| Editorial September 2004
When Online Purchases Make Sense
Price matters. There’s no question that, in
today’s market, the price-vs.-everything-else factor is a major component in making a
purchasing decision. But service and being able to try before you buy matter also. The key
is to know when to choose price over all else, and when not to.
The ideal ways to buy audio/video equipment are to conduct
in-store comparisons and, when possible, in-home auditions. These are the surest
guarantees of satisfaction long after the price paid has been forgotten. Most boutique
dealers -- that is, not the big-box stores -- can accommodate this ideal to some
degree. Smaller dealers typically can’t compete, price-wise, with the Best Buys and
Circuit Citys of the world, so they set themselves apart by selling more upscale brands
and offering services commensurate with the higher prices. That’s the way it’s
supposed to work.
When should price become the overriding factor in your
purchasing decision? When there’s no additional service to go along with the higher
price. The market decides these things with amazing acuity. I was recently shopping for a
new television, and was able to observe the buying practices of other customers while
shopping for myself. I visited the local big-box stores in the hunt for the best TV for
me, with the best warranty and service, for the best price. I quickly found that the level
of product knowledge of the salespeople in the Best Buys and Circuit Citys was below par
-- I found myself educating the salesman, not the other way around. Now I do have a
level of expertise beyond the average consumer’s, but on several occasions I actually
received misinformation about the products I was considering. An average Joe would
have taken the salesman’s word at face value and, at least in part, based his
decision on bogus information.
I also witnessed numerous store layouts where products such
as DVD players were impossible to compare with each other. In my multiple visits to these
stores, I never once saw a customer comparing the video quality of two DVD players side by
side. The layout of the product displays, where there was a long row of DVD players on a
single shelf, not connected to TVs at all, simply would not allow such comparisons. In
such a case, why would price not be the most important factor?
I concluded that, in such situations of no comparative
evaluations and a generally low level of product knowledge among salespeople, customers
would be served just as well by buying, based mostly on price, via the Internet. Surely
the customer-service departments of some of the online retailers would be as helpful as
the big-box employees I spoke with.
Beyond the ability to compare models and learn from product
specialists, there are some valid reasons to buy from local dealers. One is logistics.
Take, for instance, a large, heavy video display. These beasts are expensive to ship,
fragile in transit, and take some care to set up properly. A damaged unit -- the damage
perhaps discovered only after the delivery person has left the premises -- would no doubt
be a headache to ship back. And who’s to say that you didn’t cause the
problem, which is what the Internet store may claim? In such a case, you might be better
off paying a little more to have the local store deliver the set and check that it’s
operating properly before they leave your residence. And if it malfunctions during the
warranty period, it might make your life easier to have a local contact that can liaison
with the manufacturer or provide repair service themselves.
DVD players, on the other hand, especially ones costing
under $200, are light, easy to ship -- in many cases, the warranty service for a DVD
players consists of simply shipping you a new unit to replace the malfunctioning one.
However, it is imperative that you make absolutely sure you’re buying from an
authorized dealer that has the authority to give you an original manufacturer’s
warranty. It’s also important to read the fine print about exactly what you’re
buying, so you know you’re not getting a refurbished or B-stock unit being passed off
as new. These are things you must watch out for.
At the end of the day, there is no simple rule of thumb I
can give you regarding whether to purchase online or through local channels. It’s
clear that there are times when buying local is the only way to go. Conversely, there are
times when saving some money online makes absolutely the most sense. Most people do a
little bit of both kinds of shopping, I’d wager. That will probably be the norm for
years to come.
...Jeff Fritz
editor@hometheatersound.com |
