Smart shopping online

Are web deals cheaper than bricks-and-mortar stores? To find out, bargain-crazed David McNickel whips out the iMag credit card and buys Regaine, bras (for research of course) and an obscure CD over the internet. Plus: how to shop securely and avoid rip-offs.

David McNickel | Monday, November 19 2001

Hair-raising
I went comparative shopping for a product that (for guys, anyway) is more embarrassing to buy than condoms: the baldness medication Regaine — a pharmacy-only product. Buying Regaine in a real store (a friend says) is made even more excruciating by young assistants who stare at your hairline. It’s pricey too — $69.95 for a 60ml bottle from a pharmacy in an Auckland mall. Could I get a better deal online?
The Health & Beauty section of Xtra’s shopping page listed several online pharmacies supplying Regaine with an amazing range of prices (for a full list, see table 1).
Chemist Direct’s easy-to-use site offered the product at $58, including delivery. This is nearly $12 cheaper than the mall. Fantastic. I ordered a bottle (for my friend, of course).
But at eChemist, Regaine is only available in packs of five for $380. This works out at $76 a bottle. How could this be? The intro to eChemist’s site says it offers “quality pharmacy products at the best possible prices”. Shouldn’t buying in bulk be cheaper? I emailed them to ask how they justify a price so far out of whack with everyone else, and for a bulk purchase too. “We sell the product in question in our store for $93.90, which is the recommended retail price. We sell the product in bulk via the website at a discount, which we believe to be both generous and sustainable,” explained Porirua Pharmacy, the bricks-and-mortar store behind eChemist.
Hmm … my ears pricked up. Having not heard the phrase “recommended retail price” since Muldoon was prime minister, I decided to dig deeper. I rang Regaine suppliers Upjohn to ask if they suggested a retail price, and if $93.90 (or $76 online) was commonplace. “No way” the bemused brand manager replied, and suggested I shop around. I did (Don’t you mean “your friend” did? — Ed) and my last stop was Pharmacy Express. It sold the same five-bottle pack for $248 — $132 cheaper than eChemist. Its single bottle price was $65. Including delivery charges, four out of five online pharmacies I checked sold Regaine cheaper than the chemist in the mall.
But what about internationally? Are American baldies getting a better deal than Kiwi eggheads? They might be somewhere, but not at Drugstore.com where US buyers pay the equivalent of $NZ81.66 for something they could buy here for $58. New Zealand online pharmacies rule!

Ohio obscure
The next phase of my mission: seek out and buy relatively obscure books and a CD. (The books were “get rich slowly” titles The Wealthy Barber and The Millionaire Next Door. The CD was Isolation Drills by Ohio popsters Guided By Voices.)
I wanted to know if big-name American and New Zealand online retailers stock these titles to see if the internet offers a better selection. Once again, the results were unexpected.

First, the good news. I quickly located the items on Amazon.com and at two local sites, Flying Pig and SoundsNZ.com. I tried CDStar.co.nz but sadly the site was “off line until further notice”. I checked back frequently, but it never re-opened. Another one bites the dust perhaps? (Yup — Ed.)

Although the local sites did have the items I was looking for, the US sites generally gave a greater depth to the shopping experience. Amazon has numerous book reviews written by past buyers of the titles. There are also extracts available online, links to second-hand copies for sale and other “value-adds”. When I searched for the CD, I also found downloadable samples from the album, a full biography and a recommended listening section. The Sounds site didn’t even have a picture of the album cover. Flying Pig has a facility for readers to contribute reviews, but it doesn’t appear to be used much.

For research, the US sites are much better than New Zealand’s. Perhaps researching offshore then returning to a local site to buy would be the cheaper option? You‘d think so, but in this case you’re wrong. I had to shop at two e-tailers for the items in New Zealand but only one in the US, and after subtracting delivery charges from the bills of the local stores, Amazon’s price was still lower. Credit card in hand, I ordered something from Amazon and Flying Pig to test delivery.

Mammary triumphs
With obscure rock bands and baldness cures, my investigation so far was guy-centric. But what do women want? A shout around the office for orders from female colleagues and I was off to local e-tailers Jenniferann.com and Beauty Direct.
While this feature isn’t focusing on usability, I must say buying from Jenniferann was a frustrating experience. Working as a team (my female colleague surfing on her PC while I kept up with her on mine), we struggled to co-ordinate our efforts. Click on Bras at Jenniferann and a page loads with five featured items. At the top of the page, links appear to 15 more pages of bras. My shopping buddy had a look and opted for the T-shirt bra featured on page three. I clicked page three but there was no T-shirt bra. She clicked on page four and then back to three and what do you know? No T-shirt bra either. It appears the site continually reshuffles its pages and items so the bra you want will never be in the same place twice.
We decided to use the search option. We found the bra we wanted (a Triumph) and headed for the checkout. All prices were in US dollars. We paid $US11.81 (around $NZ27). A check at the local lingerie shop revealed similar prices. Jenniferann may have been a little cheaper, but it depends which real-world retailer you compare it with.

At Beauty Direct, my colleague immediately spotted a Joico shampoo and conditioner duo at a great price on the Haircare page. I clicked to purchase, but instead of an order form, I got an instruction to call Beauty Direct on an 0800 number. The process seemed familiar: one of our sister magazines in the US has found several websites advertising “specials”, but when they attempt to buy them online they are directed to a freephone number. A pushy salesperson then advises the product is out of stock and offers something else, for a lot more money.
Was the same thing going on with Beauty Direct? The person who answered my call didn’t have a clue and told me somebody would call back “within the hour”. Thirty minutes later, Beauty Direct founder Bronwen Evans called. She explained this item was out of stock and the site hadn’t been updated. She apologised for the inconvenience and offered to fix it straight away.

We checked the site 10 minutes later and true to her word, the Joico duo had gone. We decided to order a shampoo anyway (a 500ml Kerapro), but couldn’t get the site to accept our email address again. We rang the helpline again, and Bronwen answered and took our order. She suggested we’d filled out the form incorrectly or we had firewall problems. We paid $27.45 plus $2.99 for delivery, a total of $30.44. The same product at a mall shop was $27.95. There were no significant savings to be had shopping online for these two purchases.

Waiting for the postman
There were hiccups with some deliveries. Amazon emailed me the day after I’d placed my order to say there was a delay on one of the books. They would send the first two items immediately and the other when it was available, with no delivery charge on the second shipment.

The first package arrived within two weeks, but a month after I’d received a dispatch notice relating to the second parcel, it still hadn’t arrived. I emailed Amazon, concerned they’d ignore me and I’d have to write off the second book as a learning experience. But no, the customer service rep was very helpful and dispatched my second order again, this time by overnight courier. It arrived two days later. A month later, the original order arrived (after two months in transit) so I now have two copies of The Wealthy Barber. (What’s his secret? Marked-up Regaine? — Ed.)

Flying Pig’s order arrived on time and complete, but I decided to test its returns policy. I called its helpline to say the order was incorrect. Like Amazon, the people at Flying Pig were very helpful, and suggested I return the item for a refund while they dispatched another order.

The other orders (from Chemist Direct, Jenniferann and Beauty Direct) turned up within a day or so of the specified time, and were correct.
But what if they hadn’t? Given the shaky nature of dot-coms these days, what would my options have been if nothing had arrived? Assuming I paid by credit card, Visa and MasterCard — after recommending I only deal with “reputable, trusted” companies — gave this advice: “A retailer has 30 days to get your goods to you. If nothing has turned up by then, contact us, we will send you a letter of dispute, and your money will be credited back to you.”

Simon says
The wide range of choice offered by the internet also causes problems. Head to your local shopping mall for a book or a camera and there might be two or three shops that have what you’re looking for.
Online, it’s like trying to count sand. The phrases “online shopping”, “buy online” and “shop online” generate millions of hits using AltaVista’s search engine. Wouldn’t it be great if there was a site that could find the best deals for you? A “shopping robot”, if you like.
There is. I checked out US-based bargain hunter site MySimon.com and found great prices for a range of products. The hard part was buying them. Most suppliers of big ticket items wouldn’t supply customers outside the US, and often the e-tailers with the best prices looked dodgy or didn’t actually stock the item.
I decided to search locally. Last year, TradeMe had contacted me about their “shop by request” service where consumers could request a product and receive recommendations and prices. I visited the site but the service was gone.
TradeMe manager Nigel Stanford told me they’d pulled it after retailers refused to pay for it. He said a lot of items on the TradeMe site were new, but the only way to find them was by manual searches. “We’re probably going to include a checkbox for new goods soon.”
Discarding the shopping bot idea, I resigned myself to finding bargains the hard way.

Bargain hunter alert: tips for safe shopping
Everyone knows the adage: if it looks too good to be true, it probably is. If you’re on the hunt for unbeatable prices, arm yourself with those words of wisdom and our top tips and you’ll avoid getting ripped off.

1. Know what you need
Before you hand over your credit card number, decide exactly what you want. Determine what components are included with your purchase. You’ll be less likely to be talked into buying pricey accessories you don’t need.

2. Make price comparisons
Do at least three searches with different engines if you’re shopping internationally. Because each scans its own pool of sites, you’ll be presented with a wider range of vendors and prices. If you’re shopping locally, check out real-life prices — online deals are not always the cheapest.

3. Research your retailer
Don’t order until you’ve carefully checked the vendor. Make sure a street address and phone number is provided. If you’re suspicious, ask if you can contact other customers.

4. Do it online
Be wary of obscure sites that insist you call to seal the deal. This arrangement can be part of a bait-and-switch strategy. You could end up on the telephone with an aggressive salesperson trying to foist expensive extras on you (or an alternative product because the advertised one happens to be out of stock).

5. Get the real cost
The best sites list the total charge (including delivery) before the purchase is finalised. Make sure the final tally adds up correctly even if you must phone to check.

6. Confirm the warranty
Many sites are fuzzy on warranty details, especially for refurbished items. Be sure to get the specifics and confirm them with the original manufacturer if possible.

7. Check return policies
Some products aren’t returnable and shipping and insurance fees are often non-refundable. Some vendors charge hefty restocking fees for returned product.

8. Get shipping details
It’s always nice to know your new computer’s whereabouts, even if it’s sitting on a truck 500km away. Look for a merchant site with a shipment tracking system.

Shop till you drop
http://www.xtra.co.nz/shopping
http://www.chemistdirect.co.nz
http://www.echemist.co.nz
http://www.pharmacyexpress.co.nz
http://www.drugstore.com
http://www.amazon.com
http://www.soundsnz.com
http://www.jenniferann.com
http://www.beautydirect.co.nz
http://www.mysimon.com
http://www.trademe.co.nz

-- david_mcnickel@idg.co.nz