Plenty of products and competitive prices - Buy.Com
Written: Apr 05 '04
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When I need something quick and (usually) cheaper than anywhere else, the first place I look online is Buy.Com. They offer an extensive selection of electronics, movies and music products.
Products
They offer items in various categories that include:
Computers
Software
Home Networking
Digital Cameras
Electronics
Cellular Phones
Books & Magazines
Toys
Music
DVDs
Games
Sports
Buy.Com advertises that they have over 1 million products available in their inventory and I believe them. The further you dig down into each of the categories, the more and more products that you can find. In addition to the categories above, there is also a clearance center that includes many of the same categories but has discounted clearance products.
Details
The site has been recently redesigned with a much cleaner and easier to follow layout. The major categories are always listed across the top and when you click on any of those categories, the subcategories are listed down along the left side of the screen. The main screen also has highlights from the various categories, highlighted clearance items, and information on any special offers that Buy.Com is offering. They have a continuing free shipping program on selected items (which translates into many regular purchases have free shipping and handling) and offer expanded free shipping throughout the year.
Once you start browsing through the various categories in Buy.Com and find a product that you are interested in you simply choose the quantity of that product and click on the “buy now” button that will add the product to your shopping cart. At that point you can either continue shopping or check out. The one thing I dislike is if you click on “continue shopping,” you’re brought back to the home page – not to the page you were shopping on, which can be a pain if you’ve gone down several layers into the site and don’t want to do all that clicking again.
Once you have finished shopping and are ready to checkout, the process is pain-free. At this point you can enter any promotional codes that you may have and then Buy.Com will ask you enter your email address and password if you already have an account, or to set up an account that includes your name, address and billing information (they accept all major credit cards and electronic checks). Once you’ve done that, in the future you just log into Buy.Com when shopping and you will not need to re-enter the information.
After checking out and filling out any required information, you are brought to the check-out screen that shows your payment information (how you are paying), your shipping address, the products you are considering, shipping and handling information and finally a summary of your order with total price. 3 different shipping options are available, standard 3 to 5 business day shipping, 2 day shipping and overnight shipping. Prices increase with the faster shipping times. Shipping isn’t outrageously priced and most of the time at least one or two of the products you are ordering will qualify for the free shipping.
Once you click on the “place your order” button, your credit card information is verified and a order confirmation page is shown and should be printed out for your records. This confirmation is followed up by an email confirmation to the email address that you provided in your account.
When the order has been shipped, you are notified of its shipment and given the applicable tracking number for the product (if it’s available depending on shipping option).
Generally even with basic shipping, most products arrive within a few days. Packages include an invoice sheet reviewing your order along with information on how to return the package should it not be what you wanted or if it did not work properly.
Other Features
If you have your own website and are interested in trying to make some money with it, Buy.Com offers an affiliate program. Once signed-up and approved, you can add Buy.Com banners on your site, or product specific links and whenever anyone purchases those items at Buy.Com after getting there through your site, you will get a certain percentage of the sale.
Experiences
I’ve mostly bought CDs and a few pieces of electronic equipment at Buy.Com and haven’t had any problems with the shopping, ordering or shipping processes. The products come quickly and are what I have ordered. I did purchase a cable Internet router that works when I first received it, but after about 7 months died. At that point, it wasn’t Buy.Com’s fault, I think it was just a crappy router. Otherwise I’ve been perfectly happy with my purchases.
One should be aware that many of the clearance items are reconditioned and/or refurbished and that’s why they are marked down (others are new products that are just marked down). Not that a refurbished or reconditioned product is any better or worse than a brand new product, it’s just something to keep in the back of your mind when shopping and considering prices.
Final Thoughts
When I do shop online for music and electronics, Buy.Com is the first place I stop at to see what I can find. They offer plenty of products from many different categories and have competitive prices, along with a free shipping program for some products and reasonable shipping prices for the others.
If you haven’t yet, you should check out Buy.Com and see what you can find.
Recommended:
Yes
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? CDs, DVD, Router
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