1. Personally, I prefer using Internet Explorer to browse on Gmarket because it gets kind of wonky in Firefox.
2. Register for an account. That way, you can save items of worthy in your wishlist and not worry about the link going missing afterwards.
3. You'll get an e-mail with a confirmation link after you register. Be sure to enable pop ups as the confirmation button will appear in a pop up window. Complete the tasks in the boxes and viola! You can now log in and start buying.
4. Search for products using the search box or you can do it by clicking on the categories. Look around for the best combination, some sellers have a higher price because they offer things like free gifts, a higher mileage and more Gstamps.
5. Some sellers sell a lot of different items in a single auction, resulting in a super lengthy drop down menu. Match the characters of the item that you want with the ones in the drop down menu and you will get the item that you want. Do be careful not to click wrongly though, you don’t want to purchase a different item.
A If this box is already checked, the seller won't ship internationally. Be sure to keep an eye out rather than to risk disappointment.
B 'Coupon Box' tutorial can be found
here.
C Discount that you can apply for this item. You can click on this icon for every item that you purchase if it is present.
D Domestic shipping fee.
E Newly released item selection.
F Item selection.
G Gift wrapping option.
H Colour selection.
I Seller and link to his/her store.
In my opinion, accessories are the hardest to buy. So for my tutorial, I'm showing the steps to purchase a pink and black rose headband.
After clicking on the picture of the headband that I want, a window will pop up with the colours available for selection.
I'll click on 'Open Simple Selection' and after choosing the headband that I want in the drop down menu, I'll key in the Korean equivalent for pink* in my colours option box.
You can purchase up to five different items from a single auction by clicking on the 'Add' button or 'Delete' items that you deem unnecessary. After you are done choosing, click on 'Complete'.
I’m paying ₩ 8,500 including domestic shipping for this headband.
6. The items that you purchase are shipped to Gmarket's headquarters. Some sellers charge a fee of ₩ 0 (free!) to ₩ 2,500 for domestic shipping while others waive this fee if your order exceeds a certain amount. The seller will state the amount in his/her auction.
7. If you place several orders within a close period of time and your items are still in the headquarters, you can 'Request Combined Shipment' in 'My Gmarket → Shopping List → Overseas Order' tabs to save on international shipping. I know this because the seller cancelled** my zippered dress and I bought a necklace with the refunded money in my 'Cash Balance'.
8. You can use any of the options below to pay for your order. You have to pay within a week or your order will be cancelled.
9. You must be wondering what Gstamps are for… well wonder no longer! You can either use them to
a. Exchange discount coupons
b. Draw discount coupons
I wouldn't recommend the second option. I know, it's a much better deal compared to the first, but trust me, it's not worth it. I seriously have no idea how people win these draws. Either that or I have the worse luck in the world! I won't reveal the number of times that I played (too embarrassing) but I can tell you that a very good number of my Gstamps went down the drain.
A reminder: Discount coupons are only valid for 15 days. So only
exchange/draw them when you plan on making a purchase soon.
Additional information:
1. Sizes for clothes are catered for an Asian market. I believe that a dress that's labelled as free size would best suit a UK6 – my size***! =D
2. Be patient when you order hair accessories. The seller that I ordered from took a week to send my tiny order out =(
3. Gmarket will notify you through e-mail when the seller sends or cancels your order and when your package is shipped internationally.
Hope you found my tutorial useful. Feel free to ask me any questions in the comment section below. Have fun shopping!!
(Source: All images are from english.gmarket.co.kr/)
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* I can read/type Korean characters for colours after spending endless hours browsing haha~
** The dress went oos, but it was displayed in a few of her auctions.
*** 166 cm and 43 kg.
