All these places are doing their best to make me dread buying from them
Newegg: Make it as annoying as possible to filter out all non-newegg sales, make it harder to verify if something is in stock unless I click on the item itself, and those damn ads they insert into the top of the page 1 SECOND after the page has rendered. I start scrolling and all of a sudden everything gets pushed down. This happens every time I load a new page!
Target: No realistic indicator of stock whatsoever. I have verified this with multiple employees and stores, the number of items at a particular store is just a pure guess. The search by store is so poorly designed its laughable, I have to select a different store location if I want to view stock and finally still gotta filter out non target sold items.
Walmart: Similar issues as Target except this time, the search bar resets your store location every time you begin a new search. I am also creeped out when I was suggested items I bought before in a non logged in account just because I used the same credit card. (I don't know if they still do this)
I still prefer to buy from these places but man I really wish there was a store that didn't suck as much as these places. All these please are built by monkey developers.
I am thankful these guys still check their supply chains though so maybe I should shut up and stop complaining that America hasn't completely turned into a Chinese bazaar yet(although its getting there).
Newegg's filter seems pretty straightforward actually. It's Target and Walmart that hide it a bit more. Newegg's is visible by default on a search.
Store stock is pretty hit or miss with most any store. They try to keep stock in-store to a razor thin margin these days I think to maximise selection. They also don't seem to do full store inventories as often (short-staffed?). Result is that misplaced items or theft only get picked up when someone tries to purchase the thing, and then, only if the employee bothers to update the database (doesn't always happen). I've had this happen with all the major retailers repeatedly, even on common items.
That said, that really only matters if you're wanting to do a same-day in-store pickup. General inventory is reliable for all the stores. If the local store doesn't have it in stock, they just flag it and it goes to Target's general warehouses I guess, and you get (usually modest) delivery delay.
Newegg used to be straightforward. Have you used it recently? They are pulling all sorts of tricks now.
I understand stock can't be 100% accurate due to shrink and inventory not yet sold but the reality is that currently there is almost no basis in reality for their numbers it seems. All they need to do is track what items are delivered to the store and connect their POS systems to their inventory counters and then expose this to the site. They MUST be tracking it correctly internally or else they would have a lot bigger problem.
>General inventory is reliable for all the stores.
Unless the item is in demand like antibacterial wipes or a game console. Then they start to play all sorts of games and there is little hope of getting the item online or offline. You just have to be there at the right time.
Yes, I tried it just before writing the post (and multiple purchases over last few weeks). That's how I knew what the filter for newegg checkbox was called.
It's not that simple. For example. I went to my local auto store for a new air filter. Their system reported they had 1 in stock. Went to shelf. It is not there. What happened? Well, it could have been stolen. Easy item to steal. It could have been picked up by a customer and dropped elsewhere in the large air filter aisle and would show up next time a general inventory was done.
It could have been randomly dropped by a customer anywhere else in the store, or moved to a special display section then not moved back. It could have been purchased, returned immediately undamaged, then not moved back to the shelf... Physical stores are hard.
Newegg: Make it as annoying as possible to filter out all non-newegg sales, make it harder to verify if something is in stock unless I click on the item itself, and those damn ads they insert into the top of the page 1 SECOND after the page has rendered. I start scrolling and all of a sudden everything gets pushed down. This happens every time I load a new page!
Target: No realistic indicator of stock whatsoever. I have verified this with multiple employees and stores, the number of items at a particular store is just a pure guess. The search by store is so poorly designed its laughable, I have to select a different store location if I want to view stock and finally still gotta filter out non target sold items.
Walmart: Similar issues as Target except this time, the search bar resets your store location every time you begin a new search. I am also creeped out when I was suggested items I bought before in a non logged in account just because I used the same credit card. (I don't know if they still do this)
I still prefer to buy from these places but man I really wish there was a store that didn't suck as much as these places. All these please are built by monkey developers.
I am thankful these guys still check their supply chains though so maybe I should shut up and stop complaining that America hasn't completely turned into a Chinese bazaar yet(although its getting there).