Out of stock, new orders, and back in stock could be done a

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tz1
 
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Joined: Sat Aug 01, 2009 11:26 pm

Out of stock, new orders, and back in stock could be done a

Post by tz1 »

I just got a "back in stock" notification literally I was in the middle of placing an order, but I didn't notice because it was in my email in a different tab.

I guess I will have to wait since I'm not going to spend another $10 to ship less than 10 dollars in a duplicate order.

I find it really annoying. Shipping is expensive so I want to accumulate things in my cart to make it worth it, but often half the things go out of stock before I place the order. Sometimes they come back in, sometimes not, but the notification is NOT in the cart and I don't even know if the cart itself will update to fix an "out of stock" that comes back into stock, but I have to delete them anyway in order to get the order processed. A "save for later" type thing in the cart just for backorders maybe. I don't know. I just know I hate how I always have several things go out of stock between when I start accumulating things in my cart and when I place the order and have to go through a few hoops even to get notifications.

It would be nice to have some way to see on the cart page "back in stock since your last order" or "... since you deleted them from the current cart" so I can just re-add them and know it at the point of ordering instead of getting this very unpleasant surprise.

I know you fulfill orders faster than the speed of light, so even though I contacted you one minute after placing the order and switching to my mail program, there is no way to add the just now in stock parts.

But it would be nice to have been able to get these in with this order.

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wirelessmonk
 
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Re: Out of stock, new orders, and back in stock could be don

Post by wirelessmonk »

They provide for a wish list. You can move items between the cart and the wish list.

As to items going out of stock, it amazes me that so many people find it so upsetting. That is part and parcel of commerce. Sometimes the things you want sell out. If you want something that is very popular, you may have to exercise a little patience. They are kind enough to try to let you know, if you ask, when products are back in stock, but it isn't their responsibility. You may have to put forth a little effort to check periodically. It isn't a coy or malicious prank on the part of the seller. Adafruit is rare in that they encourage customers to shop wherever they can find the products they need.

It is an extraordinary misunderstanding of roles to become angry that something is not available for purchase.

I'm sorry, I really am. I have no relationship to Adafruit apart from that of a customer. I just hope people read this before they demand satisfaction and make empty threats to "..never shop at Adafruit again." if they can't buy some widget or another.

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adafruit_support
 
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Re: Out of stock, new orders, and back in stock could be don

Post by adafruit_support »

thank you wirelessmonk! and tz, thanks for the feedback, we'll see if we can add this as a feature.

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tz1
 
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Joined: Sat Aug 01, 2009 11:26 pm

Re: Out of stock, new orders, and back in stock could be don

Post by tz1 »

I know the problem with commerce, and I wasn't angry, just frustrated. I already waited a month for the item, then it comes back when I wasn't going to place another order for about 2 months and it was available when I was editing my cart for the order.. Shipping is usually at least 10% of the cost of a $100 order. I can't afford to place 5 $20 + $7-8 shipping orders every other week, much less a few $5 orders for the items the day they come in. So I order every other month, rarely hitting the $200 for free shipping, but usually $100-120. I can be patient, but all that means usually is two more items in my cart will go out of stock while I'm waiting for the first to be available. Then, there may be a cluster of back in stocks over a few days - should I wait or buy now?

Sparkfun has a green/yellow (low)/red(out) indicator. Here, I only know if it is in stock, not if it is abundant or scarce. And I'm not sure, but when I go from wishlist to cart, it disappears from my wishlist, so if it goes out of stock and I delete it, it doesn't go back to my wishlist and I don't think there is that option - I can't move something directly from cart to wishlist, out or in stock. If I knew things I really want are in low supply, I could order sooner before they were out of stock.

Adafruit is great, but this is for me the greatest source of frustration. I have key items I really want, and items I can get anywhere, but want to support Adafruit, and shipping is not much more for 20 over 10 items. But there isn't information on the danger of out of stock, no way to hold or backorder, or even move the items to my wishlist or if all 5 items will be in abundance next week, or if the one item is the only one for a month.

If I don't express the frustration, they might not know it is a problem. But now, they know and will look at a way of making it less frustrating (and did give some aid on the current order).

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adafruit_support
 
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Re: Out of stock, new orders, and back in stock could be don

Post by adafruit_support »

hi tz, you emailed our support team, canceled your order and re-ordered with everything you wanted, looks like everything worked out. thanks again for the post and feedback.

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