Larry
An Exercise in Overpaying for Almost Nothing
This was one of the most disappointing online purchases I’ve made in quite some time. What is presented as a whiskey “sampler” or “collection” turns out to be an astonishingly small amount of whiskey, packaged and priced in a way that makes the entire experience feel less like a purchase and more like an exercise in extracting money from the customer. The website conveniently fails to disclose two rather important details: the size of each individual sample and the total amount of whiskey contained in the collection. That omission becomes painfully clear when the package arrives. The samples are extremely small, and the entire collection contains far less whiskey than a reasonable customer would expect from the way the product is presented. These aren't minor details—they are fundamental information that should be prominently disclosed before someone parts with their money. Then there is the shipping. The order form offers a specific delivery date, creating the reasonable expectation that your order will arrive around that date. Only after the order has shipped are you informed that it will “probably” arrive considerably later. Apparently, the delivery date is more of a suggestion than a commitment. And the shipping charges are breathtaking. The cost is already excessive, but they have the audacity to add another surcharge simply because someone has to sign for the package. On top of that, the shipment seemed to have been entrusted to the slowest possible UPS service known to mankind. If you're going to charge premium shipping prices, you might reasonably expect something resembling premium shipping. Oh, and if you want to include a gift card? That costs extra, too. Apparently printing a small piece of paper is another luxury service. Taken individually, any one of these practices might be merely irritating. Taken together, they create an experience that is remarkably difficult to defend. The product is much smaller than expected, the shipping is expensive and slow, the promised delivery timing is misleading, and virtually every little extra comes with another charge. The bottom line is simple: the cost-to-value ratio is atrocious. Had the website clearly disclosed the tiny sample sizes and the total quantity, I would have had the opportunity to decide whether the price was justified. Instead, critical information is conspicuously absent until the package is in your hands. I have no objection to a company charging whatever it believes its product is worth. I do object to a company making the customer work this hard to discover just how little they're actually buying. Extremely disappointing. Poor value. Excessive shipping charges. And a level of nickel-and-diming that leaves a very bad taste—quite apart from the whiskey.