In short. Almost everything in Bali is bought through Tokopedia and Shopee: you can pay with GoPay, OVO, DANA, a card, by QRIS, at a minimarket till or on delivery. Cash on delivery on Tokopedia applies to orders up to 2,500,000 rupiah, and on Shopee the "COD Cek Dulu" option, with a check in front of the courier, is more convenient. A return dispute is decided by the platform: the money goes to the seller after you confirm. For furniture and home goods people go to IKEA Bali in Kuta (10:00-21:00), Informa and AZKO; buy electronics from official sellers for the warranty on an Indonesian receipt. People leaving the island sell second-hand items on Facebook Marketplace and in chats: meet in the daytime, pay after checking, no prepayment.
Two marketplaces. In Bali almost everything is bought through the Tokopedia and Shopee apps: from an extension lead and bed linen to a mattress and a fridge. Many sellers are in Java, so look at the delivery time and price before paying: the app shows them separately for each seller, and for the same item they differ. A seller from Bali delivers faster. The account is registered with a phone number, and with an Indonesian SIM card it is easiest: how to get one is in the guide to SIM cards. Set the address with a point on the map and add landmarks: the name of the villa, the colour of the gate, what is nearby. The courier searches by the point on the map and calls or writes on WhatsApp, so the phone number in the order must be working.
How to pay without an Indonesian account. By the Tokopedia list, an order is paid with the GoPay, OVO, DANA and LinkAja wallets, by QRIS, through a bank virtual account, by card, at a minimarket till (the Gerai method) and on delivery (COD). For a foreigner without a local bank, three of these work. The GoPay wallet: it can be set up on a foreign number, how to open and verify it. A Visa, Mastercard, American Express or Diners Club card: for a card payment Tokopedia charges a service fee, and its amount is shown before you confirm. And cash on delivery, covered below. Tokopedia no longer accepts an ordinary transfer to bank details, in its place there is a virtual account, and that requires an Indonesian bank.
Cash on delivery on Tokopedia. This is the method for those who have neither GoPay nor a card yet, and for first orders from an unknown seller. Under the Tokopedia terms an order paid on delivery may not exceed 2,500,000 rupiah after discounts, with no more than five such orders a week and two a day. The first three orders of a new buyer are free of the fee, and from the fourth Tokopedia charges a service fee of 1% of the price of the goods, which is not returned if you return the order through the dispute resolution centre (Pusat Resolusi). The couriers are SiCepat, JNE, AnterAja, GoTo Logistics and the "recommended courier", and you pay the courier on receipt. By the help page, the method does not work for food and drinks, car goods, electronics and large household goods, gold and jewellery, large sports equipment, vouchers, tickets and medicines. Important for Bali: by the list of cities, cash-on-delivery orders are delivered to buyers in Denpasar and in the regencies of Badung (that is Kuta, Canggu and Uluwatu), Gianyar (that is Ubud), Buleleng, Bangli, Klungkung, Karangasem and Jembrana. Tabanan is not on the list. Sellers with this method in Bali are only in Denpasar, the rest ship from Java.
Cash on delivery on Shopee. For Shopee, cash on delivery, by the company page, is carried by J&T Express, SPX, ID Express, Anteraja and SiCepat; the app shows the amount limit at checkout. More useful than ordinary COD is the "COD Cek Dulu" option: by the Shopee help page the parcel can be opened in front of the courier before paying, and if the goods do not match the description, you can hand it back to the courier without paying anything. There are three conditions: open it in front of the courier, who films without your face; return the whole order as one parcel, even if only one item did not fit; and do not tear or cut the sticker with the number on the box.
Returns and disputes. On both platforms the money goes to the seller after you confirm receipt, so the platform decides a dispute. On Shopee, by the return terms, the request is filed from the app. If the item arrived wrong, damaged or not as described, Shopee holds the money, you are given one day for photos or video, otherwise the money goes to the seller, and the parcel is sent back within 5 calendar days from the time the return is filed. A return with the couriers Shopee supports is free, and with another courier you pay for delivery. A request to return an item with no defect can also be filed if it is in its original state: the packaging sealed and intact, the label not removed; Shopee considers such a request separately. Film the unpacking on video from the first second: it is the main argument in a dispute on any platform. On Tokopedia a dispute is opened in the same dispute resolution centre.
Shops you can visit. For furniture and everything for the home there are three chains on the island. IKEA Bali: Jl. Patih Jelantik, Kuta Central Park, Kuta, daily from 10:00 to 21:00, with a restaurant; the online order and delivery terms are on the IKEA site. Informa, a large furniture and decor store: Informa Living World Denpasar, Jl. Gatot Subroto Timur, Tonja, Denpasar. Hardware, tools, garden and kitchen: the AZKO chain, the former ACE Hardware. By Kompas, citing the company, the ACE licence ended on 31 December 2024, and from 1 January 2025 all 245 stores of the chain in Indonesia work under the AZKO sign. On maps search for AZKO.
Electronics and warranty. Buy phones, laptops and household appliances in brand stores in shopping malls or in the official brand stores inside Tokopedia and Shopee: the warranty goes by the receipt of the Indonesian seller. A phone brought from another country works with a local SIM card only after its IMEI is registered: for a tourist staying up to 90 days the operator does it when you buy the SIM, and those who stay longer register the phone at customs, how to do it. An order from a seller abroad, on Shopee that is "Standar Ekspres" delivery, is treated by customs as an import, with duty and tax: details in the guide to parcels.
Second-hand and classifieds. Furniture and electronics of people leaving are sold on Facebook Marketplace and in Telegram chats. Arrange the meeting in the daytime in a busy place, hand over the money after checking, and do not transfer a prepayment to strangers.
Payment on marketplaces and in shops is in rupiah. If you have no rupiah on a card or in GoPay, message BUZZ Exchange on Telegram: rupiah can arrive on GoPay, in an account or in cash, and the rate is named before the transfer.
What this means for you. Order small items and clothes on Tokopedia and Shopee paying with GoPay or a card, take first orders from unknown sellers with cash on delivery, on Shopee choose "Cek Dulu" and open the parcel in front of the courier. Tokopedia limits: 2,500,000 rupiah per order, five orders a week, Tabanan is outside the list. Look at furniture in person at IKEA in Kuta and at Informa in Denpasar, hardware at AZKO. Film the unpacking on video and keep the receipt until the warranty ends.