Your Gmarket questions answered =) Part 1

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90% of the questions I am asked are regarding Gmarket. Many just ask in general how to order but always replying by email is a bit hard for me.

Gmarket got easier within the last year as they made quite a few changes. I also posted several tutorials on how to order but since the site changed it might be time for an update.

This will be a terribly long post (and I will still split all info into more parts) but I'd rather have all info in one place. Of course this can't be complete and there might also small details puzzling you so if you have further question, please comment to this post and I'll try to get back quickly. If you don't see your question answered please check the comments below first, might be someone asked and I replied already.

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1: Language Problems:
Gmarket English is in English language. However the individual sellers write most of their item title, description, drop-down-menus etc. in Korean.
First off, to everyone who emails me regarding any kind of translations etc.. I don't speak or read Korean. I wish I could! But to help me on Gmarket (as the item descriptions/drop-down menus are usually in Korean) I use the following sites:

Google Translate
Yahoo Babelfish

I find using both together help a lot, as sometimes one site can translate better than the other.
Of course these sites will not help you for images with text. In this case only someone who can read Korean will be of help.

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2: General:
As I mentioned before you should always use Internet Explorer. Gmarket can get wonky with other browsers.

Gmarket is not the seller. They just give a platform for sellers to trade.
You can combine orders from various sellers in one order. Each seller will ship his part of your order to the Gmarket headquarters who will then pack your items in one box and mail it to you as soon as all parts have arrived. Your limit is 30kg or 30 items in one order.
You can also combine 2 orders if they haven't been dispatched by Gmarket yet.

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3: Registration:
The registration link is placed on the top right, along with other important links like "My Gmarket", "Sign In", "Customer Service", "Shopping Cart" etc.
Here are the steps of the registration. I made a new account for the tutorial =)
Click on the "Register" link



Fill in the form and hit submit


Check your email for the confirmation. Make sure your email displays images! In earlier days there used to be a confirmation number in the email. This seems gone now!


Click on the button and you get redirected to Gmarket:


If you didn't receive the confirmation email within some minutes, check your spam folder. If you can't find the email there, click on "Customer Center" on the top right. Attention: This is a pop-up window, so make sure your browser doesn't block it from opening!


Click on the Link "Registration Confirmation Mail". Enter your info and hit submit.
Should you still not get an email then follow these steps:


Now you should be able to sign in. Go to "My Gmarket" (click on "My Gmarket an you'll automatically be redirected to the "Sign In" page) and have a look at it to see where you find what.


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4: My Gmarket - Gaccount:
My Gmarket shows you all your orders, Wish List, Favorite Sellers List etc.

Top of page:

Scrolled down:


Your Gaccount (for which you set an extra password in the registration) is for your financial matters. I will try to touch this subject more in my 2nd part of the tut!

There is Gcash and Cash Balance.
Yuor Cash Balance shows you any money that you got refunded from a previous order or money you got via Gift Certificate whereas Gcash has to be purchased separately to pay a difference in shipping costs if it happens. I don't know why they have such a complicated system but you have to deal with it.
You can purchase Gcash with your Cash Balance or through your credit card/paypal.

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5: Payments:
All payments can be made by credit cards (Visa, Master don't need to register, some other need you to register the card with Gmarket first), Paypal (worse exchange rate but I got the difference refunded) or your Cash Balance. The Cash Balance must be higher than the order value.

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6: Shipping costs/customs fees etc.:
a) Domestic shipping:
Since each seller has to ship your package to Gmarket there is a fee for domestic shipping. Though usually it is very low (maybe US$2/order?) and sometimes even free if your order is worth a certain amount (like 10000 Won or so). If you order from many sellers and each is charging you the domestic shipping fee it can add up though!

E.g. this seller doesn't charge you for domestic shipping:


b) International shipping:

Not all sellers ship internationally. Please check in the item description if your desired item is available for international delivery.

E.g. this seller will ship internationally. If the box is ticked, shipping is only possible to Korea.


Unfortunately several countries are excluded from Gmarket shipping at all, please check the countries list here.

International shipping is by EMS so it's trackable, very fast and reliable. You can track it on the Korean post site or on your country's postal service's site to check the status. From Korea to Austria packages usually take 2-4 business days, so if it's dispatched on a Monday I will generally get it on Thursday morning, sometimes even on Wednesday depending on flight availabliity.

c) How are the shipping costs determined?
Each seller states an estimated weight in his description. A thing that pisses many potential Gmarket buyers off is that many sellers just type in 1kg even though the item might weigh 50 grams (like a lipstick).


The estimated weight of your order will determine the shipping costs you pay up-front. Whatever you paid too much will be refunded to your Cash Balance but unfortunately not be credited back to your credit card or Paypal. This way your money is bound in Gmarket (withdrawing costs about US$30 to your bank account).
Often the amounts are small so you need to have them sum up if you want to use the money towards a new order as the Cash Balance has to be higher than the value of your new order. That is the most annoying thing about Gmarket and the first thing I'd change if I were them. Credit us the money back to Paypal and you'd have a ton more happy customers!

d) Customs fees:
Of course you are responsible for all taxes etc. that have to be paid. Gmarket always declares a low value so I never got taxed but your country might be stricter and require a proof of value, bill etc. Also certain items might not be allowed to be shipped to your country and you have to make sure yourself that this is not the case. E.g. Austria doesn't permit to receive perfumes (with alcohol) via mail.

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End Part 1.
Next part will be about finding items, ordering, your shipping cart, how to pay extra shipping if the rare case occurs that the estimated weight was too low etc.