Author Topic: What makes for a good online purchase? (Read 3294 times)

bamaster · « **on:** March 21, 2005, 10:54:22 AM »

Ok, I have a question. What does it take to have a good online purchase experience?

I ask because the Online Proshops forum here is dominated by kudos for Buddies. They run a great operation, without a doubt, but I hardly think it's justified glorification. Here is why...

When you buy something online, you are SUPPOSED to receive it. If you live in the same state as where it's being shipped from, you are SUPPOSED to receive within a day or so. I mean, when you buy a Big Mac meal at the McDonalds drive through, do you call your friends and tell them that you received it within minutes of ordering and that they are the best fast food joint?

Haha! I know I sound like a bitter e-tailer, but I'm not, honest injin. But from my perspective, it seems that I'm working too hard.

Or am I the only one that feels this way?

Tony
http://www.allBowling.com

shelley · « **Reply #1 on:** March 22, 2005, 10:36:43 AM »

Probably has a lot to do with the fact that they post on here regularly, both as bowlers and as representatives of their shop. Yes, they do the things they are supposed to do, but they don't seem like they're just doing it because that's what they're supposed to do.

McDonald's is supposed to give you the food you ordered promptly. But have you ever been to a McD's and felt like they were glad you came in, they were happy to have your business, and that they're really interested in how your purchase worked out? They don't have to feel that way, and by and large, they don't, I think.

SH

bamaster · « **Reply #2 on:** March 22, 2005, 11:05:40 AM »

quote:
Probably has a lot to do with the fact that they post on here regularly, both as bowlers and as representatives of their shop. Yes, they do the things they are supposed to do, but they don't seem like they're just doing it because that's what they're supposed to do.

I didn't want this to turn into a Buddies thread... but how can they show their appreciation when online shopping is as impersonal as can be. I mean, they get orders in by e-mail with specs, and they ship... like the rest of us do.

Most threads I read in that forum rarely talk about anything out of the ordinary. I'm sure they (as well as many other shops) go to great lengths to find a specific ball with specific specs from obscure locations. I just don't see that.

One of the biggest obstacles for an online store is to instill confidence in consumers. Buddies has show themselves to be reliable, without a doubt. The question I have is... is that all it takes to have you buy again?

Tony

Steven · « **Reply #3 on:** March 22, 2005, 11:55:53 AM »

Tony: Up front, I'll tell you I'm not a big fan of online shopping for bowling equipment. I think our industry as a whole is healthier when bowlers use their local proshops whenever possible.

However, I do use wildoctopusbowling.com for scotchbrite and innovativebowling.com for spinner supplies, because these are specialty items I can't get locally. In these cases, confidence that they'll reliably deliver keeps me as a repeat customer.

In a world filled with flaky on-line establishments, it's actually a joy to experience businesses who simple do what they're supposed to.
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"You want the truth? -- You can't handle the truth! "

janderson · « **Reply #4 on:** March 22, 2005, 12:07:39 PM »

I'd submit that "good service" is service that meets or exceeds our expectations. Yes, we're supposed to receive the ball, the correct ball, with the correct weight, correct pin-out, etc. If there is a retailer/seller/servic/etc that does this all the time, they build a reputation of "good" service.

To build on the McDonald's analogy - have you ever had fries that were old and soggy, drinks that were low on syrup, burgers tossed together in a mess? Did you expect/want/demand that? Likely not.

With Buddies, as well as other companies, I have gotten exactly what I expected (or more) every time. To me, that is a good service and makes for a good purchase.

--------------------
Kill the back row (or maybe this should read "make your spares, dummy")

JPRLane1 · « **Reply #5 on:** March 22, 2005, 12:10:05 PM »

Tony I have a question for you Sir it kinda relates to your post. I called buddies yesterday because I needed to order 8 balls total. I am an individual and not a shop owner and I either buy online or locallly. Well I called them and told them what I needed told them I had already purchased from them numerous times and I said can you guys cut me a better deal since I am buying 8 at a time here and they said no. So I say can I have a free towel or something at least and they said no, I told them fine and if I ordered I would just proceed online like normal. Well I call my local guy to tell him my situation, just to see if he could even come close to their price, well he calls me back and says he will match it. Now we are good friends in bowling and beyond but he certainly went a long way to match buddies prices for me. Could they have knocked a few dollars off maybe, could they have gave me a free towel,rosen bag,piece of tape probably but did they nope. Well they didn't get my 8 ball purchase and my local guy did. Now I will still buy from buddies here and there they haven't scared me off totally but they did disapoint me a little bit. So my ? is what would you have offered me in this case.
--------------------

There is only one Lane#1. Know it, Live it, Throw it or Get Beat by IT!

Leader & Founder of Fellowship of the Saws! Respect us or get left in our Saw Dust!

Honorary member of the almighty NATION!

bamaster · « **Reply #6 on:** March 22, 2005, 01:04:41 PM »

quote:
So my ? is what would you have offered me in this case.

This is one of those trick questions, huh? Like when the wife asks if a dress makes her butt look fat? No win situation.

Here's the dealio. Buddies pricing is very popular with consumers... but NOT popular with pro shop proprietors, at all. If you were to buy 8 balls from me at my prices, which is still a good value imo, I would have some wiggle room for a free towel or maybe a $10 off your next purchase coupon, or something. But if you are asking me to meet Buddies and then give you something, that's a double hit for me.

Then the question is, why would I do that? Why would I want a loyal customer that causes me work but no profit? As someone that is trying to run a business, the value in low-margin customers is just that... low. I am not a fan of buying customer loyalty, especially from customers that are trying to squeeze every nickel out of the sale. It doesn't make me a "bad" shop when I don't give something away, does it?

You may recall late last year the CEO of Best Buy called some customers "demons", the ones that are bargain hunters, rebate hungry, who take advantage of price-guarantees and free shipping, etc. He caught a lot of flack for that but shows that not all customers are desireable. It's your money and we all try to get the best deal possible. However, as a small business owner I understand the frustration when a customer is squeezing. Truth be told, those types of customers are more trouble than it's worth... literally.

Artile about Best Buy
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/07/05/national1332EDT0564.DTL

Tony

a_ak57 · « **Reply #7 on:** March 22, 2005, 01:15:16 PM »

I only ordered once from the, got some shoes. The tracking thing never updated, and so I made a post on here asking about it. They called my house and told me that the shoes should be here the next day (they were). Now that's nothing amazing, but there are other places that wouldn't have bothered doing anything.

I think the big thing is customer service. They also have better prices than most places.
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- Andy

Brunswick...........'nuff said.

bamaster · « **Reply #8 on:** March 22, 2005, 01:27:35 PM »

quote:
but Tony how many customers do you have calling up ordering 8 balls in one shot? He is not talking about a one or two ball purchase with some sort of freebie/discount, because he is a loyal customer, this is just a major purchase that probably would warant some sort of item/discount

I've never sold two cases to one person. Yes it is a big order, but to ask me to meet the cheapest price he could find online and then throw something addiitonal in for free, is nothing short of ridiculous.

The real question is, why didn't Buddies throw in a free towel? Do they not have any that only cost a few bucks? What's $4 to a bigtime shop like Buddies?

I'm going to side with them on their decision. There is no benefit in attracting "gimme" customers. All I can do is make my prices as competitive as possible, while trying to stay in business... answer all questions as promptly as possible, fix things when things go wrong, and treat every customer with the respect that I would like in return.

Just my take on things.

Tony

Strapper_Squared · « **Reply #9 on:** March 22, 2005, 01:40:24 PM »

I would agree with the above post and have to say that it depends on whether they meet your expectations as to whether or not they provide a good online purchase experience. These expectations vary with each person.

In JPR's case, he expected some sort of discount or extra for buy 2 cases of balls. Personally, I probably would expect the same. That's a lot of business / money for an individual to spend, so they should be trying to attact my sales. If they can't provide a significant savings, then I would definitely buy locally.

In my case, I order accessories from them as they aren't carried here locally. I want a fair price and quick shipment. From my experience, buddies provides that. A friend of mine had ordered a while back from the infamous beachbowl proshop... sent money, but guess what??? They never came through on their end of the deal... claimed it was back ordered, then shipping troubles... next thing he knows they are out of business and he's screwed.

So, I think they are a valuable resource.. and offer a good service. Sometimes you can do better buying locally... sometimes not. I guess I'm sort of democratic with the idea of why spend your money else where, when you can get as good or better locally for a comparable price (feel very strongly about automobiles, but that's a differrent post)

I'm not supporting or bashing buddies, but from my experience, once you place your order, they hold up their end of the deal.

S^2
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-Strapper Squared

Looking for a girl you can keep tabs on???
http://www.womenbehindbars.com/

JPRLane1 · « **Reply #10 on:** March 22, 2005, 01:40:52 PM »

Ok I can sorta see what your saying here TOny but i am not a gimme customer. I am one who expects something free with such a large order. I will probably never order 8 balls at one time agian. I will however order single balls and other products and not expect anything except what I pay for. I am the kinda guy who bought my last pair of SST6 LX from my lcoal guy for $140 when I could have gotten online $30 cheaper. I am the kind of guy who buys 20 to 25 new balls a year and doesn't ask for anything in return except good service. I expect something special when I an indiviual order 8 bowling balls at one time. Now obviously my local guy who doesn't have an online shop or anything still made his money and he helped me out while matching buddies prices. No I didn't get anything free form him but the satisfaction of helping him which I would rather do than help buddies. As you said the are the mack daddy of online shops and even if the guy had to buy me a towel with his own money I probably would have ordered form them had they offered anything besides their low price. You have your point but i feel I have mine, no I don't buy locally exclusive and no I don't buy online exclusively either. No buddies throwing in something free wouldn't get all my business but it would have helped.

So you wouldn't want to give me a really good deal on a large purchase one time even if you had to cut your profits and throw in something free if it meant getting me as loyal customer who would purchase other balls in the future from you and look for nothing in return.

My local guy has told me his cost on some balls and sometimes I can buy cheaper than him just online, he obviously didn't have to match buddies prices and couldn't do it all the time but he did this time.
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There is only one Lane#1. Know it, Live it, Throw it or Get Beat by IT!

Leader & Founder of Fellowship of the Saws! Respect us or get left in our Saw Dust!

Honorary member of the almighty NATION!

Edited on 3/22/2005 2:38 PM

JPRLane1 · « **Reply #11 on:** March 22, 2005, 02:11:57 PM »

quote:
JPR, here is my question for you. Did your pro shop include drilling in that 8 ball purchase?
--------------------
Dan Knopf
Just a bowler
http://Truck3@sbcglobal.net

No and that wasn't part of the discussion these balls aren't going ot be for me they are for trade so they aren't getting drilled by me. Drilling doesn't apply in this discussion.
--------------------

There is only one Lane#1. Know it, Live it, Throw it or Get Beat by IT!

Leader & Founder of Fellowship of the Saws! Respect us or get left in our Saw Dust!

Honorary member of the almighty NATION!

bamaster · « **Reply #12 on:** March 22, 2005, 02:15:34 PM »

When he matched the price, was that including tax? The tax savings for buying online is nearly the price of another ball, I would think.

Tony

JPRLane1 · « **Reply #13 on:** March 22, 2005, 02:20:12 PM »

Tony my price online was $904 and some change. When my local guy called me back he said how bout if I can do it for $905 total I said you got it.
--------------------

There is only one Lane#1. Know it, Live it, Throw it or Get Beat by IT!

Leader & Founder of Fellowship of the Saws! Respect us or get left in our Saw Dust!

Honorary member of the almighty NATION!

Moe · « **Reply #14 on:** March 22, 2005, 02:21:10 PM »

They have the best prices, i never have to deal with their customer service * a testament to how well things are processed, and smooth transactions go* and i live in MI and get most of my stuff 1-2 days after shipping.

I have never bothered to order from another place, just becasue buddies has been so good to me, someone here at BR reccomended them to me years ago, been ordering there ever since.
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AIM = y2moe99

Author Topic: What makes for a good online purchase? (Read 3294 times)

bamaster

What makes for a good online purchase?

shelley

Re: What makes for a good online purchase?

bamaster

Re: What makes for a good online purchase?

Steven

Re: What makes for a good online purchase?

janderson

Re: What makes for a good online purchase?

JPRLane1

Re: What makes for a good online purchase?

bamaster

Re: What makes for a good online purchase?

a_ak57

Re: What makes for a good online purchase?

bamaster

Re: What makes for a good online purchase?

Strapper_Squared

Re: What makes for a good online purchase?

JPRLane1

Re: What makes for a good online purchase?

JPRLane1

Re: What makes for a good online purchase?

bamaster

Re: What makes for a good online purchase?

JPRLane1

Re: What makes for a good online purchase?

Moe

Re: What makes for a good online purchase?