The Truth About... Strawberrynet.com

Screenshot of the Strawberrynet.com homepage

My friends and I discovered Strawberrynet.com probably four years ago. We browsed through the entire site thinking "Wow, we can finally get goodies from USA now with no shipping costs!". But, not having credit cards at the time or having the guts to ask our parents for permission to shop online, we decided to let it pass. Jump to four years later. I decided since I'm going to be blogging beauty, I might as well purchase makeup through Strawberrynet.com so I can review stuff for International readers. I was really excited, so much in fact that I asked my dad to give me a credit card as a present for my birthday, so I could buy stuff from this site and a few others. Imagine my joy when he said yes!

Now, a little talk with the bank revealed I can't have my own global credit card without an income certificate, or whatever it's called. I first sighed sadly, but now come to think of it, it was for the right reasons. Hence a sign I should reconsider online shopping.

So finally, my dad said I could use his card (WHICH, I found out today I can't, according to the bank) so I decided to read some reviews on Strawberrynet just in case. I do have a budget of $150, so yes, I HAD to make sure everything went right. After reading online reviews, all I can say is thank God I did!

Turns out, Strawberrynet is a SCAM! Now before you start debating that you never received a fake product or no product at all from them, here's a summary of what I learned about this site: Strawberrynet.com is based in Hong Kong (no, it's not a USA site like we all thought). I don't think I need to explain the fact that the Chinese are experts at producing counterfeits of every branded item they come across. I have come across too many Chinese makeup items in my city, labelled YES instead of the YSL logo on lip glosses meant to confuse people, and don't get me started on MAC lipglasses. Seriously, the tubes look just like lipglass tubes, AND they use the word MAC shamelessly, conning gullible customers easily. What they do is, once you place your order, they either send you a fake product and claim the company has changed product design, or they don't send you anything at all. Yes, occasionally they do send out the real stuff (mostly expired anyway), so online reviewers will praise them and protest the items are real. If you got an original item, good for you. If not, there are many others who have been scammed by this site just like you.

Once you pay up (and they snatch your cash the day after you place your order), there's no way you can do anything about it. They don't give you a refund easily, or not at all. Your card may also be suspended for fraudulent activity. And if you do receive a product (fake or real), you have to pay about two-thirds of the price as customs charge.

There is no solution to this problem. The only solution is to be aware and never shop on this site. In fact, many of us who tweeted them charging them of being frauds got no answer, which proves we're right.

Do not, I repeat DO NOT, fall for the Strawberrynet.com scam!

That is all I have to say about Strawberrynet.com. I will now leave the floor to comments!