Not So Deep Discounts and Sloppy Operations
Deep Discount CD
Ordering on the web provides instant gratification. Businesspeople in the 1990s said that fax technology and Fedex availability changed the way consumers viewed catalog ordering. Using the web brought about a similar leap. Consumers can now often order into the evening hours and receive their items within 36 hours — sometimes with no additional shipping charges.
With a global economy for the taking, the largest companies fight for every bit of market share. The days of acquiring unprofitable customers have largely subsided, but like the credit card industry, web ordering has undergone a process where the simple act of placing an order and having it shipped to your home is now a commodity. From Dell Computers to Amazon, the largest companies dominate this marketspace with large selections, trusted privacy and information policies and smooth logistics.
Swimming In The Deep End
Ordering music online is easy and a dozen or more solid companies offer large selections, good pricing and fast (if not free) shipping. An outfit called Infinity Resources is trying to beat the Amazons, CDNows and other music companies at their own game. Their site, called Deep Discount CD, offers what appears to be a huge selection, RealAudio clips and free shipping.
Always on the lookout for a site that will let me buy cut-out and out-of-print CDs cheap, I gave the system a whirl around Memorial Day. We have now celebrated Independence Day, and unfortunately, my order still is not complete. There is apparently more to creating a world class web site than setting up a storefront, leasing databases and buying a shopping cart program.
You see, Infinity went to Cyberworks Media, a Chicago based outfit, to set up their site. Good choice. Cyberworks has built and tweaked some great sites including commercial sites for First American Bank and extranets for the likes of Underwriters Laboratories and IBM. Their work appears to be top-notch, and they did a lovely job for Deep Discount CD as well.
Unfortunately, the site's performance isn't the issue. Instead, consumer expectations are set that order execution will be on par with the best sites out there. And that's just not the case.
Testing: An Ugly Chronology
I placed an order for four CDs late in the evening on May 31. I received an immediate confirmation for the order, which totaled $22.96 with free shipping. Four days later, I received a second confirmation.
CD #1: Finally, six days after the order was placed, I received another confirmation that implied my credit card was charged and the first CD (coincidentally the one most readily available) was being shipped. Six days from online order to shipping is unacceptable for anyone unless a backorder situation exists.
CD #2: That same day, I received another email that the second CD was "discontinued". That's the peril of using a database of music in print, rather than an actual inventory. Had an inventory system been in place, I would have known a week earlier that the company could not fulfill the second CD.
CD #3: Two weeks later, on June 18, I received a shipping confirmation for the third CD, which arrived a week later. Again, as with the first CD, my credit card was charged for the purchase on shipment. That is a fine policy and keeps the company from running afoul of various FTC regulations.
CD #4: On June 24, more than three weeks after my order, I received another email informing me that CD #4 was backordered. Three days later, I received a notice that the CD would ship in 3-5 days. Today is July 5, which means that 5 weeks after placing my order, the backordered CD may arrive soon.
Cut 'Em Some Slack, Eh? They Communicated With You!
The company did provide regular, if late, communication. My biggest complaint is that they knew on June 3 — days after my order — that CD #2 was going to be unavailable and that CD #4 was backordered. That is when they should have communicated with me.
Given that this is "deep discount" land, though, one should expect a lack of frills. After all, the money savings should be significant, right? I priced all four CDs today on Amazon and learned that I saved a grand total of $4. Yes, purists will argue that I saved nearly 17% and that may be significant at high dollar volumes. But saving four dollars on a $22 purchase and putting up with shoddy service is unacceptable.
To keep the order tracking in place, Barnes and Noble would have sold me CD #1 for a dollar more and CD #4 for three dollars more. Disc two is indeed out-of-print, and disc three is available for the same price. They also would have charged shipping, so there are additional savings, but they hardly seem worth the time expenditure.
The Bottom Line, Clicks and All
The company does not charge credit cards until orders are shipped. That is a plus. They also have somewhat lower pricing than chains and a website that is on par with bigger companies. If I were ordering many CDs through their "Deep Deals" section, I would expect to save a few dollars. But if I were ordering that many CDs, I would also qualify for free shipping, order tracking and the other customer-friendly features at B&N.
The online music category is overcrowded. The megasites and chains hold most of the volume and most of the customer-friendly features. Others, such as GEMM.com, specialize in hard-to-find records. And there's always eBay and Half for used, less expensive items, albeit through individual sellers.
But Deep Discount CD seems to only have a sprinkling of each of the features and benefits that would set them apart. In my experience, they have a friendly web site interface, a killer URL and a loss-leader shipping policy that will crush their profitability if they continue shipping split orders and not charging anything for shipping.
The verdict: go with one of the majors until these folks figure out their operational logistics.
