K-Mart.com-should be GONE!
Written: Dec 30 '02
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I have shopped at Kmart.com a few times. One in particular kept me from ever returning.
Set-Up
Like most sites, you will find the major product categories at the top of the page. By clicking any one of them you can go from toys to clothing.
Under these blue buttons is their layout, Martha Stewart bigger than life.
Look to your left-you will find ads, ads, Martha ads, some more ads, a weekly circular, in case you forgot to pick up a Sunday paper, and email notification in case you want K-Mart spam.
The right of their page is "Their Brand Shops" meaning the brands they are proud of carrying. I.E. the companies that didn't run for cover when they filed for bankruptcy. K-Mart has to give them their due, they did stay after all.
Below all this confusing garbage (do you get the feeling this is leading somewhere)? is a search engine. Enter what you want, your going to find it as easily as you would randomly selecting words and throwing them into a search engine. Only you'd have better luck with the search engine.
Site Efficiency
Uhmmmm...Have you ever shopped at a K-Mart? I have lived everywhere in the US and no matter which state or store the service is the same. Slow as a turtle crossing a busy interstate. Plan on taking a chill pill and trudging through.
Product Availability & Consumer Care
Unlike most stores that tell you they are out of an item, by saying it is OUT OF STOCK or it has been discontinued, K-Mart.com doesn't. In fact they will go so far as to charge you for your purchases via credit card, you will get the bill, and months later your waiting for the delivery.
Hmm....are you wondering if that is what I did-well YES. This time last year, we were unable to hit the after Christmas sales. So I hit the net, next best thing, I ordered from Target.com and Walamrt.com and all my packages arrived when they told me they would. Yet K-Mart.com didn't even send me a confirmation of my order. Wait-they did, I just never got it.
After going through 20 different customer service reps trying to track my order, we found that the items I purchased and paid for were never in stock.
I asked for an immediate refund but wait...no, they couldn't they had to confirm that my order could not be processed. More dead time-24 hours.
After no phone call from the company I called them. Indeed my credit card had been charged (duh I had the bill in my hand) but the items advertised were never at any one Kmart warehouse.
Then why advertise it as such? Quote "To drive consumer traffic to our site in hopes of related purchases" unquote. Wait? What? You're selling me nothing in hopes I'll buy something you may or may not have? Why don't I just kill myself trying to find the only store left in our state to make certain you never carried that product?
The boy on the phone was very pleasant, "I apologize ma'am that is what I was told." Apparently he was told, when I tried calling back to speak to a supervisor a few days later to make a formal complaint, the kid was fired. Too bad for him, being honest working for a company based on untruth..wow kinda ironic wouldn't you say?
I got my refund. March 2002. So much for the day after Christmas sales huh?
Payment
Like almost all online shopping sites, you can pay by credit card;
*American Express
*Discover
*MasterCard
*Visa
*Online Gift Certificates
Kmart.com does not accept CODs, or layaways. Lucky for you.
Sales tax is calculated by your states tax on all items shipped
Shipping Methods
Well, if you actually order a product they carry, and they can ship it to you, it will arrive in better condition than most online retailers. But that is only if they have the product they are selling you.
(taken from www.kmart.com)
At checkout, you will be prompted to choose a shipping method for your item(s). (Please note, some items may offer only one shipping method.) Shipping costs are dependent on the items in your order and the shipping method you select. Your total shipping charges will automatically compute during checkout prior to the completion of your order.
Shipping costs for orders placed on this site are based on the weight of the total order. An order containing multiple items typically receives a volume-shipping discount and therefore your total shipping and handling cost may be lower than the sum of individual ship charges appearing in your cart. You will be provided with the total shipping cost for your order during Checkout.
Generally, you will have the option of upgrading your shipping method for faster delivery (such as Third Day, or Overnight service). If you choose to upgrade your shipping method, your order must be received and clear credit authorization by 12:00 p.m. (noon) EST or your order may not be processed until the following business day. Business days are Monday-Friday, excluding federal holidays within the United States.
48 Contiguous United States
*USPS Media Mail, normally 7-14 bus. days
*Standard Ground, normally 3-8 bus. days
*Third Day, normally 3 business days
*Overnight, normally 1 bus. day
*Standard Freight Delivery, normally 7-14 bus. days
Alaska or Hawaii
*USPS Media Mail, normally 7-14 bus. days
*Third Day, normally 3 business days
*P.O. Boxes
*USPS Media Mail, normally 7-14 bus. days
*USPS Priority Delivery, normally 3-8 bus. days
*P.O. Boxes in Alaska or Hawaii
*USPS Media Mail, normally 7-14 bus. days
*USPS Priority Delivery, normally 3-8 bus. days
Military APO / FPO Addresses
*USPS Media Mail, normally 7-14 bus. days
*USPS Priority Delivery, normally 3-8 bus. days
*P.O. Boxes in the U.S. Territories, including the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico
*USPS Media Mail, normally 7-14 bus. days.
*USPS Priority Delivery, normally 3-8 bus. days
U.S.territories, including the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico
*USPS Media Mail, normally 7-14 bus. days
*USPS Priority Delivery, normally 3-8 bus. days
Other NEED to KNOWS
Online shopping is secure; You can find product recalls on the site if you hunt really hard; You can sign up for Internet access through bluelight.com, they DO have an order tracking system for what its worth, a store locator (for those of you who may still have K-Marts in your city), and last but not least their infamous customer care.
MaggsMomm's Recommendation
Don't turn on Bluelight.com-the site sucks. And that is putting it mildly. I get gift cards all the time through online incentive programs and I find a store 50 miles from my home and drive myself there and back. Returns, Messed up orders, Reversing charges on Credit Cards is a major hassle with this company.
You can imagine I was NOT surprised when they filed bankruptcy. Its been a long time coming, and their web site should follow suit and lay down with the other dead .coms-This site stinks!
© MM 2002
Recommended:
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maggsmomm
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