Digital Planet nailed for unavailable product

[zamrg]

I have used Digital Planet 3 times, and all 3 times, I have been sent an e-mail asking me if I am willing to wait for them to receive the item from their suppliers. I have ordered a flash drive, series boxset and an ipod accessory at different times, and all have been out of stock. What is up with guys offering products in their catalogue which they can't provide within a reasonable timeframe? I mean, my latest order for a flashdrive was placed on 29th September. I then received an e-mail on 4th October asking if I am willing to wait till 19th October when they will apparently get stock from their supplier.

 

[Ap0c]

Almost every PC supplier in SA has no B2B systems allowing 3rd parties to query their product catalogues and stock levels. Once some of the suppliers manage to make their lists available in some sort of format other than a .xls or .csv you will see increased levels of service to the consumer. Until then this sort of thing will be the norm.

We have a web service which enables 3rd party sites to integrate with our site, allowing them to search our DB in real time, check stock levels, and obtain accurate pricing. A few of the price comparison engines are going to be using this, which makes all our pricing far more accurate.

my 2c.

 

[silver6933]

I had the same problem. I now buy from somewhere else

 

[Gatecrasher]

Digital Planet's website is a mess. I would be very hard-pressed to want to buy anything from them.

 

[ajax]

I bought a dvd recorder from DP. A day later they email me and tell me the product has been discontinued. It took numerous phone calls and eventually Hellopeter.com 3 weeks later to get my money refunded.

Only after I complained about them keeping the product listed on their site (several days after informing me about the discontinuation) did they remove it from their site. I will NEVER buy from DP again.

 

[terencevs]

Bwaaa haaa haaa haaa!

I have bought from many online stores in SA! They ALL have this problem, why? Because the suppliers/distributors are not willing to share their stock information, because their competition then gets to see their stock levels...which complicates things!

In America things are different, they can show stock levels - because if their competition see's that they are running low, delivery is so quick that it doesnt matter if they are running low.

It takes a long time for the SA suppliers to get through customs, shipping etc. Plus keeping too much stock is difficult with the R/$...which is why they rather keep what they need...

Dunno, just my 2c. Would be brilliant though if SA stores could show stock levels!

This is the problem. I have asked and I was told sorry we cant give you that information.

 

[TelkomUseless]

DP ughhh... I would have given them 0 out of 10 stars,but I give them 1/10. The 1 star was I got my remote in 5 days time (cost only R78).

But their website sucks, service sucks. I avoid them.

 

[LandyMan]

big issue here is PAYING for items that isnt in stock or available. Sybaritic confirms your stock before paying , digital planet tells you afterwards when its a big hassle to cancel

Exactly what I wanted to say

 

[AirWolf]

Maybe all the bad publicity will kick some sense into them.

 

[Roo!]

Maybe all the bad publicity will kick some sense into them.

I doubt it, they've been this bad since their inception and nothing, not even hellopeter, has been able to get them to offer even a slight amount of CS.

 

[flarkit]

I wish they'd be nailed for taking your funds before the item has been ordered from their suppliers. This is something that Take2 also does (or hopefully has stopped doing). I can appreciate carrying the risk of ordering stuff before shipping.

However, ordering items listed as being "delivered in 3-5 days) and then being made to wait 5 weeks, despite payment having happened at the onset, is a major problem IMO

 

[Tns]

Bwaaa haaa haaa haaa!

It takes a long time for the SA suppliers to get through customs, shipping etc. Plus keeping too much stock is difficult with the R/$...which is why they rather keep what they need...

so true!

 

[lilDeath]

Ah man, I wanted to order from them a while ago, but when I saw how their ordering system work, I stopped it. Best choice ever.
Plus, they are generally more expensive with what comps can give.
They have everything but also nothing at the same time.
Just a generally crap sit imo.