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Poll: What do you find buying online really hard or annoying?

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Re: Poll: What do you find buying online really hard or annoying?

#51

Post by vaksel »

masterj wrote: post #50
vaksel wrote: post #3

I think one of the problems is that there is just too many choices, something better would be where you just tell your budget, and are given the top 3 options in your budget.

Kinda like http://www.justbuythisone.com/ ?

yes but I'd like a bit more justification. i.e. for a camera all it says is high quality images and touchscreen controls.

I'd like something where there is literally a giant essay justifying the reasons for buying X. (i.e. even though this one has less megapixels, it's the better choice since you won't really need all those mega pixels in the real world, and this way you can save 25% of the cost).

Re: Poll: What do you find buying online really hard or annoying?

#52

Post by petercooper »

I buy all of these things online except furniture (where the need to see it can override everything) and home appliances. I find home appliances crazy difficult to buy and usually end up going to a store. Why? I find it hard to get a perspective for ranges online, they're always pushing me towards the most "popular" middle of the road item.

For appliances, a lot of shopping sites also neglect to include significant information like dimensions weight, or where various pipes connect to the appliances.. which you can easily figure out in person. You really don't want to be doing a return on a washer dryer or even a vacuum cleaner, but the smallest of differences can make an item useless (such as if the outlet pipe on a dryer is on the wrong side/place or if a cooker is 2 inches too wide for the existing gap).

Re: Poll: What do you find buying online really hard or annoying?

#53

Post by gaustin »

revorad wrote: post #11
gaustin wrote: post #7

Tools and supplies for my bladesmithing hobby. The supply sites that do exists have really terrible web presences and they still do much of their business with paper catalogs. Most of the stores don't have items categorized more than one level deep nor by the properties of the item. There are all sorts of options for something as simple as an anvil or a pair of tongs. God help you if you need handle hardware. You hav…

Thanks gaustin. I certainly didn't know it was so hard to buy stuff like that. This UK site looks quite good - http://anvils.co.uk . Would something like that be useful?

Yeah. That's one of the better sites. It's responsive and well-organized.

It could be improved. It would be nice if prices and a primary characteristic or two, like weight for hammers, could be moved up a level. Or at least add search filters like New Egg does for each spec of a component.

E.g., Hammers -> Straight Pein -> 1-2kg

Re: Poll: What do you find buying online really hard or annoying?

#54

Post by hsmyers »

gaustin wrote: post #53
revorad wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks gaustin. I certainly didn't know it was so hard to buy stuff like that. This UK site looks quite good - http://anvils.co.uk . Would something like that be useful?

Yeah. That's one of the better sites. It's responsive and well-organized. It could be improved. It would be nice if prices and a primary characteristic or two, like weight for hammers, could be moved up a level. Or at least add search filters like New Egg does for each spec of a component. E.g., Hammers -> Straight Pein -> 1-2kg

Try approaching from the side---Silversmithing and Woodworking have a number of good sites. These may lead to at least some equipment that you want. Don't know as I'm not a knifesmith, silver is good enough for me :)

Re: Poll: What do you find buying online really hard or annoying?

#55

Post by revorad »

petercooper wrote: post #52

I buy all of these things online except furniture (where the need to see it can override everything) and home appliances. I find home appliances crazy difficult to buy and usually end up going to a store. Why? I find it hard to get a perspective for ranges online, they're always pushing me towards the most "popular" middle of the road item. For appliances, a lot of shopping sites also neglect to include significant i…

Thanks for your input, Peter. The appalling lack of good practical product information is very high on the list of things I want to fix.

Can you elaborate a bit on ranges? I'm not sure what you mean.

Re: Poll: What do you find buying online really hard or annoying?

#56

Post by petercooper »

revorad wrote: post #55
petercooper wrote: post #52

I buy all of these things online except furniture (where the need to see it can override everything) and home appliances. I find home appliances crazy difficult to buy and usually end up going to a store. Why? I find it hard to get a perspective for ranges online, they're always pushing me towards the most "popular" middle of the road item. For appliances, a lot of shopping sites also neglect to include significant i…

Thanks for your input, Peter. The appalling lack of good practical product information is very high on the list of things I want to fix. Can you elaborate a bit on ranges? I'm not sure what you mean.

I guess I just mean being able to see the entire range of a certain product easily. Some sites get it right (computer sales are good at this) but sometimes you have to guess at keywords/model names, especially on sites like Amazon.

If I want to see all the Dysons from cheapest to most expensive with a few key specs about each (why are they different?) that can prove tricky.

Re: Poll: What do you find buying online really hard or annoying?

#57

Post by silvestrov »

petercooper wrote: post #56
revorad wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for your input, Peter. The appalling lack of good practical product information is very high on the list of things I want to fix. Can you elaborate a bit on ranges? I'm not sure what you mean.

I guess I just mean being able to see the entire range of a certain product easily. Some sites get it right (computer sales are good at this) but sometimes you have to guess at keywords/model names, especially on sites like Amazon. If I want to see all the Dysons from cheapest to most expensive with a few key specs about each (why are they different?) that can prove tricky.

Having the instruction manual online is a plus too. I want to know all about the product before I buy it.

Hires pictures of the product from all sides. So many sites use have only small pictures. Even when Amazon has pictures, you're only allowed to see a small part of it at a time. My big display is so bored.

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