Get me someone who looks at you the way Yvonne looks at Jen whenever she speaks 😆 In all seriousness I love your dynamic duo. And dear lord I didn't even know there were that many online services in Germany. I mean for me I came from a place where we only ever ordered food online and that was only during the pandemic. Definitely bookmarking this video!
I totally feel you. In my country online shopping only became a thing at a decent pace about 5-10 years ago, but once it's been here to stay, we face the same patterns and sometimes confusing outcomes, that the girls touched on. Out of hurdles, misunderstandings and all but different planets of terms, we learn to get a Phd in online shopping in its own way. 😂 I'll be coming back to these comments once I have my own sip of experience in Germany, but a couple of friends have told me so far it's been #smoothly to them. Oh, and getting you (or me) someone who looks at you like Yvonne looks at Jen, well I wish it to everyone (deserving). 😉
Differences of delivery services, showing on card or online tracking: Amazon Logistics - "Your parcel is standing next to your couch in your living room." DHL - "There was no reply to the door bell, so we will try again tomorrow." Hermes - "Your parcel will be delivered today, between 7:30h and 23:45h" DPD - " Driver come 3 times, driver no find door bell. He come try again tomorrow, may be." :)
I've just moved to Berlin and you guys are helping me so much! I just wanted to have discovered this channel before, thanks alot for all the useful information!!!
Once again an extremely good overview of the commercial Internet offers in Germany, which is not only interesting for the intended target group of expats. Very good!
Hi. I accidentally saw your channel and I must say that most of your YT video topics are the things I wanted to know before coming to Germany. :) You really explained it simply and very understandable. :) Thank you for making these videos for people who wants to be enlighten about the life in Germany. Your videos help me a lot and it really sends good vibes. :) THANK YOU Jen and Yvonne. :) More power to your channel. :) Take care! :)
I don’t agree on the DPD, they never come and directly send it to the parcel pick-up shop. I encountered it 5x in a row. I work from home so they don’t have excuse! Anyway, I like your content.thanks
It happened to me that a parcel was put on the door of a neighbours house while I was at home waiting for it. For that reason I don't buy anymore from a dealer who sends via dpd.
I mostly prefer going in person when buying for multiple reasons: 1. Being able to check the item in person for defects. I bought a computer screen once online, it came and had dead pixels, and it was not considered a defect if there were less than 10 dead pixels under warranty policy, so the warranty still didn't applied. In person, I would be able to examine, find this quickly, and ask to examine another unit. Manufacturers state that few dead pixels is "typical" for monitors, which is how they can get away not taking it back, even if consumer protection laws are good for a given country. 2. Not having to wait for shipping. I buy and it's instantly mine. 3. Being able to try it out in person to see if the product is the right thing for me. For cloths, I get to find the one that fits. For keyboards, I get to type on them and see if the keys feel good to type on. And so on. 4. Sometimes I don't actually know if I need something until I see it on a shelf. If something interests me and I realize I need it, I'll get it. 5. Most of the time I can examine the contents of the box something comes with in case it does not come with something that I may need to buy separately, sometimes this is not clear in online listings. These don't apply in every single case of course, I do a good amount of shopping online due to lack of availability for some stuff locally. And for some type of items, defects are very rare so examining it does not matter.
Return via DHL driver: Just note down the shipment ID. As soon as the courier scans the package and the data is transferred to the system - which will be at his return to the depot at the latest - you will be able to see the pickup and all subsequent checkpoints on the DHL website.
Vielen Dank für das Video. Zalando u. MediaMarkt/Saturn haben mich überrascht. Dachte die wären nicht auf Platz 3 u. 4. Wobei, MediaMarkt hat ja mittlerweile auch Pfannen, Barbie und vieles mehr.^^ Vielen Dank für das coole Video. Macht so weiter :) LG Chris
I think another important thing concerning shopping from non EU shops is, that the shipping cost will be included in the price for calculating the customs fee. For example you buy something in China that costs 4.50 Euro plus 3.50 Euro shipping you are over the free sum of 5 Euro and will have to pay 19% on top of the total value 8 Euros on delivery.
@11:39 You forgot UPS. 11:51 DHL has the advantage of parcel boxes. You can let them deliver it to the next automated storage box nearby and pick it up 24/7 in the next 7 days.
@@simplegermany India online shopping is fun. 1) Great offers and discounts (as good as 50%, more than 60% of the times) from authentic brands including german brands such as Nivea, Puma, Adidas and many, 2) So ease of making orders, cancellation, rescheduling, return etc by not paying any extra penny, and 3) CUSTOMER IS KING mindset where customer is above all processes and policies.......
Hi Jen, Yvonne, I recently found your channel and I love what you do ❤ Me and my family are thinking of moving to Düsseldorf. Have you made a video of the different neighbourhoods in Düsseldorf? It will probably come down to where I find work but if I have some info beforehand it would be nice. Thank you for doing what you do!
Hey Martin, we don’t have a video specifically on the neighborhoods but we do have a video why we love living in Düsseldorf: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-UV-3W9fLoCk.html All the best for your move 😊
Everything close to the river is of course usually more expensive but better. Especially on the other side like Oberkassel, Lörick. If you own a car though this can be a slow commute as there are obviously a limited amount of bridges. Golzheim is on the main side but also close to the river and quite nice. Also think about how close you want to be to the Altstadt for partying etc. It can be expensive and also pretty loud. Avoid renting somewhere close to the Street Car rails. It can be pretty loud. Especially if they go round a corner. Then watch out the stretch around the airport where planes are coming in. Loud and also some neighborhoods (Rath, Mörsenbroich) have some parts that are not so nice. Oberbilk has also some parts with lots of social problems. Düsseltal, Pempelfort, Derendorf I can all recommend. Or, of course, if you find sth. further away okay, the suburbs along the B8 towards Duisburg are quite nice, safe and relaxed and surrounded with lots of nature: Kaiserswerth, Angermund etc. The south close to the river with Wersten, Holzhausen can also be nice and green. Avoid Eller in the East though if you don't like crime, haha. This is probably not politically correct. But that's how it is. Firsthand info from a native 😊
E-Rezept does certainly work and here is my tip for the ladies: you do not need to hecticly look for obgyn to get your birth control prescription. You can just do it all online. It does cost you money but saves you from one of the headaches which is super important for the ones who immigrated recently. I used the Shop Apotheke.
Ah thanks for your feedback. As far as we can tell, you still have to pay an administration fee to get a prescription issued online with Shop Apotheke. Did you have to pay between 9-29 euros for your prescription + possible costs for the birth control?
@@simplegermany 10 EUR for consultation. Considering that Tageskarte costs 9.30 EUR, it's nothing. I'm not eligible for any kind of discount, so the price of the birth control itself stays the same. It's not that I need the pill for its intended purpose, but the return of the "red monster" and the mood swings upon discontinuation are the last things I need while dealing with the (unplanned) emigration. First time I did it the hard way through finding an actual obgyn.
A very-very-very useful video!! A potential idea for another video: where regular people can sell their stuff (sorry if you already have it!). E.g. clothes, bags.
Rewe doesnt deliver fresh/wet groceries everywhere. They do that only with Paket. So a lot of towns don't actually enjoy grocery delivery. Paypal - I read somewhere that return shipping is free for 12 times annually? Could be a reason why Germans use it. Germany needs to benchmark against its neighbour Switzerland for these. Parcel pick up from home is not charged extra, wet grocery delivery coverage is better, among other things. And oh, maybe you can talk about how postmen leave parcels on the front door that leads to theft, and also the theft itself.
Ah we weren’t aware about Rewe. Yes, PayPal offers to refund returns 12 times a year for up to 25€ as we have learned recently 😉. Switzerland does not have Amazon though, so they sometimes shop in Germany and have it send to friends to then pick it up another time 😅 Where we live the parcels get dropped at the stairs inside the building and never outside. So we have never experienced theft.
When you buy from Aliexpress you see all taxes included in the price right away. And you pay them right away. It's different for US. I ordered from Colourpop and did have to pay extra at the post office.
I really loved this video, always really informative ♥You girls have made my stay in Germany so far really smooth with your videos and info. My personal experience with DHL, at least the first one wasn't that nice, they were to deliver my internet router, but they were supposed to ring but I still don't get why even if I opened the door they didn't deliver the package, and didn't leave the information, it was sent 3 days after in a letter.
@@simplegermany It's ok, now I learned that if I'm not here or they decide I'm not here I can predetermine it gets sent to a packet station of my desire, and not have them pick the farthest one (which is what happened, but helped me to learn how to use bus/trams). Oh so far so good, I'm trying to enjoy everything and see the good, and I ABSOLUTELY love that even if I know less than basic german when I try to say things in german, german people's eye sparkle, like I love that even if I'm butchering things they correct me and try to help me. Ya tengo mis par de historias al respecto lol
I always wondered where the Germans shopped online from. Now we know... So many options! I only found galleria karstadt and one more store but was not impressed with their online experience at all. I was used up USA online experience which is quite user friendly. I guess their closing down explains why their online wasn't so good. It's unfortunate though because that was my go-to store as a tourist. Shopping online hurts local stores any then visitors don't have many options left like the Oxford street in London is not the same anymore due to all the closures. Does online shopping really make economic sense with the delivery and shipping fee? I think online shopping leads to more wastage because you simply cannot buy a pair of shoes or dress without trying it on first. That's a lot to expect of buyers! I need to try many times before finding what i need. These days, shoes don't even have a standard size, quite strangely! So unless it's free shipping and returns, online shopping would be more expensive and generate more waste if one can't return in store (in usa I've can return in stores unless bought from Amazon or Zappos). I hope that the local stores survive and that visitors have access to stuff when they visit. Germany has a very charming local brick and mortar store set up in most towns which i really enjoy going through.
Oh! Speaking of electronics, where can I find a tiny screwdriver for electronics? I bought the Lego trainset.... And I have no way of putting batteries in it. For some reason Mediamarkt doesn't carry them, even though I'd think half the gizmos in their store would need one.
Haha almost, just without the “r”. Bauhaus and Obi are two of the most popular home improvements stores in Germany. They sell all kinds of tools and stuff.
OK, if anyone else is in my plight, Woolworths. Woolworths has the tiny screw driver set. (The wife wanted to look for clothes so I looked, before making the trek to a hardware store.
What does DHL do after 7 days of holding a package? Twice last week they didn't leave my boxes (2 different boxes from the same Amazon order) and I can't figure out where DHL is, what to take (they didn't leave a slip), or if they even speak English. Mein Deutsch nicht so gut! Yesterday I stayed home all day to track my dog food deliver from Zoo Plus, unfortunately by DHL. My husband and I stood outside as he delivered to neighbors, he then drove off and ignored us as we waved our arms to get his attention. I tracked the truck for 7 1/2 hours yesterday only to have the driver ignore us! I'm guessing his shift was over. The DHL update was that delivery would occur next business day, so I'm hoping he doesn't run out of time again! Of course it will be raining all day so he'll probably be moving slower.
Typically after 7 days they would send it back. But without a slip or an email it will be difficult to pick anything up at a postoffice. We hope your dog food will be delivered today 😊
Amazon is enough for me, lol. Question: if someone steals your credit card infos and buys smth online - does the bank give you back the money like in the states?
For money transfers, we use a service provider called Wise. Here is our partner link: www.simplegermany.com/wise/. To find the best bank account for you, you can take a look at our guide: www.simplegermany.com/best-german-bank-english-speakers/. For cash deposits, a branch bank like Commerzbank is most convenient.
Funny enough, I just bought a phone for my wife from Amazon a week ago, it arrived today and they had sent me a capture card:/ we did send it back though.
great vid, today I heard that as a foreigner staying just for work without permanent address in germany I ćant do online shopping from Lidl, is that correct?
In some areas you need permission like in national parks. And depending on the drone you need to have special liability insurance 😉 you should be able to change your phone number in the online banking with Commerzbank.
I also prefer to "support the local dealer", but since covid came around, the local shops are not the same anymore. The staff is mostly frustrated and when I ask for something, the answer is: "hamwa nich da, könnwa Ihnen zu übermorgen bestelln". (It's not in stock but we can order it for you) So... often I order myself right away. First rule: not from China! Most of the things are from China either way, they seem to be cheaper if you order from there, but you never know what kind of fee comes on top. And you might have to wait weeks for the arrival - if! the things you ordered arrive. So I pay a little more for a more probable and faster delivery and no extra fees guaranteed. When it comes to DHL, Hermes, etc the opinions change with the region, sometimes the streets and even with the delivery person. E.g. the DPD person here (big city) is from Mo-Fr the same and it's a great guy. Always super friendly and polite. It's even the same guy for the past 4 or 5 years and he knows, which lady needs a little bit longer to open the door or where to be aware of a dog or cat. But on Saturdays it's always someone else. The Saturday-guys change all the time and all of them are horrible. The delivery from Amazon changes drastically all the time. One day the person greets you friendly, the next day your package lies totally messed up under the doormat. Not so fun when you ordered a new smartphone. I really hoped it will be mandatory again that the recipient has to sign every delivery. Great video for people from abroad!
I'm not surprised by PayPal and other E-Wallets being popular. A lot of if not most Germans do not have credit cards, as EC (Electronic Cash) filled that role in Germany. E-Wallets are often the only alternative taken by online shops, so I know a ton of people who use E-Wallets as an substitute for credit cards, which are often viewed as a "should be illegal" money grab by banks 😉 Also note that Germans like to incorrectly label everything electronic "Cybersomething", so you can also encounter the term "Cyberwallet", which...makes no sense at all, but if you encounter it, they mean an E-Wallet. As for your question, I moved to 100% online for all shopping, including grocery, when the pandemic started and only started visiting shops again in June of this year. I'm still like 85% online, but one thing to mention is that REWE for example is a lot more expensive than shopping at a discounter like ALDI or LIDL, so...it's great they have that service, but I really only used it continuously for contact avoidance during the pandemic. Of all the delivery services mentioned, Hermes has the biggest...range in delivery quality, in my experience. I had a regular delivery guy at my last home who was great and would remember when I got home from work to plan his stop at my house (wow!) , but I also had a driver who blind-threw parcels over the fence and into the neighbor's pond. ☹ And, finally, a lot of Germans shop in China by accident, because it's not always clear they are NOT shopping at Amazon, due to the Marketplace. So they will think they are buying from Amazon and then be confused why it takes so long... That's not specifically a German problem, but learning to distinguish between Amazon and their Marketplace is really helpful 🙂
