August 26, 2004
DigitallyDiscovered.com
Let me open this post by telling you the definition of libel: Libel n. 1. a published false statement that is damaging to a person's reputation.
The most important word in the above sentence is the word false. All of the statements that follow are true.
DigitallyDiscovered.com is an online business that sells digital cameras, digital camcorders, photo printers, 35mm products, 35mm SLR Kits, Film Scanners, Audio and Home Theater products, Car Audio, DVDs and VCRs, Phones and other accessories.
I placed an order to buy a Fujifilm S7000 digital camera with them on Sunday, August 22, 2004. The next day I received a phone call from a sales rep named Travis. He tried to up-sell me on nearly $800.00 worth of additional accessories including lenses, filters and a case. Travis said if I added those items to my order right then, he would give me a sweet deal and lower the price on them to $400.00. I wasn't interested in that equipment and told him so.
I asked for my UPS tracking code number and Travis could not give it to me. I sent an email to Travis on Tuesday August 24, 2004 once again asking for my UPS tracking number and never got a response.
On Wednesday August 25, 2004, Travis called me to once again try to sell me the $800 worth of upgrades. I said I wasn't interested at this time and asked when the camera was shipped. He said it was shipped on Tuesday August 24, 2004, but was unable to give me a UPS tracking number. Travis said I would get an email with the tracking number later in the day. The email never arrived.
This morning, I received the following email from DigitallyDiscovered.com. I copied and pasted it directly into this post. All of the typographical errors you are about to see are their's:
"Dear [customer],
We thank you for your order and appreciate you shopping with us .
Due to a unexpected oversold status on the product that you have ordered.Your order will be shipping in 10-12 business days from today.there will be no need to check on the of the order before that time frame.If the order can be shipped out any sooner you will be contacted via email and phone.Also note that due to our security features a credit card number can NOT be stored in our system longer then 48 hours without being charged,which means that we will be contacting you once the product arrives for your credit card information once again.
(Again there will be no need to contact us regarding the status of the order.We will not bill your credit card or ship your order until we contact you.Please do not contact sales or customer service,for they will not have any information regaurding a PENDING STATUS ORDER.)"
They advertise very low prices on items to get you to buy them. On your sales receipt there is small type that says: "You may be contacted by one of our customer representatives for further information in regards to this order."
I have never been called by any online sales company to try to up-sell me more product.
Tell me what you think about a company that sends out the above message? I have been selling products online for 8 years and am here to tell you that your credit card information does get stored, it is important to store it and it is difficult, if not impossible, for a merchant to issue a credit without the information.
Posted by Tim Carter at August 26, 2004 9:30 AM
