One of the businesses we run is ShopInHK.Com which is Hong Kong’s largest online bookstore. At any point, we have over 3.5 million books that are available for purchase. Sure, this is a little bit less than Amazon.Com, but hey, we rarely ever come across a user who wants something that we do not have (or cannot find for them!).
In addition to books, we are probably the largest online toy shop in Hong Kong offering hundreds of selected toys ( no generic / cheapo plastic Made in China junk! ) from some of the best known brands.
What makes us different? First, we’re a small local business. Customers can call us locally for help. Quite often, we even add the products, create the account and let the customer transfer the funds to us via their HSBC accounts or send us a check. Our customer service team speak English, Mandarin and Cantonese – something that Amazon cannot offer.
We also deliver locally by courier and 99% of our orders arrive on the date we promise on the site. Amazon ships through an untraceable service like Hong Kong Post and cannot predict when the order will arrive. Local bookstores commit to “within 2 to 3 weeks”. This works well for our corporate customers who place bulk orders with us and must have the books delivered to them on a specific date – usually for free, as their order are over HK$ 800.
So, stop by ShopInHK.Com and shop away. You’ll quickly realize that the “discounts” that Amazon puts on their books are pretty much offset by their high shipping costs!