[LINK] Kogan on Online Retail....

Craig Sanders cas at taz.net.au
Sun Jan 9 17:16:55 AEDT 2011


On Sun, Jan 09, 2011 at 11:17:26AM +1100, Kim Holburn wrote:

> It is true though that Americans have always bought clothes by mail
> using catalogues and buying clothes online is one step better.
> Australians, not so much.  Personally I can't really imagine buying
> clothes online or through the mail.

one huge problem with mail order (and online ordering) in australia is
that we DON'T have that long-standing tradition of ordering stuff by
mail in this country, so we have lousy delivery standards.

i've pretty much given up on australian online retailers because no
matter how many times they promise you that they'll only ship to you
by australia post, no matter if you write "SHIP BY AUSTRALIA POST
ONLY. DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES SHIP BY COURIER" in the delivery
instructions field, the arseholes will still somehow "forget" and ship
the order by courier.

the courier, of course, won't deliver without a signature so they return
the item to their depot. which is invariably in some ghastly suburb in
the middle of nowhere at least an hour's drive away.

this sin is compounded by the fact that many australian online retailers
indulge in "Postage & Handling" ripoffs, and charge 2 or even 3 times
the postage cost. a couple of bucks extra for packing materials is
no problem, but charging double or triple just because they can is
unacceptable.

so not only have i paid far too much for delivery, i also have to drive
for a couple of hours to pick it up myself. on a weekday because they're
typically not open on weekends.

Australia Post, OTOH, will leave a card and take the parcel to the
nearest post office, where i can pick it up before or after work or
on the next saturday morning. which is why i insist on delivery by
Australia Post ONLY.


another problem with australian retailers is that they think it's
acceptable to lie when you call to confirm that they have the item(s)
you want in stock, and they can & will ship immediately. i think i'm up
to my third boycotted online retailer so far for pulling that stunt.

"in stock" means "we have it here right now and it's not about to be
shipped out to someone else". it doesn't mean "our supplier *might* have
it".


so, until australian online retailers understand that NO COURIER *means*
NO COURIER, and also understand that honesty really is their best policy
(they're already at a massive trust disadvantage compared to a shop
because they buyer has to hand over their money long before they get
their goods), i'm very reluctant to buy from them.


foreign online retailers are generally far better and faster at delivery
(and usually send by their country's postal service too, so ends up at
aust. post). and even australian ebay sellers do a far better job on
goods delivery than australian non-ebay online stores.

craig

ps: these issues are, of course, great grounds for actual shops to
compete against online stores. or would be if they wanted to. but it's
easier and cheaper to whinge at govt to demand that taxpayers subsidise
their laziness and outdated business plans.


-- 
craig sanders <cas at taz.net.au>



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