Placing an online order with an unfamiliar website can feel like being lead through a busy intersection while blindfolded. You have to trust the person who is leading you. That's why when an internet vendor makes claims about it's services, i feel they should live up to them.
Provantage.com makes the following claims: "Realtime Inventory", "No one can get your orders to you faster than we can!"), and "Most orders are sourced, filled and confirmed within minutes."
However, none of these claims seem to apply to a recent order I placed.
For several weeks I had been searching for an accessory for my camcorder. The Canon DM-100 shotgun mic has been backordered on most online storefronts. Then, I found it listed on Provantage, and to my surprise, the listing stated there were 15 units in Stock.
However, I was skeptical since I had seen similar claims on other websites, which proved contrary after placing an order. So, I called Provantage customer server and asked if the item was in stock. I was told that it was and the inventory on the website is listed in realtime.
So I placed my order around noon and almost immediately received a confirmation email. The email contained a link to the "Real-time Status of this Order." I checked the status, which said Processing.
The next morning I checked the "Real-time Status" again, and it still said processing. This started to concern me. So, I picked up the phone and called. I was greeted by the after-hours voicemail even though it was 8:50 AM EST. The voicemail states regular hours are between 8:30 and 5 EST. Oh well. I'll call back.
30 minutes later I was connected to a customer service representative. I gave him my order number and asked if the item will ship today. He told me as soon as my payment is approved they will ship the item today.
Just out of curiosity, I checked the Real-time Status again at noon. The status now said "order has been sent to specialist for further processing." Strange. I called back to inquire what this meant. I was told that although there were units available when I placed my order, someone must have snatched up the last one before mine could be shipped. They could not give me an ETA on my order.
This frustrated me. It seems their Real-time inventory is broken. And, in my opinion, someone should have called me before I had the chance to call them. I wonder how long it would have taken for me to find out my order wasn't going to be delivered. A day? A week?
I don't believe that Provantage is trying to take advantage of buyers. I simply believe they make claims that they can't or don't live up to.
Bottom line is this: if you don't mind waiting an indeterminable amount of time to receive something, go ahead and order here. You may save some money. But I'm going to avoid them.
This review was modified by its author, w84me2p, on
8/26/09 2:54 PM.
