Archive for November 2011
Disaster Or Great Marketing Ploy?
Like many who have previously shopped at eBuyer, I received an email informing me that they were going to be having a crash sale on Monday 28th November with all sale items listed at £1.00. The sale was due to start at 11.00am but if you ‘liked’ the eBuyer facebook page you would earn yourself a 30 minute head start on everyone else, well not quite everyone as an impressive 48,000 people clicked that little old like button.
I wondered if it would be the usual tat these kind of sales usually have for sale, the kind of stuff more suitable for a car boot sale, maybe a few cables, blank CDs cable ties and the kind of stuff you could find in any old pound shop. Curiosity grabbed me and just before 10.30am I made my way to the eBuyer home page; that was the last time I saw it until around 21.00hrs. Despite several attempts to see what this wonderful £1 sale had to offer I never even managed to get the front page to load, not alone see what I bargain I might have grabbed.
In a second browser window I had the eBuyer facebook page open which was filling up at a rate of a new page a second with angry and disgruntled customers. At one stage I caught a post by eBuyer themselves saying we are sorry some of you are having problems it is due to the unprecedented demand?? Hang on a second, firstly ‘some of you’ more like 99% of us and secondly eBuyer is a technology store, they sell computer parts and they never realised that their servers were not up to 48k people visiting all at once instead eBuyer launched their very own DDoS attack on themselves.
Today the eBuyer facebook page is still filling with angry customers, not just those that never managed to see what fantastic £1 deals there were but customers who completed checkout only to be told today that the item they thought they had grabbed for a pound was out of stock. So what now for eBuyer? They still have 48,000 facebook likes, google will love all those likes and that is 48,000 people eBuyer can advertise to with a single post. They have a few thousand disgruntled customers to contend with but that should be easy to sort. I would expect to see a more realistic sale announced before Christmas, probably a 25% - 30% sale.
We are all very forgiving when it comes to bargains and we all have short memories so I dare say those complaining will be straight back looking for a bargain if or when the next sale is announced. Scam, Disaster or Great Marketing Ploy?
Christmas Gifts
It is that time of year again where family ask you what you would like for Christmas. I am lucky, my wife does spoil me spending far too much (but I like it), however when it comes to others asking what you would like or can they have a list to select from I always stumble wondering what to put down? You don’t want to look greedy putting down items that are over £50 but then most things that are under that price bracket I already have them if I want them. My movie and music collection is all in digital format so it leaves my list looking something like boxer shorts, aftershave, socks and a computer game that I probably will not play much, maybe an hour total as I am not a big games player. Then the comments start, usually along the lines of a groan and a moan that I pick the same old things every year. I guess I am just spoilt, yes I will consider myself lucky and yes I do realise that Christmas is about giving not receiving but excuse me, I have a list to write!!
My First PC Build – The Case
Well I have managed to gather a few parts for my new PC build. My bargain of the day has to be the case. Now when it comes to computers I am not too bothered what the outside looks like, at the end of the day it is probably going to sit under my desk so very few people will see it. For me it is about performance so as long as it could house everything I wished to place into it looks were not important although I build quality was. I was hoping to pick up a Corsair Obsidian Series 650D Mid tower case but second hand prices were far too expectant. Then through the AV Forums classified section, I found someone selling a Bitfenix Colossus Case in black. This person had purchased both the Black and White versions unsure of which one he was going to like the best, as it happened he decided to keep the white without even opening the black version, the box even had the package strapping tightly secured around it.
I made an offer of £60 delivered which he accepted, it arrived exactly as he had described, brand new in original packaging not even opened to inspect, a £110 case for £60 so I was off to a good start. I did do a little research before making my offer, the lights glowing are a gimmick agreed but this case does have a lot of appealing features, the main one for me being the fan controller. Watch the youtube video above for the full list of features, personally I am glad he liked the white one as I think the black is much better.
Posted in Building Your First PC | 
Tags: Bitfenix Colossus, Computer Case, First PC Build | 
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Never Knowingly Under Sold?
It is a strange fact that as you get older good customer service becomes increasingly more important to you. When you are going through your late teens and early twenties you don’t give a damn about customer service, it is all about the cheapest possible, bargains and deals. Recently I purchased quite an expensive TV from John Lewis, it went wrong and their customer service was like none I had experienced before. My phone call went straight through no pressing one for this and two for that, the person on the other end was sympathetic and understanding and they arranged to drop a new TV off at the same time as collecting the old one. No waiting for it to be checked and repaired a complaint dealt with better than I could have imagined.
I was hoping to always shop at John Lewis after that experience and with their “never knowingly under sold” price promise I thought it would be a good idea to put it to the test. For those unsure what this is it is a price match promise, there are terms and conditions that apply but basically it is a promise to match anyone else’s price as long as it is in stock and that it isn’t an Internet only deal. I was after an LG belt drive washing machine, I had found one at £599 that I liked with an online company that also had a store 50 miles away. The same machine was in John Lewis priced at £750 so I filled in their online form and waited for an answer.
I received an email back with a code to use stating that they were willing to match the price, great I would give them a call and make arrangements. On making the call to place my order I discovered that first you have to pay the full John Lewis asking price of £750.00 and then when the item arrives you call them back and the money is refunded to your account within 7 days. On top of that they could not give me a delivery date, just that it would be at least 7 days but within 14. I asked the usual questions like you would but it was like banging your head against a wall. I called the original company who had it listed for £599 and a sale was made and the machine delivered less than 48 hours later.
I guess John Lewis don’t want to make the price match too easy to obtain but they might wish to look at it being called a “Never Knowingly under-sold” promise. Surely now that I have pointed out to them a competitor with a cheaper price John Lewis should reduce their price accordingly or it makes a mockery of the never knowingly statement?
New Blog Theme
My first attempt at a unique theme using Artisteer, I am 90% happy with the theme, I can’t quite put my finger on it why it just doesn’t quite do it for me at the moment so I shall have another mess around in a few days and see what I can come up with.
Skyfall James Bond Girl Bérénice Marlohe
I was never much of a James Bond fan until Daniel Craig filled the shoes of 007. Daniel Craig playing the part of Mr Bond is a perfect combination, a little like Matt Damon and The Bourne Supremacy. As much as I have never really been a James Bond fan in the past I could probably name two James Bond women. Halle Berry because I thought it was all much to do about nothing, her emerging from the water did nothing for me and it wasn’t a patch on the original Ursula Andress moment (that’s two). The third I can remember is Britt Ekland but that is only because I met her at a collectors fair, she was very pleasant but then I did purchase a signed picture.
I have a feeling I am going to remember the next James Bond girl, well I shall remember her face but probably not the name, Bérénice Marlohe. French actress Bérénice is set to play the part of Severin in Skyfall for which filming commenced yesterday in London with a release date set for November 2012.
Second Hand Prices
I don’t know what it is with some people when it comes to selling second hand items, do they seriously expect to get near to the original full retail asking price when it comes to selling through the classifieds or is it me who is being unrealistic? I was doing a quick search through the AV Forums and I found an advert where someone is selling an Intel i5 2500k processor. Okay it is only three months old but they are asking £140 and no offers when today I could get a brand new one for £159.95. Is a £19.95 reduction for a second hand processor a good bargain, I don’t think so I would rather spend the extra £19.95 and have peace of mind.
You have to also remember that when purchasing new the price is actually £133.29 + VAT at £26.66 one could argue that as the VAT has already been paid by the original purchaser the item only really has a value of £133.29. Surely the minimum discount given to anything second hand has to be a figure that exceeds the current rate of VAT? When the seller was made an offer by another 3rd party he politely refused saying he purchased it just 3 months ago for £180.00, maybe he did but the fact remains you can purchase new today for a smidge under £160 – come on people, when listing classifieds for sale please get a grip.
Pointless Facebook Comments
I only discovered facebook this year, I have known about it for quite some time but it was one of those things I kept meaning to get around to joining but never did. During the few months I have been active on facebook I have been in touch with some old friends and family members who I had lost touch with so in all I would have to say it is a social media site which I do owe a lot to and that can work great.
One thing that really bugs me though is the status of some people, posts that others make and I ask myself why? Looking through today, one of my contacts has commented “I am so p*ss*d off” it goes without saying that several people have then posted “are you okay“, “hope you are okay” and “why what’s up?” – Then the same person who states that they are p*ss*d off comments “I can’t say on here” - Well I have to ask why mention it in the first place?
Another classic from a few days back, it was posted at 2.00 in the morning “I am so annoyed I can’t get to sleep“… Well try turning your phone or PC off and stop checking your facebook page and writing to it, lay down and close your eyes that might just help.