Note: Read the end of this post for latest update.

Acmamall.com started off years ago as an online book retailer in Malaysia and Singapore. Since not long ago, flowers and beauty products are being introduced, as well as shipping to the rest of Asia, Europe, Americas and even Africa!

Their catalog is quite extensive by Malaysia's standard, but personally I am not very impressed with their pricing. Take this book for example, which they are selling at RM 109.16 after "20% discount".



At the time of writing, you can get this book online for RM 95.80 from MPH or Kinokuniya, without any sort of discount.

The thing is, I won't be fussing about this if they don't markup the price and give a "20% off". It's like someone trying to sell you a teh-tarik at RM 3 with "50% discount". Also, I wonder how they get the RRP (recommended retail price)?

To be fair though, there are some books which are priced reasonably at Acmamall.com. My wife even asked for my help to order a beauty product, which is relatively cheaper from those she can source elsewhere.

My Order Experience from Acmamall.com

I was a bit hesitated at first, having heard of complaints on their slow delivery (due to the fact that they are drop shipping from overseas?). Still, we proceeded with the order and fully aware that it takes 5-14 business days for the order to arrive.

As my normal practice of ordering online, I opted for the order to be delivered to my office address, thinking that there will be at least someone in the office to accept the parcel on working hours. Smart eh?

My order did arrive on the 7th working day, virtually but not physically. The postman just left a delivery notice in the mailbox at lift lobby, that explains why I couldn't receive the order physically. Not so smart at all.

I called up Pos Malaysia (it's a pain calling them), requesting them to re-deliver the parcel. But, they said it's not possible as the parcel is only an "Ordinary PosDaftar (registered post)" instead of Poslaju. That explains why they don't even bother to come up to the doorstep of my office.

I ended up driving to the post office in order to collect my parcel.



Imagine how ironic I was when I saw this label on the parcel: "Safe, Trustworthy, Convenient". It's not that kind of convenience I was expecting from buying online. It is also hard to build a trustworthy relationship with the shoppers if some of the prices are marked-up.

My Two Cents to Acmamall.com

Since Acmamall is shipping via an ordinary postal service, I wonder how can I reschedule for a second delivery as stated in the FAQs? I know I could blame Pos Malaysia for not delivering the parcel straight to my doorstep. But, at least they will (in most cases) if it's a Poslaju, or worse case I can still request for a re-delivery.

It will only be right if Acmamall state it upfront that they are using local ordinary postal services. Alternatively, I personally wouldn't mind topping up a few ringgits for Poslaju just to ensure that the order reaches my doorstep.

Don't get me wrong, I am not just venting my frustration here but instead I will be glad if Acmamall improves, and playing its part on maturing e-commerce uptake in Malaysia.

Update: I had personally ordered twice after this incident and looks like Acmamall have improved their delivery service recently. Kudos to them! Read here on their recent commitment.