My kids and I love going to bookstores. We can spend endless hours there, browsing the books and magazines, and it is more often than not that we walk out with some “goodies” for everyone.
However, sometimes I feel like I need to browse and buy some books but because of time and logistics constraints, I could not do so. Hence I was pleasantly delighted when this fabulous online bookstore, NoQ Store, gave me a fantastic opportunity to check out and review their online store.
NoQ Store was founded in 2011 as the online bookstore of Times Publishing Group. As an online store, it offers a vast selection and variety of books from every genre imaginable, and makes it hassle-free for consumers to purchase books and related items (like stationery), without the need for queuing up in stores, hence the name “NoQ”.
NoQ store is the digital counterpart for Times Publishing Group’s sister companies: Times The Book Shop Malaysia and Times The Book Shop Singapore.
Are you curious to find out what I thought about this online bookstore? Come and read about my NoQ experience and also, don’t miss the readers’ special section below! 🙂
First Impression
My first impression of the NoQ online bookstore was that it had a very pleasant color scheme. For an online bookstore, choosing a clear color that made reading easy scores bonus marks with me. With a simple white background and light accents of green and grey, it was relatively easy to browse this site and made the experience so much more enjoyable.
One of the first things that caught my eye was the Free Shipping signage. Oh yes…NoQ will ship your order for free within Malaysia, provided your order is worth RM50 and more for West Malaysia or RM120 and more for East Malaysia. Not a difficult task to accomplish if you ask me 🙂
Registration
I proceeded to register as a user to enable me to purchase books. The registration process was very easy and straightforward and I had no problems at all.
However, I do have a small bone to pick about the acknowledgment email I received after signing up.
Notice the booboo yet?
Yup, the mail referred to me as a “Mr.”!!
A simple tweak in the script of the email notification can certainly fix that. The “Mr.” could simply be removed to avoid any further cases of “mistaken identity” or an addendum could be included, e.g. “Mr/Miss/Madam”.
The Purchasing Experience
Browsing the store was not a problem at all. Everything was nicely categorised into sections like Asian Titles, Art & Photography, Mystery etc. There were so many categories to satisfy my book hunger!
Your view can be further sorted according to Popularity, Date or Price, and just like some of the popular online bookstores, it is clearly stated how much your savings would be should you purchase the item from NoQ.
Purchasing items at NoQ was a no-brainer: simply add the items to cart and check out the items you want.
NoQ store accepts payment via credit or debit card (Mastercard or Visa) and also via PayPal. They also offer gift wrapping at a nominal fee. However, take note that if you order more than 1 item and select the gift-wrapping option, ALL your items will be gift-wrapped, not just one.
To help with the shopping experience at NoQ, I noticed this little chat box at the bottom right corner of the page. I had wanted some advice on selecting suitable books for my baby so I typed in a message, hoping to get real-time response from a customer support representative. Alas, I did not get one and I am still waiting for a reply till now. Perhaps this should be something important worth looking into?
The Wait
After placing my order, I was informed that my books will be delivered within 7-14 working days. It seemed longer in my case because I had placed my order right before the Hari Raya holidays and hence those aren’t considered working days.
Well, my book package finally arrived on th 14th day mark…and I was delightfully pleased when the DHL truck stopped in front of my house to deliver the parcel. The books were all securely wrapped in brown paper and then placed in a box padded with additional paper to cushion them too. As a result all my books arrived in pristine condition, even the paperbacked ones! Two thumbs up for the excellent packaging!
All in all, the shopping experience at NoQ store was a positive one and I would shop there again. The prices of the books are reasonable considering we don’t need to leave our homes to shop for them at the physical bookstore! I can’t wait for the birthday treat they promised me to see what goodies I can score! 🙂
Readers’ Special (You Gotta Read This!)
Because I love all you readers out there, and also thanks to the generous folks at NoQ Store, all readers of Giddy Tigers are entitled to an exclusive 15% discount on all purchases at NoQ store when you use the code GIDDYTIGERS at checkout. (Think book purchases and tax relief, guys..) Hurry though, this discount code is only valid till November 30 2014.
Ain’t that awesome? 🙂
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Shopping at NoQ Store
What I Love
- Shopping for books without the need to drive out, look for a parking spot, queue up to pay, push and shove with crowds, etc.
- Free delivery option available for purchases RM50 and over (West Malaysia) and RM120 and over (East Malaysia)
- Website is pleasing to the eye and eases the shopping experience.
- Great selection of books and titles
- Excellent packaging during shipment that prevents books from getting bent or destroyed.
What Can Be Improved
- Acknowledgement email salutation should be edited to encompass both male and female genders.
- Customer support should be responsive towards chat queries from customers via the web chat option on the website.
- As a stretch goal, if the delivery timeframe could be reduced, that would be ideal. 7-14 days seems a little too long to wait…
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Little Miracles
Our Journey of Love
