Missleading dispatch times on websites.

scale20

Since buying the new frame I have been waiting for my forks to turn up to finish the build.

These are the forks I am after. http://www.foxracingshox.com/bike/11/forks/32_TALAS_29

When I ordered them with revolution in Bangor back in October I was told it would be Jan 2011.

While they have been on order, naturaly I have been hunting around on the web to try and find some for sale in the UK so I can get the build finished.

Whats really annoyed me is the fact that some bike webshops are showing them on their sites and saying they can get them within 24 hours.

About 4 websites I visited that sold them said they did not have them in stock but can get them in 48 hrs. When I phoned them I was told it would be 48 hrs but when I questioned this and told them that I had been told it would be Jan '11, they back tracked on what they had said and admitted that it was jan 2011.

One website I visited said they had them instock in their warehouse with 24 hours dispatch. I phoned them to ask and it turns out that they didnt have them in stock, and by warehouse they meant Mojo the importers and they too admitted it would be Jan '11.

Are these websites wrong to be missleading like this? I could have paid £900 for these forks off one of these sites back in Oct and then not seen them till Jan '11.

Has anyone fallen foul of this?

cooldad

Generally the decent shops don't process the transaction if they have no stock.

scale20

Yeah that is pretty good that most decent ones do that. I have a feeling though that had I not rang some of therse shops they would happily of taken my money and let me wait.

It doesnt take much to put a true dispatch date on the websites along with the product description.

underdog

If they take your money or not I don't care, listing them as in stock is a lie, simple as that. I mean if they just sold the last few and the site hasn't updated fair enough, but listing something they have never had and know they won't have soon as in stock is a lie, which is a terrible way to begin a customer relationship.

This kind of thing annoys me, as you think ok I have bought it, will have it soon I can stop looking elsewhere for it now :evil:

.blitz

Not unusual IME. Retailers are wise to the fact that people can be reluctant to place orders for items that aren't in stock, so they simply lie about stocks and deliveries. It has happened to me several times where my credit card has been debited within seconds of placing an order but only refunded after numerous emails and phone calls.

As anybody who's chased a hard-to-find part will know, there is no mechanism in place that will magically make your component appear; if the retailers don't have it and the distributors don't have it, it will be on a slow boat from China. Maybe.

scale20

I am happy to wait until Jan, but when you do a search and see them in stock or available in 48hrs you start thinking, Brilliant I've got 2 weeks of at xmas and I can have this built!

So when you ask them, 'so, will this be in within 48hrs or Jan next year, they reply with a slight stutter and say 'oh yeah it will be jan' !!

.blitz

Truth is they don't really know, they just work there. The item will be on back order with the distributors and it'll be in stock when (if) it arrives.

The 48 hours bit usually means 48 hours if the distributors have it.

IME only Wiggle and Merlin have been 100% accurate about stocks and deliveries. CRC have slipped up a couple of times but they didn't charge my card and contacted me about the mistake within 48 hours.

ride_whenever

Often the distributors/manufacturers put the dates back arbitrarily...

It's now going to be 4 months after the original delivery date for my reverb, i waited 2 months for my 2011 revelations, 6 months for my carbon 456.... If you want the latest stuff then you just have to deal with it.

underdog

ride_whenever wrote:

Often the distributors/manufacturers put the dates back arbitrarily...

It's now going to be 4 months after the original delivery date for my reverb, i waited 2 months for my 2011 revelations, 6 months for my carbon 456.... If you want the latest stuff then you just have to deal with it.

I don't think anyone minds that, it's sites pretending it's in stock that's the problem.

cooldad

Name and shame

Flax1980

i had grief off all terrain cycles when i ordered my trancex4. got an email saying its been disptched within 48 hrs. then waited in all day for delivery to get a call saying it was an admin error and i`d receive within 3 weeks. when bike finally came it had a dodgy tube in the back wheel that they were less than helpful about. :x

i`ll avoid online ordering from now on i think? unless the price is unbelieveably good.

scale20

Flax1980 wrote:

i had grief off all terrain cycles when i ordered my trancex4. got an email saying its been disptched within 48 hrs. then waited in all day for delivery to get a call saying it was an admin error and i`d receive within 3 weeks. when bike finally came it had a dodgy tube in the back wheel that they were less than helpful about. :x

i`ll avoid online ordering from now on i think? unless the price is unbelieveably good.

Funnily enough. they were one of them!