Vanns.com: Good service despite low prices.
Written: Jul 27 '04 (Updated Jul 28 '04)
| Ease of Ordering: |
 |
|
| Selection: |
|
|
| On-Time Delivery: |
 |
|
|
| Full Review |
Every now and then I keep an eye on something I really don't need but track anyway just for the case that the price falls low enough to make it an 'essential' buy. ;-)
So it happened this time when the Panasonic SC-DP1 home theater dropped to almost half the MSRP ($250). Well, 168 Dollars were irresistible and Vanns.com offered a new item with US warranty and free ground shipping. Reason enough to take the plunge...
Online Store: www.vanns.com
IN A NUTSHELL
Pricegrabber.com flagged me at $168.- for a Panasonic SC-DP1 DVD micro theater, which is significantly cheaper than the next offer ($179.-) and no additional cost like shipping and tax outside Montana. For reference, the next best total price arrived at $199.- and MSRP would have been $250.
Processing of the order turned out to be exceptionally fast and two confirmation e-mails were sent upon completion. One actually arrived with a time stamp from before I even placed the order. Psychic abilities? Hardly, but most likely attributable to some timing issues of the mail server in charge. But despite the unusual 'Order Approval' followed by an immediate 'Order Confirmation', everything went smoothly at 9:00PM on Wednesday night.
In fact, no annoying account registration was needed either and that usually means no order tracking. But Vanns.com proofed me wrong and automatically creates a mini-account based on e-mail, order number and an automatically assigned password. This information is contained in the 'Order Confirmation'.
Thursday morning 9:AM, the 3rd e-mail arrived, this time to notify me of the 'Shipping Approval'. This message contains the shipping method and the promise that the package is ready for the carrier (in this case FedEx). Even a tracking number was provided soon after (log in to mentioned mini account), but that would not work until it has been successfully scanned at an offical carrier location (which is usually sometime in the evening). Consequentially, FedEx notified me at around 6:00PM of the shipment and gave me a scheduled delivery date exactly one week from the notification. (Montana to North Carolina w/ free ground shipping). Well I am a 'cheap skate' and if it takes a week to save money ... ;-)
Four notification mails and 7 days later, my purchase arrived in good condition and complete per manufacturer's list of contents. In fact, it arrived in the original box and was well protected for the ride. (The packing slip is taped to the outside and Vanns.com did not even need to open the box to include this document.) Not much to complain about here. Especially since price was the lowest I could find, and shipping was free despite the 23 lb. weight.
One day after the delivery, vanns.com send another Thank You mail, which seems to be triggered by the delivery notice from FedEx back to the vendor. So in total 5 emails were sent to me for this one purchase.
In the end it proofed to be a good shopping experience and overall I have little complaint about anything related to my purchase. In fact, it was one of the best I recently had, considering the lowest price offer. This may change once CS is needed or an item must be returned. In my case that was not necessary and I am sure one happy customer. (The subtraction of a star is based on overall account tracking and basically in reference to the best in the business.)
MORE GENERAL INFO
Appearance: Good looking website with professional appearance and standard navigation.
Navigation: As with other stores, the site wide Search is the most helpful feature. Other than that, there a reasonably good structure that allows somewhat effective browsing. It won't help finding stuff one didn't know before that it exists.
Selection: The selection is fairly decent and while not excessive it was all I needed for this shopping experience.
Product Information: Concise but short product description. Nothing to research a product in depth but good enough to make sure it's the right product you're going to order.
Inventory: The site lists product availability by general status and allows judgement on whether it's in stock or not. It does not list how many of those are still available.
Product Prices: There are some good deals on this site. Overall it appears to be average and without the typical outrageous offers to compensate for low price specials. In my case, this was the best best price anywhere and got even better with free shipping and no tax.
Order Status: One can track the status via order number and password. Good enough for general information and occasional orders. Since no actual accounts are created, it's not possible to simply log in to an account and track multiple orders. (a la Amazon.com)
Notification e-mails: Upon completion of the order, a n approval and an confirmation e-mail will be send out immediately. The next day I received a shipping approval with the note that FedEx would contact me regarding actual tracking information. They did and a total of 4 notification e-mails kept me informed about the status and location of my purchase. There is no option to track backordered items and have you notified when it becomes available.
Shipping: It's FREE, or at least it was in my case and that sure is impressive given the low price of the stereo and the somewhat heavy box it comes in. (23 lbs)
Customer Service: Did not need to use CS for any reason. Order went smooth and product was exactly what I wanted.
Back to TOP
Other shop reviews ...
- ECOST.com
- ETRONICS.com
- PROVANTAGE.com
- FUNAGAIN.com
- INFINITYCAMERAS.com
- DIGITALFOTOCLUB.com
Recommended:
Yes
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? Panasonic SC-DP1
|
|
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.