So much stuff, but so little money (dabs.com)

Member Name: cjkace

Product:	dabs.com
Date:	05/05/01 (544 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Massive product list, fast site, easy to navigate

Disadvantages: Product info needs tweaking a little

Dabs has been a favourite online shop for me, since I first logged onto the internet and went browsing. Being such a computer nut, this is my personal gadget heaven.

For those that have never heard of Dabs ( which is presently crowing about it's Ciao and DooYoo seals of approval ), it is an online computer superstore. To call it an online shop would be like saying that Tescos run corner shops, such is the range that Dabs has on offer. If Dabs was a high street store, it would probably be the size of a football stadium.

When you first visit the site you are presented with menus on the left, top and right. The left menu links to their shops within shops, which is best described as a set of pages all concerned with products by specific companies. For example they have an AMD shop, which deals with processors, an Epson shop for printers, scanners and cameras and a Sony shop which carries loads of different Sony products, amongst others.

The top menu is carried forward onto every subsequent page and has the usual suspects for buttons ( Home, products, news, support, contact etc ) with text boxes above for item searches, as well as the account and shopping cart buttons.

The right menu just lists and links to the top 10 bestselling products, with a few extra links below that, pointing to auctions, air miles etc.

All of the menus circle the main homepage which has pictures of four products under different special offer headings. The special offer changes every visit, so the first time you go you might see pictures of the special offers, and the second time get pictures of component offers. Below this is a list of general news ( which is where you'll find the news about Ciao ).

The site itself is very fast loading, and once you visited it very easy to navigate. Clicking the products link brings up a sub menu where you are asked if you want to list by product type, by manufacturer, search the site, have a look at t
heir clearance corner etc. For the most part, unless you are looking for a specific item by a specific manufacturer, you will click on the list by type button. Alternatively you have the option to download their entire stock list in a zip file, but I personally have never used it.

Click the list by type button loads a page where every sort of item is listed from proceesors to palmtops, software to dvd players. It's the just a matter of clicking on the product type you require and choosing from the list of manufacturers that you are presented.

Once you have chosen your product, you go through the usual secure shopping section, filling in your details, and then the order is on it's way through the system.

Now that all mail-order and UK online stores have to give seven days approval, upon receipt of goods ( apart from CDs, CD-ROMS, DVDs and software ) the whole shopping online experience should become even safer. Dabs like most good e-tailers ( I hate that term, but it's the best description ) operates a secure site, but as the security is designed by humans it can also be circumvented by humans, so I don't personally believe anywhere will ever be 100% secure. That said it is a lot safer than shopping on the high-street. Do you know what happens to your card details that stores take when selling you goods. I've worked in a couple of places that kept them for a monthe then threw them in the easily accessible skip.

Dabs is one the most comprehensive online computer stores, with very good prices, although it always pays to compare. It's product support must be very good as it is one of the few stores that I can't recall being mentioned in various computer magazines consumer pages, but then every shop will have problems at some time or another.

Summary: