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by hartpuff 3710 days ago
> Nobody has credit cards to buy anything online.

Credit cards may or may not be relatively hard to get for most people, but anyone who wants a debit card can simply open a bank account, with an ID and maybe a few hundred pesos.

If you don't want to open a bank account, you can get a Smart Money card: http://smart.com.ph/Money/

If you don't want a Smart Money card, you can use Gcash: http://www.globe.com.ph/gcash

If you don't want Gcash you can use Paypal.

If you don't want Paypal you can pay cash on delivery.

> Nobody surfs the web except at internet cafes.

Surfing the web in internet cafes is about as dated as the term surfing the web; your proverbial "nobody" does it. Internet cafes are for gaming or getting stuff printed or photocopied.

"Everyone" has at least one mobile phone, often a smartphone, and that is how they 'surf the web', or at home, with an overpriced internet connection or pocket WiFi, or at "PisoNet" cabinets.

> Nobody aimlessly browses when they are dishing out money every hour.

Who anywhere aimlessly browses in an internet cafe? And "money" in this case is about 30 US cents (per hour).

> Even those with smart phones only use FB, Instagram, games and a handful of other messaging apps.

Isn't this most people, everywhere?

> I don't even have a proper address.

Why not?

>I don't know how the postal system is able to deliver anything.

Don't most countries use courier services for delivering packages, rather than the standard postal service? So presumably products are delivered using the likes of LBC, Air21, DHL, UPS.

>And speaking of money. Nobody has that either.

And yet "everyone" has the usual brand name products and gadgets and packed shopping malls are everywhere.

1 comments

You are right that prepaid debit cards are relatively easy to get. My region is still mostly cash though, so you don't use the cards much locally. Bank accounts are less common because of minimums to start one (though I haven't checked this lately.) Credit cards are even less common.

My earlier statement still stands. You would still probably be targeting people who could get a credit card or a card from a bank account. Most of the rest is a difficult market to run an e-commerce platform funded by outside investors.

Why would you specifically target a relatively low number of people who have credit cards, when you can accept credit cards, debit cards, Gcash, Smart Money, Paypal, cash on delivery, payment via ATM or bank deposit or online transfer, or even through pawn shops; methods that online stores are using already.
Philippines has Cash-On-Delivery (COD) shippers like LBC. When I buy stuff from Lazada, I usually have to do COD and I get the package within 2-3 business days delivered to the office.