Protect your privacy and shop someplace else.
Written: Jul 31 '06 (Updated Aug 04 '06)
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UPDATED with a response from Mercantila.
The Order
I placed an on-line order for a “chimenea” (outdoor fireplace) from Mercantila after an Internet search for similar items. Mercantila's price matched that of two other online stores with similar items; however, they offered free shipping. The item was shipped via UPS “Ground” within twenty-four hours, and I was supplied a tracking number and estimated delivery date.
Examining tracking data, Mercantila appears to be a “virtual inventory” store. They show a California address; however, in my case the merchandise was shipped from “Arctic Products” in Kansas City, Missouri. There is not necessarily anything wrong with this practice, but buyers should be aware that Mercantila may be selling another company's inventory as it can make backorder, return, and warranty issues a bit more difficult since you won't be dealing with Mercantila.
“Oops!” I mean “UPS”
Typical of UPS service in this area, while it took only three days for the package to make it from half way across the US to the nearest large city, it required four more days to make it the last 35 miles to my home.
Also typical of UPS, the package arrived in less than satisfactory condition. A trail of chimenea parts must be littering the landscape from Kansas City to my driveway. The UPS driver was not amused by my laughter as several small parts escaped from what was left of the mangled box while he struggled to unload it. Since this was predictable, an alternative to UPS shipping would have been preferable, and I would have been happy to have paid for the service.
The Goods
The product I purchased is a relatively lightweight, cast aluminum chimenea from “Arctic Products” for my patio. Overall, it seems like it is probably a fair product for the $175 it cost, but I will have to wait for some replacement bits to arrive from Arctic Products before completely assembling it and putting a fire in its innards. As for the many missing fasteners, I was lucky enough to have suitable replacements in my personal inventory.
Visiting Arctic Products website, I also noticed that the aluminum chimenea is no longer available, having been replaced by a much heavier, cast iron model. Looking back at the two other on-line stores where I found the same product, I also noticed that they are listed as “cast iron,” and not “cast aluminum.” This leaves me wondering if perhaps the aluminum models didn't last, and Mercantila is disposing of some outdated or problem merchandise?
Someone is Watching Me!
Most distressing however, is something that had nothing to do with my purchase. Rather, it is a practice that Mercantila uses to communicate to customers through their website. Mercantila's initial replies to orders are sent via email. However, emails direct customers to pages on their website for more specific information, such as a detailed description of an order and a tracking number for the shipment. The problem is that an unsecured web page is now displaying personal information, including a customer's name, address, phone number, email address, the expiration date for a credit card, and of course order and tracking information. This is a serious invitation to fraud.
To be fair, many large Internet sales businesses engage in this practice. Their defense is usually that the exact address of each web page is rather cryptic. In Mercantila's case, the address includes my order number, name, and some random-appearing numbers. However, these pages are not encrypted, can be accessed by the public, and left up long enough, they will eventually be found by Internet search engines, email “spambots,” or individuals making searches for fraudulent purposes.
Fraud related to such pages does happen, as I know first-hand. An individual attempted to re-direct a computer shipment from Dell Computers by using information from such a web-posted page of order data. Fortunately, an astute employee of the freight service later decided to verify the shipping re-direct, which exposed the attempted theft. Unfortunately however, the public release of personal and business information also necessitated placing “fraud alerts” with the three major credit reporting companies. So I was not eager to repeat such an experience with Mercantila..
Help Me!
After contacting Mercantila twice by email with requests that the page be removed, I did receive a reply from “Harry Stewart.” The email thanked me for the information, stated that they had “already worked on it,” and that any changes would take 24 hours to appear. Alas, the web page remained, and still remains several days later, despite my having already received the order. It appears that all that has been changed is the visible display of my email address, although a link to my email still exists. The email response box for directly contacting Mercantila has also been disabled (guess they don't want to hear from me anymore). And, viewing the page source information, it is coded to stay up for 45 days. So it looks like I will be stuck in their display window for awhile.
The Verdict
Unless Mercantila discontinues their practice of placing customers' personal information on an unencrypted web page, I would be very reluctant to use their service again. Also, Mercantila does not appear to be in a position to resolve problems with either deliveries or suppliers (or even their own website), and no alternative to UPS shipping may leave you with something less than a complete order.
An Invitation
I will email Mercantila with the location for this review, since they seem to be interested in testimonials. In fact, I am wondering how many of the “express reviews” below are some of their own. If I receive a reply, I will update this with what they have to say. And if they will please remove that @#$% web page with my personal data, I may add a star to this review.
UPDATE- A Reply
To Mercantila's credit, I received very polite replies by both email and telephone within twenty-four hours of forwarding the address of this review. The following is the relevant portion of the email message that I received:
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“My name is Tom Fallows; I'm the VP of Marketing at Mercantila.
I wanted to thank you very much for forwarding along the link to your Epinions review, and to provide details on our follow-up program.
Based on your review, we have initiated a project that will restrict access to Order Confirmation pages. Although we feel our current process sufficiently protects all private customer information, we are taking these additional steps to reassure customers further that it's safe & secure to shop with Mercantila.
I will email you upon completion of this project so that you can evaluate the results for yourself.
Again, I sincerely thank you for taking the time to express your concerns -- it's through terrific suggestions such as yours that we can become a stronger company. ”
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As a follow-up, Mr. Fallows also saw to the removal of my personal data from the order-confirmation page, which did appear updated within 24 hours. To their credit, Mercantila is apparently not too big to respond to my concern.
In a few weeks, should I hear back from Mercantila regarding changes to their order confirmation system, I will again update, or possibly re-write this review. In the meantime, I am adding a “check” to reflect their communication and the removal of my order confirmation data.
Recommended:
No
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? Arctic Products Aluminum Chimenea
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Epinions.com ID:
umisenyamasen
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Location: Northern Nevada, USA / Tokyo, Japan
Reviews written: 23
Trusted by: 2 members
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