It’s fast and easy. But it comes with a price!
Photo courtesy of mmwm
When you buy the tea online, all you see is the general picture of one kind of tea. For example, a sale site can say here is a picture of how black tea looks like and here is all the black tea product.
The price is that you have to take their words for it. Sometimes you are not even sure that kind of tea you will receive.
Each type of tea has different grades. Let’s face it, one kind of tea does not look that different from another, especially if you are a beginner. Well-known companies like Lipton or Twinning are in business for a long time. Their places in the market give them some credibility.
Not all the tea sales sites are trustworthy. Some sites have very good credibility, full of nice and clean transactions with their customers. Others may not. If you have a nice experience buying tea online with a tea supplier, great! You have nothing to worry about.
But if you are trying to buy tea online for the first time, you will have some elimination to do. You may not buy from the 1st site, the 2nd site, but if you feel safe about the 3rd site. Go for it! Get your tea. If not, continue searching. The internet is vast, there bounds to be someone who honestly wants your business.
The simplest tip for buying tea online is to communicate with the sellers. One easy thing you can do is to email the owner and ask some questions. I would prefer calling them on the phone if the number is available. Nowadays, people prefer emails. It’s fast and easy.
You can ask questions like:
* For more information on the tea that you wanted to buy.
* How long the tea is been on the shelves?
* Where did the tea come from?
* What kind of blends available in this kind of tea?
* If they reply you with certain blends, ask them for more information about 1 of the blends.
…
If they treasure your business, they will reply your emails in a timely manner (except in case they have too many customers then the reply takes longer. But can’t be more than 1 months. WHY do they need that much time to reply your emails?)
If you don’t receive the reply or the reply contains useless information, then you should find other supplier. This can save you time and…headache. If you receive the emails and are satisfied with the information they gave you. Then you can ask for taste samples.
Most suppliers may not offer samples but you can buy a small quantity. Just to make sure you will get the right tea for your money. Above are some cautions and tips for buying tea online. These cautions may not guarantee you the high-quality tea for you money but they will save you some time and money. Please keep in mind that this guide may not cover all questions to ensure that you will satisfy with your tea. But I will do my best.
Buying tea online to off-line
Before the existence of the World Wide Wed, the ideal way to buy tea is to go a tea shops and personally ask your questions. If it’s convenient for you to go, there are several hints for you to guess the integrity of the business.
The appearance is very important in the business. If the business is organized and clean, that means the owner have some respect for his or her customers. That’s a good thing because if he or she takes pride in the appearance of the business, there is a good chance he or she will take integrity in the products. However, this may not always be the case.
Another thing is you can ask about is the information about a specific product. See how the owner answers your questions. If the owner is an expertise in the business, you will receive a clear and useful answer. If not, then you are talking to someone who only watches the shop instead of the owner. Come back later. Or go to another shop.
Save time. Less upset later.
The supermarket is also a popular place to get their tea. However, supermarkets often have wide range of instant tea. It’s very hard to find high-quality dried tea leaves in the market.
The market has too many things stuffed in one place. It’s impossible to specialize in any product. Whether you are buying tea online or off-line, these tips can come in handy if you want the best product for YOUR money. When you finally found a vendor who you can trust, buying tea will be just a breeze….