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Amazon and More Absurd Choices |
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Wednesday, 13 December 2006 |
Microsoft isn't the only one that failed to do their homework on the Paradox of Choice (yes, I am aware of the irony of ranting about and linking to Amazon at the same time).
It took me 40 minutes to order a memory card and a DVD. I'm an IT professional, I've bought things from Amazon before, and I knew exactly which DVD and memory card I wanted. It still took 40 minutes. I got to the final step four times and had to back out and start over again because where I ended up was not where I expected. Each time I had to dodge signing up for the amazon VISA. Their marketing guys must have gotten carried away with their spreadsheets that try to predict consumer behavior.
The site has worked itself into such an exploitive state that the buyer starts to lose trust in the merchant. Two of the four times I backed out were because the free shipping turned out not to be free. Shipping to more than one address breaks the free shipping deal and so does buying from a reseller who sells through amazon. I can understand there are limitations on free shipping, but you don't find out you broke the deal until the last step in the process. You should know that at the point where you make the decision that breaks the deal.
I am still not sure I succeeded in avoiding signing up for an Amazon VISA card. Almost every page slipped a push to sign up for the card in the middle of my order information so if I wasn't careful I would start the signup process. They risk trading off making a few bucks today for losing customers in the future.
On the plus side for Amazon, I did notice that aStores are out of beta. They look like a great way for people who have interest in a particular topic to create mini-stores without a lot of fuss (imagine a product review that would also have a little store where you could buy it and accessories).
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Written by 'Guest' on 2006-12-17 00:14:07
Maen, the stinking reseller listing are ruining Amazon. |
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 13 December 2006 )
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