#11
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Buying on the net
DRS Wrote: My current nightmare is with Performance. A while back I wanted to bu som stuff from Nashbar but didn't because they don't use USPS and that's dea killer because of the outrageous courier costs of UPS and FedEx. I rea somewhere that Nashbar and Performance were owned by the same people o organisation or whatever, so I asked Performance if they used USPS fo international orders and they said yes. No worries. I ordered som stuff But the order confirmation email said ground shipping, which wasn' righ according to my understanding, so I went to Performance's web site t try t track my order status before checking with them, only the syste couldn' find my order. I duly fired off an email to customer service sayin ther was a problem with the system not finding my order and would the pleas check its shipping method After much delay it turns out the *******s cancelled my order. Onl the didn't have the decency to tell me. If I hadn't queried them I'd stil b blissfully waiting for my package and that's just not right It turns out they can't automatically verify my credit card billin addres with my bank. They didn't alert me to this problem. They didn't offe t work with me to resolve it. No, they just cancelled the order and lef m hanging. The *******s Now they say if I want I can order again but I have to pay with a international money order drawn in US funds. That costs me more and I' no ordering from them for the privilege of paying more. It's not the onl option either. There is an alternative, one I've had to use onc before which is to fax a photocopy of my credit card to them. It's an undul paranoid pain in the arse but it's doable. I will not use a mone order Stuff them. I have a perfectly good credit card issued by the secon biggest bank in Australia and apart from anything else I'm not givin up th protection it offers me. When it comes to security it's not all abou them *********** I am in Perth and buy a few things from Performance (and from my loca bike shop and Probikekit in the UK and .........). I had the same poo service from Performance due to being an international customer (bu they did email to let me know that they had cancelled the order). thought I would be fine as I used a card with 'American' in it. N way! Performance couldn't confirm my identity so cancelled the order. However, I have found a way to short circuit the internationa cancellation problem - it's not particularly difficult but it does hav a couple of steps 1. get the merchant enquiries phone number from your card provider The Aussie number is fine, Performance seem to be happy to rin internationally, but you have to give them the number with th international prefix etc as they seem to be incapable of working it ou 2. on the internet order form in the comments box I type "confir address with Amex Australia 61292718678\" (this is the real Ame number if that is useful 3. THEN, when they send an email confirmation of the order, I emai back quoting the order number and reiterating my advice to phone th card provider with provider details etc This has worked for 3 orders so far. However I did have some recen 'discussions' with them about accepting orders for particular item then not supplying them (especially while the website showed them a being in stock at all the relevant times). The answer was that the were in stock when the item was put on the website but that it migh not be when it came time to fill the order. That did not explain wh they accepted orders when there was no stock, but the discussion wa pretty laboured and I did not think there would be much value i starting a discussion about real time inventory systems Also I have found the shippling charge and method on the orde confirmation email is not the 'actual'. It is only an 'estimate'. Yo should get an email from them giving you 2 options to choose from - tha is when you find out the real charge and that is when you choose. SteveA -- SteveA |
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#12
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Buying on the net
"Andrew Reddaway" wrote in message
[...] I've had very good service from aebike.com and lumicycle.co.uk. Right now I've got my hopes pinned on AEBike. They've got what I wanted except obviously the Performance-brand item but that's OK, it's the least important. I ordered online on Saturday and just checked my credit card balance. Oh-oh, it hadn't changed. Eek! So, back I went to the AEBike site to see how to contact them and it's a good thing I did too. Their shop "...is closed on Mondays during the off-season of September through February." IOW, nobody will process my order for at least another two hours. Geez, this business is making me paranoid. -- A: Top-posters. Q: What is the most annoying thing on Usenet? |
#13
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Buying on the net
"SteveA" wrote in
message [..] I am in Perth and buy a few things from Performance (and from my local bike shop and Probikekit in the UK and .........). I had the same poor service from Performance due to being an international customer (but they did email to let me know that they had cancelled the order). I thought I would be fine as I used a card with 'American' in it. No way! Performance couldn't confirm my identity so cancelled the order. However, I have found a way to short circuit the international cancellation problem - it's not particularly difficult but it does have a couple of steps. 1. get the merchant enquiries phone number from your card provider. The Aussie number is fine, Performance seem to be happy to ring internationally, but you have to give them the number with the international prefix etc as they seem to be incapable of working it out Heh. I just received an email from Performance requesting a number for the issuing bank, which in this case is the CBA. Unfortunately I can't find the merchant enquiry number on their web site. If anyone knows it it'll save me some time, otherwise I'll have to try to get it from the bank myself. In the meantime I got a confirmation email that the CBA has received my complaint. It says I can expect "a response" within 4 days. I wonder what their excuse will be and how much they'll put their fees up for not providing a necessary service yet again? -- A: Top-posters. Q: What is the most annoying thing on Usenet? |
#14
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Buying on the net
DRS Wrote: In the meantime I got a confirmation email that the CBA has received my complaint. It says I can expect "a response" within 4 days. I wonder what their excuse will be and how much they'll put their fees up for not providing a necessary service yet again? -- A: Top-posters. Q: What is the most annoying thing on Usenet? Sitting back here, having a bit of a chuckle, and notice with surprised interest that Capt. Bike drops in for a chat. You know something's seriously wrong when Mr Brown attempts to right the world on it's axis . . : roll eyes: But he does have some interesting stuff you can't get anywhere else, such as granite saddles . . . Yes, it's a wonderful new toy, this Internet whosamajiggy, but does it help you to ride your bike? No. Does it alert you to incompatibilities, or attempt to use a bit of ingenuity and face-to-face persuasion to get things resolved? No. Does it rely on mountains of regulations, protocols, lack of discrepancies, things out of your control and uncaring blandness wrung from the dripping brows of transnational financial serfs chained to their desktop boxes, who might as well be selling toasters or fertiliser for all the interest and aptitude they bring to your treasured cycling purchases? Well, shortly, yes. Sitting here reading this thread, my feelings segue to pity, or sorrow, or . . . (other undefinable emotion), but mostly just annoyance, that once again, the means is running over and road-killing the ends. It sounds, from what I'm reading, that y'all have a pathological hatred of bike shops, or bike shop employees (and I'm (sob) hurt ), that you trust someone on the other side of the world implicitly, and the people you can actually TALK to not at all - so the pursuit comes down to the acquisition of objects, and not what they're for, or using the objects (even in the action and process of researching/choosing/budgeting for/buying them) in a pleasurable and interesting way. WHY? WHY can't you make the locally available product (whether mid or high range, last year's model or this years, black or silver) work as well as the thing you lust after on the other side of the world, then get all petty and peevish when the magic piece of plastic fails to deliver? (that indefinable emotion again). Sheesh. What a load of consumers. M " go buy a Volvo, you closet volvo-driver control freaks" H -- mfhor |
#15
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Buying on the net
mfhor wrote:
It sounds, from what I'm reading, that y'all have a pathological hatred of bike shops, or bike shop employees (and I'm (sob) hurt ), that you trust someone on the other side of the world implicitly, and the people you can actually TALK to not at all For me it is a matter of trust. It took me years to find an honest motorbike mechanic and now he's the only one I will ever use. Same thing would apply to an LBS if I could find one where I got consistently good advice. But it seems to be too dependent on who's there on the day. I certainly don't trust Internet providers to give good advice. But if I've got an LBS I don't trust and an Internet provider I don't trust I'm going with whoever has what I want at the cheapest price. If I absolutely have to have advice or fitting that's a different matter, the LBS always wins out, but I might go to a couple of LBS's if I'm not convinced I'm getting the right advice (and I do buy from them, not use their advice to buy from someone else who is cheaper). It's unfortunate, but it only takes one piece of bad advice to turn you off an LBS. DaveB |
#16
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Buying on the net
DRS wrote:
Right now I've got my hopes pinned on AEBike. They've got what I wanted I had good experience. Fantastic range - lots I couldn't get here. The only thing was that the postmark showed it took them a week to actually post the order. So be a little patient. From Kalamazoo to Aus, its a long way down the track :-) |
#17
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Buying on the net
mfhor wrote:
It sounds, from what I'm reading, that y'all have a pathological hatred of bike shops, or bike shop employees (and I'm (sob) hurt ), that you trust someone on the other side of the world implicitly, and the people you can actually TALK to not at all - But it IS a real bike shop, and you CAN talk to them. The world is getting smaller. |
#18
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Buying on the net
Mike Wrote: mfhor wrote It sounds, from what I'm reading, that y'all have a pathologica hatre of bike shops, or bike shop employees (and I'm (sob) hurt ), tha yo trust someone on the other side of the world implicitly, and th peopl you can actually TALK to not at all But it IS a real bike shop, and you CAN talk to them. The world i getting smaller. ** I buy from the bike shops via the internet but I also buy much mor from my LBS. I don't go to my LBS, try something for size, and the buy it somewhere else - that would be just plain rude. I know an trust (and maybe even LOVE) my LBS mechanic and the guy who owns th store. When something new is about to come onto the market, the LBS i the first port of call. BUT there are some things which I go to the ne for - I am a big bloke and it is very hard to get bike clothing tha fits. US clothing comes in sizes to fit big buggers like me. And the sometimes only the net can satisfy that carbon fibre and titanium fetis without mortgaging the children I'm about to restore an old treadly, I've scoured my LBS (I have acces to the old/spare parts bins) and I can't get the bits I need - so it off on the net I go And sometimes it is the bloody-minded challenge of actually getting th internet bike store to give you what you want (Performance usuall provides this challenge And the aim of all this? To get out on the bikes and ride So, its raingear on for Perth this morning, and I'm off to pedal to th day job Steve -- SteveA |
#19
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Buying on the net
mfhor wrote: It sounds, from what I'm reading, that y'all have a pathological hatred of bike shops, or bike shop employees (and I'm (sob) hurt : ), that you trust someone on the other side of the world implicitly and the people you can actually TALK to not at all - so the pursui comes down to the acquisition of objects, and not what they're for, o using the objects (even in the action and process of researching/choosing/budgeting for/buying them) in a pleasurable an interesting way. I think for me it's about value. If the local bike shops (and yes, have bought a significant amount of stuff from my local bike shops ove the years) add value to my purchase, whether by having the item I wan when I want it, or else by offering advice, or having a range of item that I can look at in person and choose from, then I'll buy locally. However it's not often the case (especially more recently) that a loca shop will have what I want. I don't particularly care for Shiman mountain bike parts, so when I do buy locally, it invariably means don't get to see what I'm buying, have to wait for it to arrive, an then pay a premium for the "local" service. Not to mention all t often being treated like an idiot by some pimply teenage kid, simpl because of my gender. At least buying on the net in such circumstances, I get to save little money, and I find (gross generalisation here) that the advice get from online shops, like Sheldon, Peter, and John, is much bette than the advice that I'd get from the LBS. The ultimate example of this sort of thing is framebuilding stuff. Once (quite a few years ago) I rang the local agents for Reynold tubing, to ask if they could sent me a catalogue, so that I could bu some frame tubes through them. They refused my request, saying tha they only deal with professional framebuilders. I gave up on the ide of building a bike frame then, and it was only much more recently (onl after finding the Ceeway site on the web) that my interest wa rekindled. My attitude now is that if the local guy can't (or won't give me what I want, then stuff them, it's a big world, and there' always someone who can. Regards, Suz -- suzyj |
#20
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Buying on the net
"mfhor" wrote in message
[...] Sitting here reading this thread, my feelings segue to pity, or sorrow, or . . . (other undefinable emotion), but mostly just annoyance, that once again, the means is running over and road-killing the ends. You're being ridiculous again. It sounds, from what I'm reading, that y'all have a pathological hatred of bike shops, or bike shop employees Not at all. I just hate being stuffed around. And since I'm being stuffed around by bike shops it's a legitimate topic of discussion in here. You don't like it, don't read it. (and I'm (sob) hurt ), that you trust someone on the other side of the world implicitly, and the people you can actually TALK to not at all - so the pursuit comes down to the acquisition of objects, and not what they're for, or using the objects (even in the action and process of researching/choosing/budgeting for/buying them) in a pleasurable and interesting way. WHY? I'm not after information, I'm after specific items no Australian vendor with an online presence is making available (there was only one Performance brand item in my list). Do you carry what I want? I have no idea. And even if I was able to buy them here there would be no "pleasurable and interesting" interaction between myself and the merchant, it'd take me just long enough to walk in, grab what I wanted, pay for them and leave. There's no added value here, just a commodity transaction. WHY can't you make the locally available product (whether mid or high range, last year's model or this years, black or silver) work as well as the thing you lust after on the other side of the world, then get all petty and peevish when the magic piece of plastic fails to deliver? (that indefinable emotion again). Is there a local alternative to the "Winwood Instep Pedal Insert--Shimano SPD"? I don't think so. If there is then it's a well kept secret and I'm not interested in stuffing around. Sheesh. What a load of consumers. Welcome to John Howard's globalised free trade agreement Australia. -- A: Top-posters. Q: What is the most annoying thing on Usenet? |
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