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Everybody knows how it goes, you're there pretending to work on your pc, when your eyes are attracted to some 'thing' for sale on some website... hummm...
Well, yeah, the price is almost right... probably you can find it one or two euro lower if you search really hard... Maybe you can wait until saturday and check that place downtown, maybe they have it there too...
Hummm... 3 days delivery time... Ok, it makes it pricer of about 10 euros, but it's monday and 3 days means to have it for friday, saturday at least and go in that place downtown is a chore, there is never anyplace to park and you have to walk for a kilometer... hummm...
In the end you do click on the link and send the order. And the next day a mail is waiting for you that says "Yo DumbAss, we received your order and we'll send this crap over as soon as we finished laughing at you". Or something similar. And that's it.
Wednesday arrives and there is no trace of your 'thing'. On thursday you receive another mail that says "By Golly! We could have swear that we had that crap in our werehouse" (that, judging from your website, should be the size of the Kilimanjaro if you really keep all that stuff ready to be sent out) "but now we can't find it anymore. But fear not oh DumbAss, 'cause we've already ordered for you and you'll receive it in 40~45 days. If everything works". And if I concentrate hard enough I can hear them laughing from here.
At this point what I usually do is to click on the link that read "cancel order". And what happen is that a millisecond later I get another mail that read "Oh Supreme, Excelsius and Arboreum Customer, we, Your humble servants and slaves, bow at your decision, but can we at least know the reason for your cancellation?" and I reply "'cause you're a bunch of untrustable, undependable and laier thiefs. And you smell too". But I digress.
Sometimes ago I read somebody's opinion that claimed retail as dead, and he proudly announced that he was only buying online. But the problem (IMHO) is that in normal retail (brick and mortar) you can see the stuff, touch it and if you like it, take it home. After paying I mean, I'm not saying you can get out without paying it! While the 'virtual' shopping, even if is really practical has the disadvantage that the goods are GodKnowsWhere and the various virtual shopkeeper depends on their supplier as much as you depends on them. And since price can't be the discriminant, delivery time has to do.
Obviously they know quite well that they won't be able to deliver in that time. Never. But they bank on the fact that most i-Shoppers are way too lazy to cancel the order once placed.
It's like when you go buy a new car and the deler tells you that in that color will be available only after 6~8 months. And you think but all these fantastic super-automated factories we always see in tv that can build a car in 6 hours, are all busy churning out cars of the wrong color?
It's the 'zero stock' principle, chased by all the retailer since day 1 of the big internet ka-boom and never reached. Like the 'paperless office'.
And while I was reading this I stumbled into this thing here that... 3 days delivery time... hummm...
Davide Bianchi
28/01/2010 12:02
Comments are added when and more important if I have the time to review them and after removing Spam, Crap, Phishing and the like. So don't hold your breath. And if your comment doesn't appear, is probably becuase it wasn't worth it.
erm.... By Alberto Mischi posted 27/01/2010 20:00
@ Alberto Mischi By Davide Bianchi posted 28/01/2010 11:10
@ Davide Bianchi By Alberto Mischi posted 28/01/2010 19:22
finche' tardano... By Max posted 27/01/2010 21:27
@ Max By Davide Bianchi posted 28/01/2010 11:11
@ Davide Bianchi By Max posted 28/01/2010 22:19
Mattoni o bit spesso si assomigliano... By GioGioLo posted 27/01/2010 22:19
Il dito nella piaga By Matteo Italia posted 27/01/2010 22:20
uh? By Riccardo Cagnasso posted 28/01/2010 00:57
Il gusto dell'attesa By Anonymous coward posted 28/01/2010 08:55
Boh... io ho fatto tanti acquisti online... By ringo posted 28/01/2010 09:46
...mah By Teozz posted 28/01/2010 10:17
parole sante.... By argaar posted 28/01/2010 11:01
Si faceva anche coi cataloghi di carta.... By Locomotiva posted 28/01/2010 11:39
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