(This is kind of a mishmash of a GQ, IMHO, and MPSIMS, so I defaulted)
I went to purchase something off of Overstock.com tonight. I looked up the thingamajig I wanted, the price was reasonable and shipping was only $1, so I clicked add to cart, then checkout. The shopping cart listed a subtotal that was almost $10 more than the listed price for the one object I’d clicked. It was still just the one item I wanted, same model, everything seemed fine, but a higher price! I got their live chat help, and the helper guy told me that the price in the shopping cart was the correct price, and that happens on occasion with them. I told him (knowing full well he can’t do squat, but I was polite and maybe the chat would get logged and reviewed at some point) that they had just lost my business, because I smelled a rat.
I ended up paying the higher price that overstock.com wanted to charge at target.com. It wasn’t a bad price, just not as good as the one I clicked, but it didn’t seem accidental. It reminded me in a way of Wal-Mart’s standard scam (I’ve caught them in this at least three times) of swapping out a more expensive item that looks nearly identical in a display rack.
Has anyone experienced this with overstock.com, or other online retailers? Would this affect the way they are listed on shopping search engines or comparison sites? Or maybe they are just counting on people not to notice the change when shipping charges are added.
Having worked in retail IT systems for quite a few years, I can almost guarantee you that was just a systems issue with different files being out of sync. It happens sometimes even in the most competent of companies. I seriously doubt that it was intentional. The downside for them being caught doing that intentionally is so enormous that I cannot believe that they would ever use that as an official mechanism to boost profits. People do dumb things all the time but that would be so risky that even I have a hard time believing that they would do something like that on purpose.
I’ve shopped with overstock.com several times in the last couple years. Never had a problem or been disappointed in the least. So far I’ve had excellent service and the shipping has worked out as expected. No complaints.
As far as prices go, it’s hit and miss. Sometimes you run across amazing prices on great stuff. Sometimes, it’s a “get-what-you-pay-for” situation. Other times, the prices aren’t much better than elsewhere.
Recently, I’ve noticed the same item listed twice at two different prices, not just at overstock.com but on other e-tail sites as well. I’m guessing it’s entirely unintentional. Whoever updated the database couldn’t find the original listing and just created a new one. Somehow when it get’s to the shopping cart, the SKU and the price correlate, correcting the price. I wouldn’t say it’s nefarious and if it were a brick-and-mortar, good customer service would dictate that they honor the lower price and correct the error. But that’s kind of hard to do with online systems. It would take much more effort to make it up to the customer, so I pretty much let it slide.
As a happy customer, though, I do recommend overstock.com.
I recommend overstock.com, too. I’ve used them 4 or 5 times and have always been happy with the quality of the merchandise. Never had a problem at all.
I have never had a problem with Overstock.com, unless hating their TV commercials counts as a problem.
Price goofs happen with all online merchants. Brick and mortar merchants, too. Maybe some of this is deliberate fraud, but I don’t believe Overstock.com is a ripoff artist.
This is the second thread about Overstock in the last few days. It’s time for the tinfoil hat because I’m begining to think I’m being subjected to one of these “stealth” marketing campaigns.
First it was the stories about the model, did everyone really notice yet another dirty blond? Perhaps some money changed hands to get her noticed? Then I get long discussions from apparently sane people supposedly getting anoyed over a rather bland ad. My TV shows commercials with talking fungus, I’m not even going to notice Overstock without being beaten over the head with it on the web.
Now I get Miss Violaceous (I’m not accusing you of anything here MV, I don’t know you and haven’t followed your posts) complaining about them but comming to the conclusion that their price is the same as Target. This is followed by a bunch of people praising them.
I’m going to put my credit card back in my wallet and slowly back away from anything related to overstock.com
My mother, God love her, once ordered two gifts for me from Overstock.com. One was a Palm Pilot, and the other was a Seiko watch. The Palm had been refurbished incorrectly; it would’ve cost more to fix than a new, better, one cost. The watch looked used when I got it; the crystal was scratched and the band had spots of gold worn off. And the battery wore out within a month.
I’ve been buying books from Overstock.com the last two-and-a-half years, with more than two dozen successful orders (according to the list on My Account): all the books they offer are discounted, sometimes as steep as 60%. They used to ship orders over a certain amount for three bucks (For the WHOLE ORDER, not each book, like Amazon.com), so with the current dollar shipping they’ve already gotten about $80 from me this month.
The ONLY problem I’ve ever had with Overstock.com is that I’m tempted to shop there too often! I’ve never seen a bait and switch like you describe so I tend to agree with Shagnasty it’s a glitch. New items, great prices, cheap delivery, USPS tracking mandatory with each order, rarely wait more than a week for purchases to arrive by mail. These days I only use Amazon.com for rarer books not offered at Overstock.com, but Overstock.com’s selections are getting better by the month.
The real predatory pattern that I’ve seen is e-tailers tacking on exhorbinant shipping and handling charges ($10 to ship a t-shirt?), and lately SALES TAX.
No problems with Overstock.com here. Last May we bought my son’s solid oak Bassett crib from there, and it was shipped to me for $2.95. I still can’t even believe that. I can’t count how many things I’ve tried to buy online then ditched the transaction because the shipping was ridiculous.
I’ve also ordered bunches of stuff (mainly CDs, DVDs, and books) from Overstock.com without any significant problems – in fact, the two mistakes they’ve made both worked to my advantage. In one case, they shipped me one of the items in my order twice, and in the other case, they reported that an item I’d ordered was out of stock and credited my account – and then the item showed up a couple of days later.
As for the merchandise quality, I’d be hesitant to order electronics and such, and I’d never order jewelry or other gift items online unless I really didn’t care about the quality, but a sealed CD or DVD or book is what it is. I generally find that with media items, they’ll be cheaper than Amazon (but not always), and usually cheaper than any brick-and-mortar place I can find. Plus I often can find things there that I never see in stores.
Like a couple of other people here, my biggest problem with them is trying not to order too much. My last order was about $160, and included a couple of Rhino Records box sets (No Thanks: The 70s Punk Rebellion and Left of the Dial: Dispatches from the 80s Underground) for about $45 each, or about $13 less than Amazon. I have $267 worth of stuff in my shopping cart on my home computer, and $138 worth of different stuff in my cart on my laptop. And I try to be selective about it.
In at least some states (is this a federal law?) online merchants are required to charge state sales tax when the customer is a resident of the state where the company is based. How is following the law “predatory”? Why would they want to increase the cost to the customer by a few percent and then hand over the money to the state?
$10 to ship a tshirt is a bit much, unless it’s overnight/2-day shipping.
As for tax, it’s more than just where a company is based. They have to collect (not charge) sales tax from residents of states where they have a physical presence. This can be anything from headquarters, retail stores, warehouses, distribution centers, etc.
Nit - tax is collected, not charged. The merchant is responsible for paying tax on their sales to the state - they collect tax from customers and pay the state.
By the way, even if you order something online from an out of state vendor and don’t pay tax on it, you’re obligated to pay your state something called a use tax at a rate equal to the sales tax. No state’s going to attempt to track down everyone that bought a couple books or CDs from Amazon and send them a tax bill, and (in California, at least) your state income taxes are based in part on use tax. If you itemize, you can deduct sales tax paid on large purchases.
Because SCOTUS has said that this is UnConstitutional? The State can only require the Merchant to collect tax if the merchant has a 'substantial business presence" there, such as a HQ, or several brick & motar retail stores.
Because the business in question has no brick-and-mortar stores, and are located many states away. They even had a disclaimer on their site saying, “we are aware that e-tailers are only required to charge tax for in-state customers, but we go ahead and do it anyway because we anticipate that this will eventually be made law.”
WTF?! This basically tells me that they’re collecting tax illegally and probably pocketing it.
Given the fact that the state and feds have access to tax filings, collecting sales tax and then not paying it to the state, and publicly stating that they are collecting sales tax whether required or not, has got to be the dumbest business decisions ever. Not that it’s not entirely possible, but I would think most businessmen would try to hide shady business practices, don’t you? That’s a pretty transparent scheme you’ve “discovered.” No good can come of it.
A vendor may not be required to collect Colorado sales tax, but I am still required to pay it. There is a common misconception that because a purchase is made over the Internet or through mail and tax is not collected by the vendor, that sales tax is not due to the state. It is. I don’t see any reason to assume that they are not remitting the tax collected to the appropriate state.
There is no mechanism for them to pay your tax for you. I see every reason to doubt it. They’d need your SSN for example.
Nor are those “sales” taxes you are required to pay- they are “use” taxes. Do note, that changing the “name of the duck to a mudhen” doesn’t mean it’s not still a duck, and AFAIK, those “use” taxes have not been rigourously collected as so far dudes are unsure what SCOTUS will say. To this layman, the “use tax” fails the 'duck test", and it thus just as UnConstitutional.
:mad: