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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 99 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 6-7

    I would tell you about a recent experience that I had while I was shopping online for clothes. I ordered a new shirt and I really liked the color and texture which was why I ordered it in the first place but I was extremely disappointed because the product was low quality and it had different material as advertised and I was also disappointed to know that the color was faded and what burned my I would like to tell you about a recent experience that I had while I was shopping online for clothes. I wanted to buy a shirt and I ordered it in the first place because I found the color and material to be very interesting but I was extremely disappointed to know that the product was not at all like how it was advertised. It had a different color, it had a faded texture and I was shocked to find that it was even torn into pieces before I got it. The size was also not what I had ordered and what is shocking enough is that it comes from a brand that is highly reputed in fact it comes from a large business conglomerate and because of this experience that I had I have decided that I would never go shopping online for clothes and instead I would like to have the human touch and buy it from small stores preferably

    Band 6-7

    When I was shopping two weeks back for a saree to attend my cousin's wedding, I had this huge problem of finding certain type of saree that I wanted to wear it to wedding. It is very difficult to find the required styles of sarees on offline stores because not everybody knows about it unlike online where we can search a type of saree and there comes a huge options but in offline people can't obviously scorn the entire shop for me to find the appropriate required saree so that's the difficult part I faced while doing that. Coming to the wedding, I probably bought something relatively similar to the saree that I had in mind. I wore it to the wedding and it was good. The wedding ceremony happened at night and it is raining and there was all lights and stuff. My mom complimented me that the saree looks good but I liked the saree that I saw in online rather than offline platforms. I faced this problem quite many times rather occasionally. It's not only about sarees or something, it's about every kind of thing you require.

    Band 6-7

    So recently, it was not a personal purchase, but it was something that my mom had thought of buying it for me. So it was not an online purchase, it was an in-store, but it was a purchase that is made... I want to start again. I want to start again. No. Try again. Try again. Last year, for my birthday, my mom had thought of gifting me a laptop because I didn't have one. And she found this scheme in which this institution or this, what do you say, a startup or something like that had planned on providing laptops for students at subsidized rates. So that was how the scheme was functioning. And she enrolled my name into the scheme in the hope of getting a laptop. So we had to pay half the price of its market value because it's subsidized for students. So that's how it functioned. And so we can't put it into the category of either online purchase or this in-store purchase because it was part of a scheme, like what you say, an NGO or something of that sort. But then we found out that they in fact took all of the money and fled and were not left with a laptop and they had committed a huge fraud. And later we discovered them and because of its mass, like a lot of people had in fact put themselves or enrolled themselves in the scheme and had financial losses. So all of them together marched to their office and created a discussion as to what is to be done. And now it has been resolved by saying that they have given a check of the value that we have deposited with them. Hopefully it gets encashed and we get over our financial burden. So that was the experience that we had.

    Band 6-7

    Actually, we face a lot of problems while shopping online, especially for the old age people. When coming to the point, a long time ago, to be accurate when I was 18, I wanted to shop a mobile phone on online shopping which is known as Amazon, let's take it as Amazon. I was searching for a mobile phone for my grandfather and he wasn't able to use it on his own, so he searched on his own on my mobile app, but he couldn't understand the grammars and the pronunciation used on the browser app, so I tried to change settings on the language setting, but I couldn't find any language which is helpful for my grandfather. It is a very big problem for the old age people and not only that, the server issues with the online shopping is also very bad. We can't think of an internet, I have a very high speed internet, sometimes I won't be able to access the online shopping due to server down of the online shopping.

    Band 6-7

    During online shopping I feel discomfort because during the shopping of cloth in online I didn't find a correct size. Sometimes they will provide the wrong picture of the product. For example, recently I bought a t-shirt and the cloth is very cheap quality but in the picture it look like a premium product. The size is also different. Sometimes they will also provide different color. Recently I bought a chair for my neighbor's child and it was very different from the picture because the color and the product design is also different. Sometimes they will provide good quality. For example, if you buy branded items they will provide the good quality but for this type of product and sometimes they will also have a different kind of products. This kind of product will reduce the market. Sometimes the sellers are not authentic. They will provide the second quality of used items.

    Band 6-7

    Today I'll explain about a problem that I faced while ordering food on Zomato. So most of the time, this had happened to me, it's not the first time, whenever I order something, after placing the order and completing the payment, I get a call from the owner saying that the product isn't available, which really stresses me out, because then I have to go back and cancel the order by my own from Zomato and get the refund, it's a lot of work. This has happened to me continuously, like 5-6 times, and moreover, it is me who have to deal with the cancellation and everything, which in turn, gives me extra work, which actually should be done by the person who made the mistake. That is one fault I find with Zomato, and I had to deal with it, so I did what had to be done, and later I ordered something, and thankfully, it came on time. I also complained about it to Zomato team, to which they replied that they'll do their best to overcome the situation, which they just say to comfort the user, they don't really make any changes, just because we tell them about the problems, which also really stresses me out.

    Band 6-7

    So, as we all know, the festive season is upon us, and most certainly, all of our mobile phones are being bombarded with plethora of festive-related sale notifications. Yes, so I too fell for one of those. Last Sunday, I thought, since there is an ongoing sale, let me see what xyz.com has to offer. So I was just scrolling through the website when I saw up to 30% discount on electronics. Well, I didn't think before what I wanted to buy. But while scrolling through the website, I just remembered that I needed a trimmer. That is when I started looking at it. But the thing is, I've never bought a trimmer online. Mostly I've had experience buying electronics in an offline store. Obviously, that gives you more options. You are able to check the product yourself. You have salesperson guiding you all around with the best discounts, etc. But I found this website quite detailed about the product. So I went ahead with Philips. So I started looking at it. But just then, I was again bombarded with a lot of other trimmer options from Philips again, but with a lot more functionalities. So I thought, OK, let me go with the most expensive one. So I bought myself a Philips All-in-One.

    Band 6-7

    I recently was searching for formal shoes for an upcoming interview in my college placements. So to buy the formal shoes, I was shopping on Amazon, mostly because I did not have the time to go to in-store and purchase the formal shoes of my liking. Since my time was limited, I decided to browse online websites such as Amazon, Myntra and Flipkart. Although Amazon was the only online retailer where I found the shoe that fitted my outfit and my personality. I chose the shoes because they were the least expensive and the most favoured by other customers based on customer review. This was during last month, right before my college placements started. However, the size of my feet are very small. It's below average, I would say. So, it was difficult to find the right size on the Amazon description page. So, I had to email the seller about if they had the right size. And this is when the problems began. Initially, the buyer said he did have the size and he would have it ready by two working days, which was perfect for me because my interviews only began two weeks later. However, two days go by and he did not get back to me. So, I email him again and this time he completely ignores my request. This frustrated me. So, I went to Amazon's customer service and I raised a complaint. And they reached out to the seller and finally, I could talk back and forth with the seller. And it took me about three weeks, which was very delayed and I had to make other arrangements for my placements. However, in the end...

    Band 6-7

    While I do think that online shopping is a great way for individuals to find what they truly want and buy it, I believe it has its own problems. There was I think a few months ago when I had perused an app to shop obviously and I found a corset. I love corsets. I think they're a great fashion piece and they can almost go with anything and everything you wear. So I found a black corset with some lace on it and I saw the measurements. The measurements were like close to what my size was. I would say almost a perfect fit and I decided to buy it. I added it to my cart. I was extremely excited and I put in the money to buy it. So this piece of clothing, it arrived at my doorstep, obviously convenience, wonderful and the moment I tried it on, it was too small for me. Now I feel like online shopping, while it's a great way to get what you want instead of and with also less energy because a lot of shopping centers don't exactly have what we have in mind. We might have to compromise on the exact purchase but here it just gives a sense of disappointment. I feel I felt disappointed upon seeing that it didn't fit me. I felt a bit insecure because it didn't fit me. So I would say that I wish more apps were on the mark about what their product is, gave proper measurements instead of compromising the value of customers satisfaction.

    Band 6-7

    well first of all thank you for this tremendous q card. I would like to share a problem when I shopped online. I bought a kurti from Myntra because I love the shopping online and Myntra is my favorite application to shop because Myntra gives so much products on a single app. so I shop for a kurti and the kurti I ordered is in black color very pretty and decent but when I get the kurti I didn't get the same color rather it is in maroon color so I refunded it but they didn't reply to my refund request and it's the first time I am having this problem on Myntra so I then I refunded it for after 15 days they came and took the kurti but there is no refund showing in my app then within I think one week they gave me the refund so that's a bad experience I have with Myntra three months back but after that if I ordered a kurti short kurti but that's the problem solved and they gave me a message regarding to that sorry for the inconvenience and we will definitely make you sure that in future you will not have these type of problem so I think there are some problems if we shop online because we can't see the product or we have to wait for the product to come to our place
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