A Smooth and Satisfying Process
Written: Nov 29 '04
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I was in the market for a second digital camera. I knew the brand and model I wanted. All that was left was to select the Online Store to buy it from. I did a search of Epinions and found a very large number of sellers at a wide range of prices for the camera I wanted. I settled on BestPriceAudioVideo.com. They did not have lowest price but it was fair enough and included free shipping. I ordered the camera early Monday morning and received an order confirmation by e-mail within a few minutes. By the evening of the same day, I received another e-mail that the camera was shipped with a UPS tracking number. Before the end of the week I had the camera (Ohio to New Mexico). Overall, this was a smooth and satisfying process.
Website Pop-up
While pop-ups can be annoying, this one had a good purpose that is worth mentioning.
When you go the Website, a pop-up window opens over the Website (assuming you do not have a pop-up stopper enabled). The pop-up, to paraphrase, says they are proud of their Customer Satisfaction. They state clearly that they DO NOT:
- call to sell you accessories
- require a confirmation call
- use high pressure sales tactics
- sell unauthorized imported products
- use bait-and-switch tactics
- have excessive shipping charges
- share information with others
The pop-up continues to say they have 98% on time delivery, sell products with a full US warranty, and lists some of the rating services (e.g., BizRate.com, PriceGrabber.com, etc.) of Online Retailers. I liked all that. It removed a number of issues I am concerned about when dealing with an Online Retailer. Although this information is stated in various places throughout the Website, it appears that BestPriceAudioVideo is proud enough about their business policy that they wanted to make sure it was noticed.
On occasion, when buying electronic or camera equipment, gray merchandise may be available. Gray merchandise is the selling of imported products that are not authorized by the manufacturer. Although it is authentic, it does not carry a US warranty. The price is often very low and very attractive. BestPriceAudioVideo clearly inspires confidence that they are a US Warranty Online Retailer.
Sometimes when buying camera equipment, a confirmation telephone call is required at which time the retailer applies pressure to purchase additional accessories or even a different product. This practice is an annoyance and a hassle. It can also be very intimidating. BestPriceAudioVideo clearly states up-front that they will not do that.
Website
The website is well organized and easy to navigate through.
Across the top are tabs that explain about everything you may want to know about BestPriceAudioVideo and how they do business. The Support Center Tab allows Order Status and Order tracking, FAQs, About the Company, Shipping Info, and available Rebates. The Store Policy Tab explains Return Policy, Pricing Policy, and Privacy Policy. The Return A Product Tab explained the Policy and allowed RA requests. The Contact Us Tab gave all methods of contact from Telephone, FAX, different e-mails and postal mail addresses. Everything is clear and complete. They have a lot of clear and well organized information available about how they do business.
The right side of the screen shows the Promotions and Specials and any Featured Items.
The left side of the screen is organized into 9 sections labeled as:
Home Audio
Home Video
Photography
Camcorders
Car Audio/Video
Phone & Fax
Office Products
Binoculars
On Clearance
Each of those categories list items under that heading. For example, the Photography section lists the following:
Digital Cameras
35mm Cameras
APS Cameras
35mm SLR Cameras
SLR Lens & Filters
Digital Camera Acc.
Memory Cards
35mm Camera Acc.
Photo Printers
Printer Ink & Paper
Clicking one of these, lists all the items in the category that they offer. Clicking Digital Cameras, for example, produced a list of about 60+ digital camera models of five different brands.
I was interested in a Canon PowerShot S1 IS. Selecting that from the above list produced a screen with a picture of the camera and a price clearly visible with estimated shipping cost, which was free for this item. Below were three tabs. The Accessories Tab listed some individual accessories available for the camera. The Packages Tab listed combined packages of accessories to be included with the camera. The Product Details Tab listed some of the features of the camera plus a picture of the contents of the box.
Prices
Prices are fair, although not the lowest. They are a bit higher (5% to 10% or so) than some of the other Online Retailers. However, I felt assured I was going to receive authorized US merchandise with a full US warranty. I also felt assured of a smooth process without the follow-up high pressure sales tactics. That alone is worth paying a bit more for: hassle-free shopping.
Shopping Cart and Checkout
Clicking on the Buy It Now produced the Shopping Cart with the item shown with the price. Continuing opens a secure screen for entering name and address information and options for shipping method changes if desired. The final secure screen is for payment by Discover, Visa, MasterCard or American Express.
Conclusion
Although the brand selection is not massive as some retailers, BestPriceAudioVideo offers a good selection of popular brands of products with very competitive pricing. My purchase was exactly what I ordered at a good price with free shipping and it arrived in a timely fashion. That is exactly what was supposed to happen.
The clear and expanded explanation of the policies inspires confidence that they are an Online Retailer that does care about the customers purchasing experience. Since I had no problems, I could not test the customer support. However, I would buy from them again with confidence. I recommend doing business with BestPriceAudioVideo.
Recommended:
Yes
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? Canon PowerShot S1 IS Camera
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About the Author
Location: Albuquerque, NM, USA
Reviews written: 4
Trusted by: 1 member
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