenQ products currently meet the needs of students who have to study online at home whether it is school based learning, online extra-curricular classes or real-time on-screen tuition. Find our more about the best BenQ eye-care monitor for home based learning to get the best lifestyle monitors for the needs of students today. Don't forget to take advantage of the BenQ Shopee Mall Grand Launch Celebration Deals from 8 - 31 March 2021.

The images below is to show you that BenQ monitor different models come with different usage.

There are plenty of fun things to do at home, Playing Games and work from home is definitely on top of the list.  BenQ Monitors is perfect for personal entertainment and usage.

Choose the right monitor for yourself today and Stay Safe!

This post was brought to you by BenQ Malaysia.

BenQ Eye-Care Monitor For Home Based Learning

Working from home and online learning from home has become our new norm. As we try to adapt to these new changes, we are faced with new challenges. To make working from home or studying from home comfortable and workable, we need the right gadgets!

Challenges faced during online learning at home

• long hours online is tiring for students
• not sure of which gadget to use - smartphone, tablet, laptop or desktop?
• not enough gadgets to share between siblings and parents
• no proper study place
• not enough data or internet line is not stable
• no webcam or proper speaker
• teacher's are not used to teaching online
• students are not disciplined to stay throughout the lesson or participate during lessons
• students chatting or playing games online during lessons

We could go on and on with the list of challenges. While some of them may take some time to get used to or be resolved, some can easily be resolved with the proper equipment and hardware. Let's start taking care of our children during online home based learning with the right gadgets. 

Not only do we need to support their homework and learning by making sure they understand what is being taught, when they have to submit assignments and making sure they do it, we also have to take care of their eyes, their posture, their sleep etc in order to reduce fatigue, tiredness, eye irritation or eye strain during long hours of online learning. We can do this by investing in a good monitor like the BenQ Eye-Care Monitor.

Top 3 reasons why the BenQ Eye-Care Monitor will help in home based learning

 1. The BenQ GW2480T & GW2780T Eye-Care Monitor can be easily connected to laptops, tablets and smart phones as external display. It comes with built in speakers.

Children do not have to squint their eyes over small smart phones or tablets as the monitor is available in 24 inch or 27 inch variants, making it comfortable for students. The monitor can be placed on a study or work desk. This encourages students to have good study habits by working from a study desk instead of walking about, sitting on the sofa with other distractions or worse still lying in bed! 

BenQ GW2480T & GW2780T come with D-Sub x1 , HDMI 1.4 x 1 , Display Port x1 connectivity, you do not have to invest in another desktop as you can use your existing laptop or tablet(adapter needed) to plug into the monitor.

2. The BenQ Eye-Care Monitor is height adjustable

Parents, kids, siblings can take turns using the monitor with no issues as the monitor is height adjustable for each individual. Not only are you able to move it up and down, you can tilt, pivot or swivel it for your viewing comfort. This reduces the need to hunch or bend over or raise your head which can be very tiring for long hours of lessons.

3. The BenQ Eye-Care Monitor takes care of your eyes

Here's how the BenQ Eye-Care Monitor takes care of your eyes

Zero Flicker - it is flicker free thus reducing pressure on the eyes as well as eye fatigue from looking at a screen for a long time.

Low Blue Light - it filters out blue light. Blue light is harmful to eyes. When we use a monitor to attend online lessons or do homework for hours daily, strong blue screen light enters our eyes, which could lead to eye-related problems. In addition, blue light can suppress the production of the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin, resulting in sleep disorders.

Brightness Intelligence features- Brightness Intelligence sensor will automatically adjust the brightness according to your surroundings. Screen light may cause fatigue to our eyes without us noticing. Many of us do not adjust our monitors manually each day according to daylight, evening or night light, thus increasing the risk of having a too bright or too dark monitor, both are not ideal for our eye health. With this auto brightness adjustment feature, we can be ensured of an optimum brightness every time. 

Color Weakness Features - it has a color weakness mode with red filter and green filter for red and green color deficiency. Did you know that people with color weakness can decipher pie charts, statistics and pictures better with color filters? Students are required to look at charts, figures and pictures a lot during lessons. This will help them view them better.

Learn More

GW2480T - https://bit.ly/3jQCVhT

GW2780T - https://bit.ly/3b2uqfq

Where to buy?

GW2480T - https://bit.ly/3pm0fVL

GW2780T - https://bit.ly/2N9jAMU

Support your child with e-learning by providing them with the right tools.

This post was brought to you by BenQ Malaysia.