Problems buying hardware thru pricewatch...

[crimson117]

Does this bother anyone else? I just sent this note to Pricewatch.com, I hope they'll do something about it.

This applies to almost any dealer.

Let's say there are two models of a product, such as "Product XYZ" for $100 and "Product XYZ Deluxe" for $150. The dealers cheating your search engine list listing "Product XYZ", and then entering in the description something like "(Deluxe version also available)". So now if I search for "Product XYZ Deluxe", I will get the listing for the cheaper "Product XYZ", only because they inappropriately mention the Deluxe version in their description.

This is deceiving to the customer and makes it difficult to find the lowest price, since even though I wanted the Deluxe version, I first see several cheaper entries for the non-deluxe version.

For an example, try searching for "Asus A7N8X Deluxe". The first seven entries are for the "Asus A7N8X", but the listing contains something like "Also carry Deluxe version".

Please make a rule for the dealers that they may not mention another product or version of a product in a given product's listing. If they want the users to know that they "also carry the deluxe version", then they should enter a proper listing for the deluxe version and leave it at that.

 

[ahsia]

I think you are asking an awful lot from a service that is provided to you for free. It isn't really pricewatch's fault that the vendors put as much reference point in their description. It's just like ebay listing that put anything and everything that has to do with their item just so their list will come up when someone does a search.

I make it a point to make I go to the vendor's site and check out the specs before I make a purchase. I only use pricewatch as a point of reference. As always, places like newegg, googlegear, tcwo, mwave, etc. have great prices, so you can't go wrong with those vendors.

 

[Zepper]

If you weren't aware, the vendors on Pricewatch pay for those listings, so you will have to expect them to try to get as much mileage for their buck as possible. I only use PW to confirm that my favorite vendors (newegg, googlegear, svc etc.) aren't too far off from the low-ball vendors which usually have terrible reseller ratings anyway.
. Don't get me wrong, I don't like getting unuseful listings in my searches either - but I do understand (at least in most cases) why I do. And it cause me to learn how to refine my searches better.
.bh.
:beer: time!

 

[crimson117]

Yeah the service is free for me, but it's not like pricewatch is a non-profit charity that I should be so grateful to have. And I know the companies pay to get listed, but it's like they're paying for advertising, so I don't really feel sorry for them.

Ok, I sound like a total jerk there... I do in fact appreciate the service pricewatch and its vendors provide, and I think it's great how smaller companies can get to a wider audience by offering competitive prices. But I think the service would be smoother and a little less deceptive if they stopped trying to rig the search.

 

[Texun]

I don't like it either because when I see one of those adds it raises a flag with me and I know I have been baited. Once I see the bait I won't gamble my money with the vendor. If they do it on the front end they sure as hell won't mind trying it when you spend your money or have a problem.

AT actually has something written about why they don't recommend Pricewatch but I don't remember them specifically pointing that out. The reason given was that sometimes the "buy now" button takes you to the vendor's main page instead of straight to the product. You have to wade through several pages and even some popups to get to what you want. Naturally the vendor hops you will stumble across something else along the way.

 

[alkemyst]

Paypal is a pay service for vendors....however they are not supposed to cheat listings and are not supposed to use one listing to list multiple items or an item that requires another purchase to get the price. Also they are not supposed to exaggrate low cost shipping unless it applies to many people.

I too noticed vendors tagging lowend items with popular items, there was one I was looking at recently that appeared to be as the higher priced one being offered, even the website was slanted to make you think you were getting the upgraded part.

I am sure soon they will be cracking down on that as even though vendors pay, if customers start using other services, the vendors will leave too.