Common

While one or two orders may get processing quickly and smoothly, it is only over a period of time that you realise how good or bad a particular ecommerce website is.

My first few orders on Landmarkonthenet.com (I will write a separate review ) were processed quickly, but for the last order (Order no.  O07101004796)  which I have placed on 7 October 2010, the 3 books by Gerald Durrell  have not been delivered after 2 weeks. Even after sending an email , I have not got a satisfactory reply.

I had a similar experience with Indiaplaza.in , the last order which I have placed  (Order Number :IN1710100126) on 17 October 2010, the status shows that it  will be shipped by 20 Oct 2010 by Bluedart, but I have not received any book so far.   

The non delivery of books may be due to factors beyond the control of these websites, but most ecommerce websites are not clear on how a customer will get his or her money back in case the order is not completed or books are not delivered.   This lack of consistency acts as a deterrent to ordering online.

I buy a lot of products online , and the main reason I do so is that it is much more efficient compared to buying offline.

In large companies if you have to order any product, the process is very time consuming and involves

• Find multiple vendors for the product (a minimum of 3, usually 5)
• Send an enquiry to each vendor
• Followup with the vendor to ensure that they send you a quote
• Do a technical and price evaluation of the offers received.
• Forward the quotes to the purchase department to finalise the price and payment terms. (The purchase department also has to do a lot of paperwork)
• Follow up with the vendor to ensure delivery
• Visit the vendor’s office/ factory for quality control / check whether the product is as per specifications

Just the process of finding a suitable vendor can take many days or weeks based on my personal experience. When you purchase a  product online , many of the above steps are automatically eliminated , and you can devote your time to other more productive activities.

Deceptive online reviews  -  unlike  offline products and  companies , where people judge you based on actual interaction,  many people form an opinion of a product or service based on their reviews, rumours or gossip.  

There is at least one ecommerce website in India with a lot of negative reviews posted online, whose actual service is much better, based on personal experience. So the best way to check an ecommerce website is  to actually place a small order with the website.