Date: Wed, 3 Nov 1999 16:36:58 -0600
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Sender: The Internet TourBus - A virtual tour of cyberspace
Comments: Resent-From: crispen@netsquirrel.com
Comments: Originally-From: Patrick Douglas Crispen
From: Patrick Douglas Crispen
Subject: TOURBUS -- 4 NOVEMBER 1999 -- MORE ONLINE SHOPPING SAFETY
RESOURCES
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TODAY'S TOURBUS STOP(S):
More Online Shopping Safety Resources
TODAY'S TOURBUS ADDRESS(ES):
http://www.zdnet.com/anchordesk/story/story_4047.html
http://www.tourbus.com/archives.htm
http://powerrankings.forrester.com/
http://powerrankings.forrester.com/
http://www.consumerreports.org/Eratings/index.html
http://www.bizrate.com/
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On with the show ...
-------------------------------------
More Online Shopping Safety Resources
-------------------------------------
I am happy to announce that two and a half million people now know
what *I've* been telling you for years: Patrick Douglas Crispen is an
complete and total IDIOT! :P
In a recent AnchorDesk column, Jessie Berst -- by the way, did I
mention that he is a fan? -- discussed the problems I have been having
with both CompUSA and Beyond.com. You can read Mr. Berst's column at
http://www.zdnet.com/anchordesk/story/story_4047.html .
As my father so astutely observed:
So CompUSA and Beyond.com decided to [mess] with somebody who
runs a newsletter that has 90,000 readers -- who then told
the story to someone else who has 2.5 million readers?
Y'know, you can't buy that kind of advertising.
The only downside I can see is that now 2.5 million people
equate your name with "moron". But, hey, this could be good.
Look at Adam Sandler.
Seriously, though, I am happy to know that people will be learning
from my mistakes. As Mr. Berst points out, I am no newbie. And if
*I* can be taken by an online merchant, ANYONE can be taken.
Berst's article also shows you a few resources that will help you
avoid being ripped off by online merchants. The first two resources
-- The Better Business Bureau's "Shopping Safely Online" report at
[ http://www.bbb.org/library/shoponline.html ] and The American Bar
Association's new "SafeShopping.org" Web site at
[ http://www.safeshopping.org/ ] -- should be familiar to you: we
visited both of them last week. If you missed that or any other
TOURBUS post, point your Web browser to
http://www.tourbus.com/archives.htm .
Another resource that Berst mentions is Forrester Research's ecommerce
Power Rankings at
http://powerrankings.forrester.com/
Forrester Research, in conjunction with online market research company
Greenfield Online, shows you the highest rated e-commerce sites in
eight market segments:
1. Brokerage [financial] 5. Toys & Games
2. Computing 6. Health
3. Apparel 7. Flowers
4. Books, Music & Video 8. General Merchandise
On the PowerRakings homepage, you'll see the top five e-commerce sites
in each market segment. Click on a particular market segment (like
Computing) and you'll see the top ten sites in that segment. To get
an even more in-depth look at how the sites in a particular segment
compare against each other, click on a market segment and then click
on the "View By Categories" link on the bottom right hand side of the
page. This shows you each e-commerce site's score for cost, customer
service, delivery, features, transacting, and usability.
Where do these scores come from? Well, Forrester Research
tests all aspects of the eCommerce experience by opening
accounts, conducting financial transactions, researching and
buying products, contacting customer service personnel, and
returning purchased merchandise. This series of tests is
performed in a consistent and rigorous manner for all of the
selected sites. Finally, the Forrester shopper's experience and
the consumer data are synthesized to generate an overall
PowerRanking.
[quote from a pop-up window on the PowerRankings homepage]
Berst's article also mentions a couple other online resources you
should visit, but I have stolen enough from him today. To find the
rest of Berst's list of great online e-commerce resources, visit
http://www.zdnet.com/anchordesk/story/story_4047.html .
--------------------------
Consumer Reports e-Ratings
--------------------------
In his last Tweney Report [http://www.tweney.com/], Dylan Tweney
talked about how Consumer Reports is now rating e-commerce sites.
Tweney writes that:
Knowing Consumer Reports, I wouldn't be surprised if the
company placed actual orders and attempted product returns in
order to do thorough evaluations of each site. I also
wouldn't be surprised if a lot of these sites score poorly ...
Actually, knowing Consumer Reports, I wouldn't be surprised if most of
the American sites score poorly while identical Japanese sites score
phenomenally well. :P
All kidding aside, Consumer Reports new e-Ratings can be found at
http://www.consumerreports.org/Eratings/index.html
but you have to be a Consumer Reports site subscriber to be able to
access these ratings. Site subscribers can access not only the e-
Ratings but all of Consumer Reports other product and service ratings
and recommendations as well. The cost to subscribe to the site is
US$3.95 per month or US$24.00 for a full year (or US$19.00 if you're a
Consumer Reports magazine subscriber).
Unless you are a big Consumer Reports fan (like me -- I've been a site
subscriber for over a year), save your money. You can find a similar
e-commerce rating service for free at
http://www.bizrate.com/ .
That's it for this week. Have a safe and happy weekend, and we'll
talk again soon. :)
TODAY'S TOURBUS STOP(S):
More Online Shopping Safety Resources
TODAY'S TOURBUS ADDRESS(ES):
http://www.zdnet.com/anchordesk/story/story_4047.html
http://www.tourbus.com/archives.htm
http://powerrankings.forrester.com/
http://powerrankings.forrester.com/
http://www.consumerreports.org/Eratings/index.html
http://www.bizrate.com/
---------------------------------
TODAY'S SOUTHERN WORD OF THE WEEK
---------------------------------
[I liked last week's word so much, I am running it again!]
LAR (noun). A dishonest person.
Usage: "Lar lar, paints on far!"
[Special thanks to Ken Sawka for today's wurd]
You can find all of the old Southern Words of the day at
http://netsquirrel.com/crispen/word.html
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