Blackwells Online - living up to the name (Blackwell's Online)

Member Name: Ariel_uk

Product:	Blackwell's Online
Date:	18/09/01 (312 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Wide range of stock, Good customer service, Free delivery

Disadvantages: No system to automaticaly chase out of stock orders

One of the great institutions of the both British bookselling and of academic publishing, it was a cinch that Blackwells would also be a major force in online selling.

To give this op it’s proper context I should tell you that I work as the librarian for the UK programme of an American University. We have a fairly small library of about 4000 books, about 2, 500 of which I have purchased in the last 18 months, many of them through Blackwells online. We used to use their ‘business’ service, but the regular consumer website offered better service and much the same level of discounts. I have tried out many sites, and still use a few for some specialist tasks, but Blackwells is by far the best overall site for academically oriented books. I have also used it for personal purchases several times.

Although they stock all the bestsellers, that’s not really the strength of this website. Rather academic and business materials are the stars of the show, as they offer a wider range of titles than almost any other UK online bookshop. The recent addition of a US arm (bookshop.blackwell.com/) means that they can now compete with Amazon in making US titles available in the UK. They don’t range as widely as some of their competitors – if you want CD’s and T-shirts look elsewhere – but they do offer a rare books service, out of print searching, maps, and electronic books as well as their regular book stock.

Their search capability is excellent - designed by professionals with a clear market in mind, particularly the 'full search' option that makes pin pointing an item when you have only partial details surprisingly easy. (You try searching for an item on Amazon when all you have to go on is 'History of Britain - something to do with WW2 - might have been such and such a publisher, fairly recent. Author's at Kings College ......! It may take me 5 mins on Blackwells, but would be practically i
mpossible on Amazon)

Their prices aren’t always the most discounted on the web, but they are competitive, especially when you remember that basic UK shipping is FREE. Yep, free! With postage charges for even small orders often in the £3 to £7 range, this offers much better value for money within the UK than a 10% or 15% discount on many titles. That’s certainly been a major factor in choosing this site for both personal and work-related purchases.

Shipping is generally prompt, although subject to the vagaries of the Royal Mail Items that are listed with the availability: Normally Dispatched within 24 hours, do arrive within a couple of days, and ‘2-3 days’ does mean just that. However the listing availability: Normally dispatched within 4 to 6 weeks: can mean anything and nothing!

What it is meant to mean is that this is an item that they will have to order from the publisher. That means they have very little control over when they receive it. All bookstores have this problem, but some deal with it better than others and this is my primary bugbear about Blackwells. They do not seem to have a very reliable system for chasing books that are on order with the publisher. They send out a bi-monthly email note telling you it’s status, but this is an automated process, and no checking has gone into it. If you call up to query a long standing order they will call suppliers etc, and more often than not get the process moving faster, and the book on it’s way to you. If you don’t take the initiative and call, though, nothing happens, and after 10 months or so, your order expires unfilled. I have cancelled several orders that were stuck in this ‘on order from publisher’ loop, as I could purchase the items from another store quite straightforwardly. Most frustrating!

Delivery seems reliable. Of what must be several hundred packages, we have had only two go astray, and Blackwells sent ou
t replacement packages immediately. Their customer service is generally very good in dealing with problems. As a large scale user we have had periodic moments when we have had questions about a whole list of books, all from different orders, which they have been happy to help us out with. Their phone staff are happy to give their names, and to follow up queries and problems.

As with all stores, you have to register to place an order, and once logged in you can order items, check on the progress of existing orders, and store items that you may want to by at a later point in time. Both your personal details and your credit card info are protected by industry standard encryption, and their privacy policy is both ethical, and actually fulfilled – I’ve never had any spam from someone who seemed to have got my details from them anyway. They are members of the Which Web Traders group, which gives added peace of mind. A straightforward shopping basket to payment to confirmation order process is easy to use, or if you are still paranoid about handing over your credit card information, they offer information on how to order by phone and post as well.

The website itself has a nice clean look and a logical and clear layout – the front page is not too crowded and it is equally usable to search for a specific item, or just to browse a category (complete with reviews and suggestions). Once registered you can also register for various alerts and updates in subject areas of interest to you.

This is a good, solid, professional site, and generally offers good value for money. The few problems I have had have been resolved quickly and easily, and their helpline staff appears to be committed to good customer service. This is not cutting edge e-tailing, but more than lives up to the quality reputation of the name.

Summary: