Makro Marketplace Disaster – Secret Box Furniture Misleading Product, 2 Month Wait & Failed Collection

My experience purchasing a lounge suite through Makro’s online marketplace has been extremely disappointing and frustrating. Makro advertises products from third-party sellers on their platform at heavily discounted prices, which makes customers feel like they are getting a great deal. That was exactly the impression I had when I purchased a lounge suite sold by Secret Box Furniture through the Makro website. After waiting two months for delivery, I finally received a call that my order was out for delivery. In preparation for the new couch arriving, I had already donated my old leather lounge suite to someone who genuinely needed it, which made the arrival of the new one even more exciting. Unfortunately, that excitement quickly turned into disappointment. When I unwrapped the couch, it looked nothing like the one advertised on the Makro website. The quality looked extremely cheap and the stool feet were already worn, almost as if the unit had been previously returned and was now being passed on to me. Thankfully, I immediately took photos to document the condition of the couch, ensuring they were timestamped. I even checked my CCTV footage to confirm the exact delivery time so that I had clear proof of when the product arrived. The following day I contacted Makro via WhatsApp customer service to report the issue and express my dissatisfaction. I also made sure to screenshot every interaction I had with them. I was instructed to submit a refund request, which I did and received a reference number. However, when I followed up two days later, I was told that no return request had actually been initiated. I was then instructed to log into my profile and submit the request again myself. After doing that, a transporter from Value Express contacted me to arrange collection. Unfortunately, the collection process became just as frustrating: The driver never arrived on the scheduled day. I contacted them and was told the driver was far away but that it would be collected the following day. The following day came and went with no collection. I was then promised the truck would arrive at 10am the next morning, which also did not happen. Eventually, the driver called saying he was outside number 7 (next door to me). I immediately went outside, but there was no truck. After questioning him, it turned out he had gone to a completely different road with the same name nearly 30km away from my address. Shortly afterwards I received a call from Value Express saying the driver had been given that incorrect address. What makes this even more confusing is that the exact same transport company successfully delivered the couch to my correct address originally, and the correct address is clearly listed on my Makro order. At this point the entire experience has been extremely poorly handled , from misleading product advertising by Secret Box Furniture, poor product quality, delayed delivery, failed return processes and completely disorganized logistics. This has easily been one of the worst online shopping experiences I have had. Customers expect better oversight and accountability from a major retailer like Makro when allowing third-party sellers such as Secret Box Furniture to operate on their platform.