Web Shopping: Point, Click, Hope

Stephen Manes

I fell in love with Sony's little DCR-PC5 digital camcorder when I tried it out, so I ordered one over the Web last Christmas. Sure, the unit arrived without a warranty card--but it had very clear instructions for getting service in Singapore. Sure, the cord on the battery charger had two round prongs--but I did discover a flat-prong adapter for U.S. electrical outlets in the box.

Welcome to the gray market. The retailer itself had evidently imported the product rather than getting it through standard channels. There is apparently nothing illegal about this if the retailer discloses it. But this retailer didn't. I decided to keep the unit after I discovered I could register it on Sony's Web site, but the whole experience left me reeling--particularly since I'd done plenty of homework.

Beware of Bots

I used shopping bots like PriceScan and MySimon to find the best price, although I know that price can't be your only criterion. The sites I found offering the cheapest prices were sloppily put together, and the vendors were pushing package deals featuring dubious tripods from companies that I'd never heard of and extra tapes at triple the normal price.

Eventually I stumbled on a New York outfit called Etronics, the only place I managed to find all of the official Sony accessories I was looking for. The prices quoted on the site were decent, even figuring in the exorbitant "shipping" charges of $56 for UPS ground delivery.

There were a few complaints about the company at the merchant-rating Web sites that I checked, but overall Etronics came up with decent marks. Still, I wasn't entirely convinced that every obscure item I wanted was actually in stock, as the site claimed, so I clicked for online chat with a sales rep. "We do not lie," typed a person who went by the handle of Doug; "99 percent of the time if it says in stock it is." We went through the items one by one, and Doug assured me they were all in stock. The rest of our chat, strictly verbatim:

Steve: When will it ship?

Doug: it will ship tomorrow or the next day and you will get it, depending on what you pick with UPS....

Steve: All this stuff comes with Sony's US warranty, right?

Doug: YEs and you can even add on a 5 year warrnty, i think.

Well, not exactly. Sony will apparently honor the warranty, but I never did get a U.S. warranty card even though I asked. The camera and some add-ons did ship two days later, but five more days went by before Etronics sent most of the rest. And the final item went out nearly a month after my order. At least my credit card wasn't charged until each item left the dock. Will I buy from Etronics again? Probably not.

Lesson? Shopping on the Web can be immensely more complicated than you might imagine. Bots are... well, robotic, and they don't report every price--particularly in the case of authorized vendors who carry products at a discount but post list prices on the Web and invite you to phone in. And many other prices on the Web and in print ads are artificially high. That's because many vendors list "minimum advertised prices" to get perks from manufacturers.

That's easy enough to fight if you're a decent negotiator willing to deal with a real human instead of a digital shopping cart. Call in, mutter "I just saw a better deal on Reallycheap.com," and ask if the vendor will match it. Many reputable vendors will do just that, or at least come close, and they may well throw in better service and cheaper delivery charges.

A friend with a severe case of camcorder envy ordered a unit like mine from J&R, an authorized Sony retailer whose site quoted list prices but encouraged phoning for a better deal. (Full Disclosure: J&R sponsors my TV show, Digital Duo.) A call got the price down to about what I'd paid, but with reasonable charges for two-day delivery. His camcorder arrived as promised, complete with a warranty card.

But I'll bet he won't be able to use his battery charger in Singapore without a special adapter.

PC World Contributing Editor Stephen Manes is a cohost of Digital Duo, a series appearing on public television stations nationwide.