When you have 7 of the 8 flavors needed for the recipe in the cart.. last one sold out. You say fuck it.. ill wait until tomorrow. Sold out flavor is back in stock and now two of the flavors in your cart are sold out.
Buying DIY is one of the most painful things.
If a DIY vendor would offer a "locker" feature... Make a $50 deposit and when you see what you want, buy it and add it to your "locker". Then close and ship the locker when you're ready.
This is genius. Either offer something like this, or at the very least, a pre-order option.
The locker option would need a keep rate, basically rent. But if you barcode the locker (a plastic bin is fine) and charge $5/30 days for the keep rate, it encourages people not to sit on them. First 14 days is free or something. Also helps the vendor with inventory long term.
Writing the back end for the website would be a piece of cake, too. Assign the bin code to the login, let users see their bin total shipping based on the stored items bought, and assume fast shipping if a user closes the locker.
I bet it would encourage more spending, too.
I've just started DIYing (just got my final order in today). During my first orders last week I experienced all of the above, as well as a product in my cart selling out right before I hit buy. So I take it, I should expect this buying process from here on out?
Yes.. except, it gets worse. You will find your dream recipe.. You can almost count on never buying all the flavors required for it ever at the same time.
TFA seems like a pretty safe option.. Capella is hit or miss.. INW/FA are like holy grails for some of their flavors.
Out of my 15-20 orders i've done.. probably 2 of them had all the flavors I wanted/needed.
So what you're telling us is always have low expectations?
As an aside, I'm sure really interesting creations (hey, I'm not saying they were good, but probability means some have to be good) came about just because of the consistently something-out-of-stock-itis that occurs when buying for DIY recipes.
Anyone got summa dat INW Biscuit. I got these cheeseburgers man.
cathouse has some in stock. its the only INW flavor they stock actually
Yo srsly I'll even have them in my cart and they will sell out of my cart...
My favorite is ECX, I had 5 flavors in my cart that were on sale for $1.99/10ml, I go to check out and it tells me quantity not available.
I clear out my cart, go back and re-add the same items to my cart, only now, they are $2.99 each.
The worst is when a site advertises a big sale , 40% for example at ECX and even if your the first one there the flavors you need are already sold out.
At least have full stock before you post about a big sale will you please.
Nah they do it that way on purpose. Most of the major vendors offer discounts based on order size. FA N.A. for example, offers major price breaks @ $1000, $1500, $2000, $2500, $3500, $15000.
Their goal is to deplete their stock a bit more so that they can place a larger order from the MFG without having higher on hand stock while getting the best bang for their buck. If they can blow out some inventory 2-3 days before a major order, they can drum up additional capital for purchases as well as depleting stock, allowing them to restock on more items at a better discounted rate.
It's almost as bad when they have the flavor you want but only in a 4 oz bottle. I actually bought a 4 oz bottle of torrone the other day. I've never even tried it and I doubt I'll ever be able to use it all. But I'm going to make that recipe as soon as I remember what the hell it was.
using like .5% at a time, i doubt it. i will gladly buy some off of you though! i saw that bottle for $18, ill split it with you or something like that
I'll end up selling most of it for sure. If there was a smaller bottle available I wouldn't have bought so much to begin with.