Into The Sinking (SplashDVD.com)

Member Name: utero

Product:	SplashDVD.com
Date:	08/09/03 (180 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Some Good Offers, Bargains to be had, Discount Vouchers

Disadvantages: Slow Shipping, Poor Customer Service, Items going missing

People shop online because it's quick, it's easy and generally you can get better deals. I've bought the majority of my DVD collection online purely because of the savings and the fact that I can find all those movies that the shops generally don't keep in stock.

Splash DVD are a retailer that I have had mixed dealings with. I've never really used them for the latest releases so I can't really comment on other comments about their speed of service on this account. I dip into purchases on this site whenever there is a special offer on or a discount coupon to be had. On occasion they have cd clearances. Most of the stuff is generally crap but there are always a few gems such as recent releases. For example I bought the latest Placebo album four weeks after release for about a fiver shipped. Now that's cheap as chips and probably cheaper than second hand prices. I also took advantage of a DVD sale that allowed me to pick up some great MGM discs from Woody Allen and Stanley Kubrick for about £4.50 a pop. I spent more than I really should in this instance because the deal was that damn good.

Splash's order system is fairly easy to use, you just type in your details, pay by card and get an e-mail confirmation. In my experience the turnaround is decent enough with discs being shipped within a couple of days of order for in stock stuff. It then takes a couple more days to arrive from Jersey. Goods are well packaged in jiffy bags and generally arrive in one piece. Now if are pre-ordering stuff then I suggest you go elsewhere because word has it that Splash suck when it comes to shipping stuff on release date. There are instances where people have got their stuff shipped 4 weeks after release. This is very poor and you'd be better off going to the likes of Amazon. They may be a little bit pricier but you'll get better service and your goods quicker.

Now comes the bad experience. Splash had a clearout sale aro
und the 10th of August where there were
a lot of bargains to be had with some discs being sold for £4.00 shipped. I picked up Trading Places, Dracula Superbit, Natural Born Killers and Sex and the City Season 1 for just over £20. That's a cracking deal, a few days later I get shipping notices on Trading Places, Dracula and Sex and The City. A couple of days later I get Trading Places in the post. It's now 3 weeks on and I?m still waiting on the other two discs. I've e-mailed Splash and have yet to receive any kind of reply. A glance on the DVDforums.com shows that I'm not the only person in this position. Many people have shipping confirmations on the 14th of August but have yet to receive anything. Something is wrong here but yet no one has got an answer from Splash on the matter. Now at these prices I'm generally prepared to wait but here's the big put off. If you place an order with Splash then they debit your card for the goods pretty much immediately. So essentially you?re billed for goods that Splash probably haven't even got in stock yet to ship to you. If its five weeks later when you get your goods then Splash have had your money in their accounts gathering what I'd imagine to be some tidy interest when all is said and done.

I wait to see what happens in this current situation. I won't be happy with a refund because ultimately I ordered Sex and the City because it was cheaper than Amazon's 50% off promotion. I was going to order it from Amazon as I had some dooyoo vouchers but instead I opted for splash due to past experience. Now Amazon has put the price up.

If Splash are going to make any kind of headway in online retails then they really have to improve their customer service. Yes they have good prices but if people are getting these kinds of experiences then they're no going to shop there for a second time.

Summary: