TangShop.com -- amazing speed, decent merchandise and good prices
Written: Jan 12 '05 (Updated Jan 12 '05)
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When Verizon randomly selected me to beta test the LG VX8000 cell phone prior to its market release, I was fairly excited. When I realized that beta-testing meant I would be using a cell phone with no accessories for sale yet, the thrill remained, but I became slightly impatient. And so I was straight off to Google to find what I could find. The VX8000 takes pictures at 1.3 megapixels, but Verizon charges me 25 cents a pop to E-mail them to myself, so one of my first priorities was to find a USB transfer cable. Sadly, few sites listed accessories for the VX8000, but I did stumble upon TangShop.com, which seemed to be a slightly one-off website. But they did list a USB cable as compatible with my phone, their price was fabulous ($12), and I had very few choices.
TangShop is a narrowly-focused site -- their purpose in life is to vend cell-phone accessories, a bit like a booth in a mall concourse, but without a pushy salesperson. They also offer a limited range of digital camera and PDA accessories, but for the most part you'll find items like batteries, chargers, data cables for cellular phones made by major U.S. marketers.
The ordering process itself on TangShop was very straightforward -- the shopping cart functions as any normal site's would, and for those who are antsy about giving credit card information to lesser-known retailers, they use Yahoo! to process their transactions (meaning that they accept all major credit cards). This provided me with peace of mind, as I'm sure it would most buyers. I received my order confirmation by E-mail within minutes, and went about my own business.
The most superb aspect of TangShop.com was speed -- my order was shipped the day after I ordered it, and arrived the day after that. Two-day service was not at all what I expected, but it was nice, especially since the shipping charge had at first seemed a bit steep for a simple cable ($3.95). To reiterate, I placed my order on a Wednesday night and received it in Friday afternoon's mail -- that's unparalleled even among the best of larger online retailers I've used.
If my experience with TangShop had a negative aspect, it would be only merchandise quality, which I would rate as adequate but not outstanding. The USB cable I ordered was the correct fit for my phone, and has worked without problem since I've received it, but it arrived in very cheap packaging, without a brand name, and with drivers that were nowhere near as versatile as the ones available from LG Electronics' website. With that said, I did get an accurately filled order with a working part at a good price, but the site could do a bit to improve the quality of its presentation and support.
All in all, TangShop.com is a retailer I would recommend without second thought -- their site is easy to use, the order processing is secure and handled by a trusted name, and their speed is unmatchable. On the merchandise that I checked, all of the prices were reasonable or better, and though their inventory is limited to cell phone accessories, anyone buying those items could do much worse than buying from TangShop.
Recommended:
Yes
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? USB data cable for LG VX8000
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About the Author
Member: Stevo
Location: Sterling, VA
Reviews written: 401
Trusted by: 256 members
About Me: Apparently I have returned.
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