Wide selection of cool gadgets, but slooow shipping
Written: Jan 12 '08 (Updated Jan 14 '08)
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Sharperimage.com offers a wide variety of cool electronics and other gadgets. Granted, shopping online is not nearly as fun as visiting a SI store, where you can try out those oh-so-relaxing massage chairs and play with the latest gizmos in person… but sharperimage.com allows you to shop in your pajamas without fighting the crowds at the mall – a definite plus for some people.
Products
The SharperImage.com sells a wide range of products, ranging from digital cameras, MP3 players and accessories (but not iPods), and GPS systems to $2,000 massage chairs, kitchen knives, hair dryers, robotic toys and air purifiers. There’s not a huge variety of each type of product – for example, they may only have 5 or 6 digital cameras and 1 or 2 styles of luggage, but it seems that care goes into choosing which product is stocked. Items are usually a reputable brand (or a Sharper Image private label) and generally a mid-range quality, with one or two distinguishing features (ie, an eyecatching tiny red digital camera or plastic food containers that supposedly keep food fresher longer). Frequently, there are slightly unusual products that you won’t always find in your average store. If you’re looking for the most inexpensive product or the lowest price, you won’t find it here. Many items – my guess is about 20-25% -- are Sharper Image private label items. They’re especially well-known for their air purifiers, but there’s been a lot of recent debate as to how effective they really are. I've never had a problem or complaint with any of the brand name products I've purchased at Sharper Image; I'm a little less enthusiastic about the SI private label items -- sometimes I think they're a little gimmicky and/or overpriced.
Website Design
The site is nicely designed, with categories for product type – electronics, toys, home, etc, followed by subcategories within that category (cameras, clocks, digital photo frames, etc for electronics). There also are helpful categories like bestsellers, products by price, new items and sale items. Thumbnail photos of the items in each category are displayed, with the option of displaying 9, 18 or all items in that category on a page. Clicking on the thumbnail brings up a screen with more detailed product info and the occasional customer review.
Value
The prices are not quite as competitive as what you might find at a “big box” electronics store, but oftentimes not much more.
Tip: Sign up for their email list and you’ll receive frequent coupons good for X dollars off a purchase or free shipping. Although coupons aren’t always accepted for all items, I've found that the rules aren’t always enforced if you use the in the stores, and with the coupons, the pricing can be VERY competitive. They also have a semi-annual sale in early January and the summer (July?), which can result in good deals.
Checkout
Buying online is fairly straightforward, and it is not necessary to set up an account. However, if you do, you can view all of your past transactions online, and if you provide your email address if you purchase items in the store, you will be able to see your store purchases too. All major credit cards are accepted, plus SI gift cards and Paypal.
Order Processing
Here’s the Achilles heel (part 1) at SharperImage.com – what happens once your place your order. According to the website, orders are processed within 1-2 business days. My order took 6 business days to process. If that wasn’t bad enough, they shipped it “UPS Basic,” which supposedly takes even longer than UPS Ground. All told, it took 2 weeks from the time I placed my order to get my small, 3-pound package. In this era of Internet shopping, that’s embarrassingly slow. And, for the amount they charge for ordinary shipping and handling – a whopping $22.95 for a $150 order – you would think a little more attention would be placed here. They will send you an email with a tracking link once your item has shipped.
Customer Service
Here’s the Achilles heel (part 2) at SharperImage.com: online customer service. You can email customer service, and they promise a prompt reply – the website states they’ll do their best to reply in 24 hours, although the confirmation you receive after submitting your question says 48 hours. My experience has been same day, BUT the response was not very helpful. Not only was it in poorly written English, but the overall message was “I don’t have any info about that and you’ll have to call our 800 number to get an answer.” I don't understand why the telephone customer service people have more info, or why the online reps couldn't have done a little more legwork to get the answer.
Bottom line: if you're in a hurry, shop at the Sharper Image bricks & mortar stores.
Recommended:
Yes
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? Camera, flashlight, water purifier, GPS (several orders)
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Epinions.com ID:
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Reviews written: 29
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