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IntroThe Experts Let's shop Under the hammer | |
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DIVERSDISCOUNT.COMOperates from: California. The home page has a 1-800 toll free number that can be accessed only from the USA, but full contact details were provided elsewhere on a page that was easy to find. Reply to e-mail: A pro-forma detailing FAQs about online purchases addressed to those who had already made a purchase. It answered lots of questions but not mine, especially with regards to issues raised in buying from the USA while in the UK. Privacy policy: Full explanation of how my details would be kept confidential. Warranty/return: What appeared to be a customer-orientated returns policy that extends to 30 days for any reason at all, though shipping charges would not be refunded. This page also included a surprising statement to the effect that the customer should not take Divers Discount's word or anyone else's that it was an authorised dealer and should contact the manufacturer. Full contact details were provided. FAQ: Just about all the questions that could be asked by a US-based purchaser, though it was not so orientated towards international purchases, for example, on servicing or repair of goods. Price promise: The company indicated, with an in-depth explanation, that it would beat any authorised or unauthorised dealers' quotes, including grey goods. Unlike many UK companies who only promise to match (and, as I have demonstrated in the Mystery Diver column, even this can turn out to be an unreliable claim) it indicated that it would refund 150% of the difference. Ordering: Shopping cart system in use, easy to understand layout on the page with padlock and an https address line. Summary: This seemed to be an industry-standard site, with more than 500 pages of goods with apparently excellent discounts and descriptions. The human touch had been introduced wherever possible - for example, store instructors would assemble regulators to manufacturers' recommendations before they were dispatched. Let down only by the impersonal reply to my initial enquiry, it scored 8/10. 
LEISUREPRO.COMOperates from: New York, full contact details provided. Reply to e-mail: Yes - see below. Privacy policy: Full and explicit, though I had to dig around the site a bit to find it. Warranty / return: On the surface there seemed to be a full explanation of how goods could be shipped internationally and returned within a 14-day no-questions period. However, this was made more complicated by small print that indicated that a five-day returns policy applied if the customer did not agree to the conditions of sale. Much of the small print was unintelligible, for example: "Leisure Pro makes no warranty, either expressed or implied, of merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose, and none shall be implied by law. Final determination of suitability of any item sold for the use contemplated by purchaser is the sole responsibility of the purchase [sic], and seller shall have no responsibility in connection with such determination." I'm also not sure how the warranty would operate when the goods supplied may be "grey" (see price promise below). FAQ: Lots of questions answered but complicated by the unintelligible small print at the bottom of the page. Price promise: LeisurePro seemed to pride itself on low prices, but there was no price promise in sight. However, in the small print of one page I found the following rider that seems to support the claim about unauthorised goods being sold: "LeisurePro buyers travel worldwide to acquire the finest products at the lowest prices possible. Since, on some of the items we do not buy directly from the manufacturer, we are not bound by official/unofficial manufacturer's suggested retail price and can pass on the tremendous savings to you, our valued customer." Ordering: Try as hard as I could, I didn't manage to get to the checkout without first registering as a customer, even though the page indicated that I could. It took several attempts, as the site did not seem to be geared up for international telephone numbers. It used the padlock and an https address, but only for providing credit card information, not to cover personal information. Summary: This site appeared to provide everything you could require, but once I dug deeper I found too many unanswered questions, ambiguous phrases and niggling concerns. The reply to my e-mail enquiry confirmed the store as a dealer in grey goods: "We aren't authorised dealers for the Dive Rite and some other manuf. Due to the Internet/mail order sales at such low prices. However we do offer you the equivalent warranty with all their merchandise. If anything happens to the gear under their warranty period, you would just send it to us for their same warranty or yearly service. You can service it in the UK but parts might not be covered if the manuf. offers it, only if you would send it to us." Considering the detail contained in a warranty received with equipment bought from an authorised dealer, this pretty much sums up how little protection you might have as a consumer. Combine this with the confusing detail in the small print and it's all down to whether you are prepared to take a gamble - 2/10. 
CYBAQUA.CO.UKOperates from: The home page indicates that Cybaqua is part of the Mike's Dive Stores chain. It also indicates that the store's address is in Warrington. A telephone number is provided as well as access to customer services via e-mail. Confusingly, the postal address for any enquiries is in Wallasey, Merseyside. Reply to e-mail: Although customer service was accessible via e-mail, there was no reply after one week. Privacy policy: Spelt out clearly with an indication that it complied with the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Which? Web Trader Code of Conduct. Warranty / return: Site policy indicated that a 14-day returns system was available should the customer not be completely satisfied. FAQ: None listed. Price promise: None. Ordering: Large pictures of the products and some in-depth descriptions led to a checkout where a padlock and https address were used for credit card information. Some pages indicated that a "best price" could be obtained for certain items by calling a Merseyside telephone number, though this was not the one listed on the home page. Summary: If the price was right and I didn't do any digging I would probably order. However, I would be slightly suspicious of the two addresses, different telephone numbers and the confusion over whether the company was Cybaqua or Mike's. In the event of a complaint or dispute over goods purchased, it was not clear who would be responsible. If the customer e-mail service does not reply to a potential customer enquiry, what guarantee is there that it will take any interest in a customer with a genuine complaint? The home page indicated that the site was part of the Which? Web Trader scheme, but this system of assuring the quality of a website went off-line on 31 January 2003. Which? has indicated that traders should no longer use this logo or title as a way of advertising their e-commerce quality. These factors outweigh the plus points of the site - 6/10. 
E-DIVER.CO.UKOperates from: Not clear from the website, though presumably the UK as a .co.uk e-mail address and a British telephone number were given as points of contact. I did phone during office hours out of curiosity and left a message on the answer-phone. The owner, Dom Fox, replied, indicating that he had not been around for a couple of weeks, hence the absence of a reply to my e-mail. Reply to e-mail: As a result of the phone prompt, the owner did answer my e-mail enquiry. Dom indicated that if I had any concerns about the site I should contact him direct at an address in Norfolk where he had a shop. Internet, 192 and Yellow Pages searches revealed no such diving store at this address. He stated that all equipment was from a "UK source and spec (no grey imports)", and went on to outline his exchange and warranty policy. Privacy policy: No information to be found on any type of policy that could affect the customer. Warranty / return: The stated "no-quibble warranty policy offering immediate replacement of faulty goods" was not specific enough to reassure me that I would receive excellent service should anything go wrong with my purchase. Besides, I couldn't actually find the policy and there was no address on the website. FAQ: None found Price promise: None Ordering: Web pages accessed from drop-down menus led to a shopping cart and ultimately a checkout. Despite the security assurance on the home page - "all sensitive information is transmitted to E-diver via a powerful 128 bit encryption for your peace of mind" - I managed on two occasions to enter and submit credit card details without the padlock on my browser being activated. In addition, the web page for submitting details did not begin with https. Summary: This website allows credit card and personal details to be entered without any obvious features for customer security. There is no indication on the website of where the company is based or who it is. There are lots of danger signs. The company may have an excellent track record but it fails to meet several of the accepted criteria for an e-commerce site. The fact that the telephone prompt meant that the owner did answer my enquiry reassured me at first but my suspicions were aroused when I found no diving store listed in the location provided. The saving grace is that the owner is listed at the web address provided on an SSI list of UK scuba instructors. Few consumers would go to these lengths to ascertain how genuine a website may or may not be. I'm guessing that Dom Fox is operating a "cottage industry" from his home address? A benefit of the doubt 3/10. 
TIMUNASEA.CO.UKOperates from: What would appear to be "Tim's" house, with telephone number and e-mail contact details provided. This online store provides access to accessories and diving-related gifts. Although it does not have the flashy appearance of some of the bigger stores, it does have an appealing, simple-to-use way about it. Reply to e-mail: Yes, and not only a reply to my questions but a lot more was provided. This included what to look out for when making an online purchase, as well as information about a useful website from the Office of Fair Trading and the only mention from any of the sites used for this research of the fact that any life-support equipment must bear the European standard CE mark. Privacy policy: Included in the web page covering company policy. Warranty / return: Timunasea guarantees any item purchased from it for a period of one year in addition to the consumer's statutory rights. There is a full 28 days available to return any items without having to provide a reason. FAQ: None needed. Price promise: None, though considering the low price of many of the goods (less than £20) this would not seem applicable. Ordering: This was the only site I came across that used an e-commerce online payment service. Worldpay is an intermediary that will collect payments for online stores using internationally accepted secure methods. Summary: An example of how easy it is to provide online services and security no matter what size your business is. An excellent reply to my e-mail enquiry coupled with all the signs that would indicate that the owner had done his homework and ensured that his company met the industry standards. Other online stores should pay close attention to this one - there are no excuses! 10/10 
SCUBASTORE.COMOperates from: L'Estartit, Girona, Spain. The name on the home page is Dive Inn Scubastore. Reply to e-mail: Yes, with a personal touch. Answered some questions and pointed me to the FAQ page for the rest. Did not answer the question about the country of origin for the goods. Privacy policy: At the bottom of the home page there was a link to a policy page that referred to the fact that it was legally binding only when in Spanish. There was also this statement right at the foot of the page under the company's disclaimers: "To the fullest extent permitted at law, Scubastore makes no warranties and is not responsible for the information, contents written by external authors, opinions published by external authors, materials or products included in this site." I wasn't sure what the first part meant and I was confused about what the last part meant. Did it imply that Scubastore was not responsible for warranties on materials or products offered on its site? Small print should be there to protect both the consumer and the seller, not to confuse and distract. Warranty / return: Scubastore offered a full guarantee as per the manufacturers. Returns must be made within seven days of receiving the goods. FAQ: Lots about how to pay and how the goods will be delivered, but not much about what will happen if the goods become damaged or become faulty and need repair. Price promise: On the homepage a big "Lowest Price Guaranteed" stamp is prominent, but the small print hidden away on another page provides so many hoops for the company to wriggle out of that it will probably put off most purchasers - especially as the end-result is just a coupon for the difference against your next purchase. Here's one of the hoops in relation to goods found by the consumer to be cheaper: "...must equal TOTALLY with the one offered by Scubastore, including the following characteristics: Brand, Model, Reference and version, Options, Size, Colour, etc." I'm always suspicious of these grand price promise claims, especially when several criteria are added to the conditions with words such as "etc" creeping in. It can provide the supplier with a licence to make it up as it goes along. Ordering: Once I'd clicked on the icon to add a product to my shopping cart, I received a strange message that I had to make an individual purchase for shipping purposes due to a "backorder" issue. I could find no explanation for this in the FAQ pages. The page requesting my personal information and credit card details used a padlock and an https address. The small print indicated that in a few cases customers might receive instructions in a foreign language but could always download them in their own language from the manufacturer's website. I'm also wary of such words as "few." I was also puzzled as to why this had to be in the small print rather than next to the picture for the product. Were these grey imports? Were they CE-marked? Summary: The prices are keen enough for any potential purchaser to take this site seriously, but I'm not convinced that the aftersales service would be free of hitches. There was nothing substantial about the site to concern me, just small indicators that set my mind going, like the huge amount of confusing small print and the price promise with its big stamp on the home page. There was also a logo on the homepage minus a hyperlink for: "eperformance@ Mckinsey, Speciality Retailers Best Practice". An internet search revealed that an international company with this name offers an e-commerce benchmarking scorecard service to be used as part of an individual company's management systems. The documentation provided by this company makes no mention of any award or title that can be conferred as a result of this process. In which case, why make such a fuss over something that has little or no substance? If a company in Spain were serious about advertising the fact that it had met certain standards for e-commerce, it would aim to display a logo from the Organizacion de Consumidores y Usarios (the Spanish equivalent of TrustUK). Give this site a go if you're happy to take a chance, but in my view this online store is the equivalent of high-risk shares. A still suspicious 5/10. 
AQUATRON.CO.UKOperates from: Glasgow, full contact details available. Reply to e-mail: More than a week later. It almost answered the query. Privacy policy: None. Warranty / return: None. FAQ: None. Price promise: An indication on the homepage that the company would match any prices found elsewhere but no specific policy to support this. Ordering: From pictures and a description of the goods, the customer is able to click onto the "add to basket" logo and proceed to the checkout. The system then goes straight into a padlock with an https address. Summary: The beginning is fine, the end is great, it's everything else in the middle that is missing. Would you walk into a dive store, spend several hundred pounds on gear and walk out without asking questions about returns, guarantees, repairs or how the company might take you for a ride? I'm not suggesting that this would happen with Aquatron, but without the important policies that cater for these issues being in place, it's like buying from a vending machine. As long as you get the product it's great, but what happens when the machine fails to deliver? How many of you have been in that situation and managed to get your money back? I would rather not take the risk. For missing the important stuff out and the delay in replying to my e-mail - 5/10. 
DEEPBLUEDIVE.COM Operates from: Tynemouth. Reply to e-mail: Yes, but instead of answering my questions, John-Paul, the sales manager, simply invited me to call him to talk about my online issues. Privacy policy: Detailed in full. Warranty / return: If not suitable, goods could be returned within seven days. The terms and conditions indicated that all goods came with a full manufacturer's guarantee. There was also a statement indicating that grey goods were not supplied and everything sold conforms to UK and European standards. This was the only site I saw that made this clear - and it only took one sentence! I guess the hard part for others might be making sure that the goods supplied do in fact meet European standards? FAQ: None, but after reading the terms and conditions I had none. Price promise: None - keen prices, however, especially on the specials page. Ordering: Via a shopping basket - easy to navigate and as soon as any personal details were required, the padlock was activated together with an https address. Summary: We started with near perfection in the USA and finish with what I consider to be an improvement on that standard in the UK. Deep Blue Dive Centre has provided a template for other organisations to strive towards. I was particularly impressed by the simplicity of the pages - no gimmicks, no frills, no small print, just what is required to make online shopping an interesting and enjoyable experience. I would be giving it 10/10 if it had removed the Which? Web Trader logo, but as it is two months adrift in doing so it receives 9.5/10. After examining all the potential for problems from the mystery online shopping experience, you might be tempted to think again before you go clicking away on your mouse, credit card at the ready to snap up those web-based bargains. But I know from my experience in purchasing non-diving-related products online that this can be a secure, economical and efficient way to shop. What many in the diving industry seem to be doing now is similar to what I remember happening in the late '70s and early '80s, when hobby divers dropped their main profession to enter the diving retail industry. In this millennium, however, the area they are entering, if they do not belong to a major retailer, is the online shopping world. However, before they do so they should be aware that they have to conform to numerous laws and directives. It's not only the consumer who suffers when things go wrong. The dot.com bust of the late '90s has already demonstrated that if you don't do it right, you will crash and burn. | |
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