THE DEMISE OF ON-LINE BUYING?

On-line buying has grown exponentially over the last few years with virtual shops advertising just about everything along with mega on-line sites like Amazon, Ebay, Walmart, Target, Trade Me etc dominating retail spending.

Most of these have got their systems right with very good interactive ordering sites but there are a lot of wannabes who are trying to get in on the act but without proper support systems.

Most of, if not all of the on-line retailers work on the principle of J.I.T (just in time) delivery. They advertise products as being available, take orders and immediate payments and then place the order with their supplier (and no doubt get extended credit for bulk purchasing) with the product being delivered (often from the bulk supplier) to the consumer who has ordered and paid. This system can work as long as there is no disruption to the supply line.

Guess what?

There is major disruption to the supply line now due to coronavirus and Covid-19. Most of the goods sold on-line originate from China, South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia and other countries where Covid-19 scares are locking down borders and shipping channels. Ships are not leaving on time or at all and goods are being delayed.
With major, reliable companies the result will be that J.I.T. will be L.W.L. (later with luck). With smaller and less reliable companies that never were good at J.I.T. the new system will probably be K.Y.M.G. (kiss your money goodbye).

I have recently started ordering things on-line for convenience even though I have had two instances of being scammed and having my credit card account hacked. See: HERE   and  HERE
We've sorted things out with BNZ and fortunately haven't had any further problems although I'm cautious about which sites to use.

At present I have three pending on-line orders that I'm waiting on.

The first is a small and reliable shipper from which we purchase Barry's teabags. These come from the UK and are not available in shops in New Zealand. I ordered about 3 weeks ago and hadn't heard from them. Two days ago I emailed the company asking where our order is. To give them credit I received a phone call from someone in the company explaining that the container had been held up and it will be another 3 weeks before delivery. Disappointing but understandable.



The second is a supplier of ant-bacterial products named  Zoono.

I read a financial report on how Zoono shares have gone ballistic as the Zoono products are so good. I looked on-line and ordered a small amount. Delivery was assured as being 2 to 3 days. As this hadn't arrive within 2 weeks I contacted them and received this standard form response.

Hi there,
Thanks for your enquiry.
We apologise for the delay in getting your orders to you. The unforeseen outbreak of Coronavirus has resulted in significant demand for our advanced antimicrobial technology. We appreciate your patience while we increase production and resources.
Unfortunately, we’re unable to respond to all your emails so please refer to the below commonly asked questions:
· When can I expect my order (orders via zoono.com)?
· We expect to despatch your items within 15 business days after confirmation/placing your order.
For more information - please refer to our FAQ's on the wesbite. (sic)

15 more days! This isn't good enough. They banked my money pretty damned quickly and should be offering some kind of rebate.



The third is a supplier that I thought was reliable and now discover that they are a pack of arseholes.

I ordered an iPhone 8 from Dick Smith's after doing a lot of research on the product, prices and suppliers. Unfortunately I didn't do a search on 'Dick Smith Customer Service' If I had I would have discovered, on three different consumer watch sites that Dick Smith's and its owner Kogan have just about the lowest reliability rating there is. The star system runs from 1 star to 5 stars and Dick Smith's 1 star rating is over 40%. There is no 0 star rating otherwise over 40% would have been zero instead.
All of the 1 star reviews tell consumers not to buy from Dick Smith's and Kogan and that, as I've discovered. it's near impossible to contact anyone at the company as they hide behind a very complicated website and 'customer service' pages.

I placed the order in mid February expecting delivery within a few days. My order was processed and the payment ($630) immediately taken but no phone was delivered. An unwanted Kogan Mobile Prepay: EXTRA LARGE (30 Days 32GB) plan voucher was delivered - no use to me as I use Spark - but no phone. Battling with the web ordering system I found that the delivery was going to take place AFTER 10 March. Well, 10 March has gone so I tried to contact one of the ghosts at Dick Smith's and, buried in the shipment details was a small alert saying delivery would now take place AFTER 14 April. WTF? This is 2 months after I ordered and paid for the bloody thing.

I've read many of the complaints on the consumer websites (and posted one myself). Most are very recent and some the same timing as my order and delivery issues. All talk about the impossibility of being able to email or telephone a customer services person at this company.
Worryingly some talk about how they thought that Dick Smith's and Kogan were Australian companies and are concerned that all activity seems to be based in China with all products being Chinese models with compatibility issues.

Interestingly enough, when reading through the complaint posts, after a whole lot of 1 star reviews would be a block of about a dozen 4 and 5 star reviews. These are all posted on the same day by people using just their Christian names and glowingly praising Dick Smith's, the products and the service, These ere obviously written by a Dick Smith's employee. The fucking hubris of it is astounding.

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My experience is of just three recent on-line purchases. I have no doubt that the problems are representative of a world-wide problem that is going to get worse. I believe that people will (eventually) become risk averse and maybe stop or certainly reduce the amount of on-line buying that they do. If this happens then it may help to reverse the trend from real retail to virtual retail and we may see the resurgence of smaller shops where what you see is what you get - before you pay.

I'm certainly looking forward to that.