STAPLES OFFICE SUPPLIES : A Scammers Haven and A Business Owners Delight
Written: Jul 31 '01
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The Bottom Line
is that Staples.com is an excellent resource for small business owners to purchase products and services.
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| Full Review |
I first discovered Staples.com after a friend e-mailed some great offers that the site was having at the time. Some of these offers seemed too good to be true but she insisted they were valid so I visited the site. With the information my friend provided, I not only received approximately $150.00 in office supplies for roughly $6.00 but I even got a free leather attaché case. I was sure Staples would e-mail me to cancel the order and say there was a mistake in the discount codes I used. Imagine my delight when the package arrived.
I e-mailed my friend to thank her for letting me know about this deal and she proceeded to tell me where I could find out about future deals. She provided me with a link to a "freebie" message board. These boards are a forum for members to post free offers, discounts, or special shopping codes they locate on and off the Internet. These same boards have been the death of many online sites due to the abuse of members on these boards that post them to other sites, e-mail them to friends and family, or use the offer themselves multiple times under fake names.
Take for example the 'free attache case' offer, on various freebie boards there were members posting that they had received eight or more of these cases by "creative" shopping and bilking Staples out of thousands of dollars in the process. These same people were then boasting about how they sold those free attaché cases on auction sites for $30 or more dollars.
These freebie board members give new meaning to the word "cheapskate" and have absolutely no shame when it comes to raping companies over and over again. Imagine if you will that one person innocently posts an offer they received in e-mail for $10 off $10 at Staples.com but then that same offer is posted to five more freebie boards. With hundreds of people visiting these message boards on an hourly basis, imagine the loss that Staples suffered as a result. For the purpose of this review, I scoured some of the message boards for the more blatant abuse of this site and below are actual examples of the average post:
OK - -Let's see how everyone did on this great freebie . .
5 Days, I used 17 $10 coupons, and actually spent only $23.94 to totally load up my house office and childrens playroom. I can't believe how much stuff that I got, and how many of these coupons were used by my friends and office mates who don't post here. Very easily exceeded $1000 worth of free supplies.
I can't wait to see the effects of the stock price in a few weeks when they retabulate cash flow to inventories sold. How can they be so stupid or careless to let these things happen. Two months ago if was Office Depot $20 off $20, now Staples $10 off $10
As you can see these members almost leap for joy at the mere thought of Staples taking a major loss and possibly closing their online doors forever. Many of these posts were identical to the one above with housewives using the discount over and over again to fill their child's Crayola tub for a lifetime. If they had no need for the office supplies but just couldn't pass on the deal, many of these same members donated the supplies to their church or school. They take great pleasure in packaging their "stolen" goods and carting them up to the church to offer as their donation.
My family used 14 coupons. We spent mostly under a $1.00 at a time. Once I went over a dollar. Went twice yesterday, the 1st time the girl had said that weren't going to accept these after today, I said well they do expire today. She said they are fraudulent but the manager said we can accept them. Went back later that day, and they had the signs posted on the registers, they weren't accepting them anymore.
I used 8 coupons at the same store in 1 day. I spent $4.99, saved $80.01!! The most I paid for on one transaction was $.91. I bought 2 CD ROM games for my child, CD storage unit that hold 36 cd's, bag of Jelly Belly's, 6 pack of paper towels, 24 pack of Ozarka bottled water, twin pack 4*6 photo album, alot of art projects, scotch tapes, markers and pens, extension cords, finger paint and finger paint pad and alot of other things.
Granted, the blame can't be placed entirely on these greedy members but instead Staples should monitor their coupons and discounts or assign unique codes for one time use only. The above mentioned post was just one of hundreds that I found for Staples listed on these message boards. Perhaps Staples should spend a little more time scouring these same boards to put an end to these deals when they are posted to save their losses.
The saddest part of these shopping scams is that it makes it almost impossible for true customers of any given site to continue receiving special offers because the online merchants fear the abuse. Last year coupons, discounts, and special offers were plentiful but this year, the deals are few and far between.
Without further delay, I will review the Staples site before they die a slow and painful death on the Internet like those before them.
About The Store
Staples.com desperately wants to be your one-stop-shop for office supplies and business services. Their site offers paperclips to web design and everything in between. Although their site is quite large compared to some office supply stores, it is very well organized.
From the main page you can select from the four major categories by choosing the top tabs or by selecting specific links from their detailed menu.
• Office Supplies :
When selecting the office supply section, you will be taken to a page that not only offers you various categories of supplies but also list their featured specials. There are boxes that line either side of the page that contain special offers that can be found on the site including clearance items, hot deals, and weekly specials. The advertised specials are level specific meaning that if you are looking under paper products, you will see discount offers for paper products and related items in that category. This is just one of the fine organization qualities this site offers - If I am looking for deals on pencils, I certainly wouldn't look under computers and printers. Some sites put little thought into ad placement but Staples takes every opportunity to make shopping quick and easy.
Their office supply prices are comparable if not less expensive than local retailers. With the added convenience of shopping online and low shipping fees, it is well worth the look.
• Furniture :
Whether you are in need of bookcases, file cabinets, or a complete office ensemble, you will find it at Staples. Some shoppers might be hesitant to order these types of items online but Staples offers free delivery for items over $50.00 so you don't have to sweat high shipping costs. Even if there is a better deal at a local chain that might save a few bucks, the convenience of free delivery was well worth the added money to save my back and shoulders.
When shopping Staples.com for furniture each listing will show you a photo of the item, a detailed description, pricing, warranty information, and estimated time for delivery.
• Technology :
This section houses all of today's modern conveniences and up-to-date technology including computers, digital cameras, printers, and more.
Each listing in this section gives you an image, detailed description, system requirements, and any additional equipment you might need to purchase. Staples.com offers more information on each of these items than can be found at even top electronic dealers.
• Business Services :
In this are of Staples.com, small business owners can locate products and services of all types. This is no simple copy shop but a complete online business center offering everything from standard printing to web design. There are so many features in this section that it would be difficult to cover all of them but if there is something your business needs, you are sure to find it.
This area is broken down even further into smaller subcategories by type of services including operations, technology, financial management, staffing, sales, and legal services. Not only can you order business cards but you can file corporation papers or seek out legal advice from experts in your field. Simply amazing.
The business services are offered by outside vendors that are monitored by Staples.com to guarantee your satisfaction. Vendor pricing in this area tends to be slightly more expensive than contracting the job out to a local company. For example, promotion items are much more expensive to purchase through this site.
Shipping And Returns
Staples.com makes calculating shipping costs easy by offering only two options. If the order totals $50.00 or more, shipping is absolutely free. However, if the order is less than $50.00 there is a $7.95 shipping fee. The estimated shipping time varies depending on what items are purchased and whether they are in stock.
As for returns, Staples.com offers 100% refunds if their customers are dissatisfied with their purchase. There are some specific guidelines to follow when returning software or computer related items so you will want to read this section thoroughly before placing your order.
Customer Service and Support
This is one area that Staples.com could use some serious reorganization. Each occasion I have had to contact their service center has been most unpleasant. Not only were the representatives less than knowledgeable about navigating the web site but offered little help in most areas.
For example, last year my credit card was charged twice for the same order and the problem took nearly two months to straighten out. Each representative I spoke with assured me that the problem had been corrected but my credit card agency said otherwise. The problem was not corrected until I spoke with a member of management that informed me that the representatives had not processed the request for refund properly. Understand that I must have talked with five or six different representatives and apparently none of them knew the proper procedure.
This total lack of customer support is the only unpleasant aspect of shopping at Staples.com.
Overall Thoughts
Staples.com is a wonderfully convenient, affordable, and well-navigated site for purchasing office supplies and services. Out of all the office supply stores I have made purchases from online, Staples beats them all hands down in selection and price.
Small business owners have every service imaginable available at their fingertips when using Staples.com. Besides the selection of products and services, there is also the convenience of various payment methods including establishing a small business account with the Staples credit card.
Staples.com has been a real pleasure to shop and it is my hope that they can survive the abuse of a few bad apples. If they develop a solid plan to combat these "freebie" attacks, Staples should thrive online.
If you have not taken the time to check out their site, take a look at the great savings they offer.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
phineaskc
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Member: Pamela
Location: Kansas City, Missouri
Reviews written: 211
Trusted by: 375 members
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