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Describe A Problem You Had While Shopping Online Or In A Store: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

  • When it happened
  • What you bought
  • What problem you had
  • And describe the party.
Show all 122 answers

Cue 1:When it happened

  • Begin by mentioning the time frame when the online shopping experience occurred, such as during a festival or sale.
  • Provide context about your shopping habits, like if you usually shop online or prefer physical stores.

Example

Last month, during the Diwali festival, I decided to do some online shopping to buy gifts for my family. I usually prefer shopping online because of the convenience it offers.


Cue 2:What you bought

  • Clearly state the item you intended to purchase, including any specific details that make it relatable.
  • Mention why you chose this particular item, perhaps due to its significance or popularity.

Example

I was looking to buy a beautiful set of traditional Indian sweets to gift to my relatives. These sweets are a staple during Diwali, and I wanted to ensure I got the best quality.


Cue 3:What problem you had

  • Describe the specific issue you faced while shopping, whether it was related to the website, delivery, or product quality.
  • Explain how this problem affected your shopping experience and your feelings about it.

Example

Unfortunately, after placing my order, I received a notification that the sweets I ordered were out of stock. I was really disappointed because I had planned to surprise my family with them.


Cue 4:And describe the party

  • Talk about the significance of the occasion and how the problem impacted the celebration.
  • Share how you resolved the issue or what alternative you found to still make the occasion special.

Example

Diwali is a time for family gatherings and celebrations, and I wanted to make it special. After the issue, I quickly searched for another vendor and found a local store that offered similar sweets. I managed to get them in time for the celebration, and my family loved them!


Conclusion

    Example

    Overall, while my online shopping experience had its challenges, it taught me the importance of having backup plans. In the end, I was able to enjoy Diwali with my family, which was the most important part.


    Following this structure will ensure you cover all the essential points while providing a clear and engaging response to the cue card topic.


    Tips to answer this Cue Card

    1: Vague Descriptions

    Being vague can make your answer less engaging and informative. Avoid general statements that do not provide specific details about your experience.

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    Tip

    Use specific examples and details about the product, the problem, and your feelings to create a vivid picture for the examiner.


    2: Ignoring the Cues

    Failing to address all the cues can lead to an incomplete answer. This may result in a lower score as it shows a lack of organization.

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    Tip

    Structure your response by clearly addressing each cue: when it happened, what you bought, the problem, and your feelings about it.


    Overly Negative Tone

    Focusing too much on negativity can make your response less appealing. It’s important to balance your experience with some positive aspects.

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    Tip

    While discussing the problem, also mention any positive outcomes or lessons learned to create a more balanced narrative.


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    All Answers

    Here are all the answers by real-users practicing speaking for IELTS Cue Cards on our IELTS Prep App.

    Band 6

    So, a problem I had while shopping online was very recent. I guess some 2 months ago, I was searching for new bracelets for birthday gifts as my cousin had a birthday party coming very short. So basically, I was searching it on some online browsers on Amazon website and eventually I got the bracelet actually and it was really looking pretty and then I was placing the order. Now, the problem I had with the website was, at that time the website actually was getting updated and I didn't really realize that when I was actually buying, when I was actually trying to hit the go to cart button, that time the website was updated recently, very recently it was updated at that time, at that moment. So basically, all my cart which was saved before, the bracelet which was there in my cart was actually having an updated price. So the problem here was, I was trying to buy it with my new price, like I was trying to buy it with the old price but actually I didn't hit the refresh button. So what happened is, some of the things which I wanted to buy were removed from my cart, only the bracelet came.

    Band 5-6

    I had a problem while shopping online, was the size problem which I had while I was shopping online. I have bought it, paid for it and after I received the package I found out that it was not a good cloth where I want to return it and I was about to go somewhere wearing that and had a problem and then have to wait and have had to return it while I think shopping in store also has problem but that could be solved within an hour because you can go back onto the store and can return it and buy something other than that like or you can exchange the thing that you buy while shopping online takes a process where you have to put your booked item and then place a replacement and have to wait like for a week to get back your order.

    Band 5-6

    Last weekend I went out on shopping with my fiancee for her jewelry we went to a lot of stores with the good brand names such as Malibar, Corona Jewelers or Mahes and as we are going to get married in upcoming November so we thought to buy our traditional outlets such as Mangalsutra or engagement ring and we went to shop and she liked one of the ring and we started processing for that amount that was of about 2 lakh I decided to pay that money half in cash and half through UPI but instantly my mobile data went out of amount so I was on my nerves and I asked my fiance to recharge my phone so that I couldn't complete my payment on the spot she helped me regarding that and we bought that ring and it was quite fun on that day because I never delayed any kind of payment in my entire life

    Band 5-6

    There was an incident which happened in my life recently when I was shopping for my 24th birthday. So, I was about to buy a shirt from the online store where many platforms were selling these online shopping. So, I selected a rail rapid store which is in online which is a good and decent brand to purchase. So, I compared like few different kind of shirt models with suits for me and I placed them in the cart and after all the comparisons I finalized a shirt and I checked all the size related information in the size chart and I ordered the exact size which suits for me but later when I placed the order but later when I received it when I tried it for the first time it wasn't a good fit for me it was not a good fit for me because it was little bit tight. And after checking all the size related information even after checking it I placed the order but still there was a size related problem in that. So I thought I might cancel and I might get the exchange but I don't have any enough time and even for the return they were asking me to wait for a 4 to 7 working days to return my amount. So it happened in and I wasn't happy for that for that online order. In my opinion it's better to shop offline to visit store and make a trial of it and by.

    Band 5-6

    so while shopping online I got I have to repeat so I remember this case when I had done online shopping two months back by mistake I had so so two months back I had a bad experience with online shopping as I have chosen one dress for my birthday it is kind of a problem you had while shopping online or in a store it is kind of a problem you had while shopping online so I remember one day when I so I remember two months back when I had to shop for one of my bosom friends birthday I have I wanted to so I remember two months back when I was doing online shopping for one of my bosom friend for her for her birthday so I wanted to gift her a dress which is red in color and it has a flared bathroom so two months back I remember I was shopping online so two months back I remember I was doing online shopping for one of my bosom friend because it was her birthday and I want to gift her cute little dress which was in red color and the thing which I love the most about the dress was the flared so I wanted to buy it firstly I went to the one of the most known brand which was H&M so I go to their website I clicked on the dress which I like the most so everything was fine the size the color and also all of all of the measurements but when I go started for the paying schedule it was not picking up like it was already saying that you can pay offline so I agreed over that I was waiting for the dress to come so that I can gift her but when the dress has arrived it was not of that same color and the dress was too short as my friend is too much heighted secondly when I gave the money so there was an option in the Mintra that you can return the dress within a given period of time but it was too difficult to replace it or to give it back so it was a disastrous experience for me because I never shop online as much but when I started doing it it always provide me the better experiences as I am not much of the window shopping kind of a person I like to go and have shopping offline so that was the issue that I had.

    Band 5-6

    I once bought a dress online I bought this dress during my sister's marriage this was quite expensive so once the dress got delivered I found that it was a damaged piece and the size didn't fit me well so I thought of just exchanging or just returning it but then when the in the portal when I saw for the exchange it said that there was out of stock of this product hence I thought of returning the product. To the disguise I tried so much I mean I just returned the product but then later on the actual refund amount I was supposed to get was within 24 to 48 hours but I I didn't get any refund amount so then I contacted the team and I contacted the customer care but I didn't get a proper review from them I didn't get the support so I think that was just a waste of time and moreover there was it was a waste of money so this I really regret buying that dress

    Band 5-6

    recently I had to buy a hat which I happened to see in a mall while I was teleshopping when I checked the prices of it in the official website it was quite reasonable I was happy with the pricing then I proceeded with the buying of it but later on I found out that they had added an additional shipping charges for me which was equivalent to the price of hat that was being sold out well that's ridiculous right we in that price you can buy two separate hats why buy a single hat with additional charges of a hat itself so I tried to inquire it about I tried to inquire it but no use but it was of no use as you know the customer support as the customer support denied to give a satisfactory answers for me so I ended up in not buying it by the way which I considered as a good decision even today

    Band 5-6

    There is a problem, even though if you are shopping online or in store, the problem while we are shopping online may be a technical glitch, because of the technical glitch, we can't order at a time. So that would be one of the problem and some cases, in some cases, the products are replaced by something else, like we are not ordered that, but then we receive the products which are unnecessary for us and then, besides that, there are many more advantages by shopping online. We can get most, mostly get discounts on online shoppings. Going to stores, the problem would be time-consuming, if we are going to shop offline, stores means it will consume more time compared to online shopping and then, other most, the bargaining is a most and foremost problem in the shopping center, because, you know, we can't give money how much they asked, they ask for high range of money, which doesn't even worth that product, so that would be a main disadvantage or a problem and then, crowd, for me, I don't like crowded places, so in offline stores, there are too much of crowd that we can't move around easily, so that is the problem in online, offline shop. And there is also an advantage of online, that would be varieties of collection, we can see and touch, feel the fabric of that particular product, so yeah, that would be an advantage for offline shopping.

    Band 5-6

    Yes, today I am going to talk about regarding shopping online, like couple of weeks ago I shopped in online stream, for example apps like IGO, Myntra and so n number of apps are there in online shopping, I choose IGO app, one of my friend suggested, he advised me to shop in this app, it was good collections are there, but I last week I was ordered one cloth like white shirt and black pant, in the app the quality and what that color as extremely astonishing, but while on the time the order I have, I had received, I saw the cloths quality are very poor and those are like very thin like cloths materials, so on the time I felt very bad experience in the online shopping, compared to the offline shopping is a better and it's more convenient and easily replaceable in the offline shopping, like so if the costs also affordable in offline shopping, so that's why I felt very horrible experience in the online shopping, so that's why I suggest my family members and my friends also don't choose shopping in the online sectors.

    Band 5-6

    Online shopping has its own advantages and drawbacks while online shopping has its own advantages and drawbacks. Once when I was shopping online, I bought a dress which was floral dress and I thought I... Oh my god! No! Kumud, you don't have to speak like this! Shhh! Online shopping has its own advantages and drawbacks while as we... Online shopping has its own advantages and drawbacks as we all are aware of the scammers are available online that offers some really good quality items as well as branded items for a very reasonable price and the price... Online shopping has its own advantages and drawbacks as we are... as everyone is aware of the fact that... Online shopping has its own advantages and drawbacks as everyone is aware of the fact... Online shopping has its own advantages and drawbacks as we all are aware of the fact that... Online shopping has its own advantages and drawbacks as we all are aware of the fact that... Online shopping has its own advantages and drawbacks as we all are aware of the fact that... Online shopping has its own advantages and drawbacks as we all are aware of the fact that...

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