I, like a lot of people, buy stuff via the Internet as well as from local stores. When I'm shopping online, weighing on my decision as to what site to buy from includes, but is not necessarily limited to, availability of what I want, at a price I am willing to pay, from a place that I trust.
The first factor is easy. Either they have what I want or they don't. If they have it, they pass the first hurdle.
The second test is a little harder. Usually, I'm shopping for the lowest price. But not always. If the lowest price is from a place I don't trust, I'll start going up in price until I find a place that I do trust.
The third factor, trust, is where things can get dicey. Why? Because I have to give my name, address, phone number, and credit card information to an entity that, in many cases, exists only online (i.e., they don't have a retail store where you can go to buy the item). For all I know, the website could be a front for the Russian mafia and they are just collecting this information so they can steal my identity.
In economic terms, there exists the problem of asymmetric information. I would be giving much information to them but I don't have any information about them. Typically, when this occurs, the trade (i.e., the sale) does not happen.
Internet sales are not unique in this situation. For example, most of us don't know how to grade beef. I mean, one cut of steak looks pretty much like the next one. As one way of solving the information problem, we have a government agency (in the US it's called the USDA) to create and enforce safety and quality standards. So, the theory goes, if I walk into a Alpha Beta grocery market and see a USDA grade "prime" beef steak, I should have a reasonable expectation that it meets certain minimum standards. If I then decide to go next door to Ralph's Market, and see another steak, also graded USDA prime, but costing five percent less per pound, I would have a reasonable expectation that the two steaks would have similar characteristics and that I can then buy based on price (If I didn't have a trusted third-party to consult, what I was willing to pay would probably do down, perhaps to not buying at all, and would lead to economic inefficiencies.).
The main point of this is we need a way to get information that can be used by us to determine whether to trade and, if so, at what price. If we don't get the information, the tendency is either not to trade or to lower the price we are willing to pay (to allow for the possibility that what we are getting is worth less than what the seller is saying it is). Asymmetrical information is also at work when you buy a car, get a bank loan, or buy a house.
Hence, the use of a trusted third-party, whether public or private, who has information that I need, is one way of creating a situation where a trade can occur. For me, that trusted third-party is usually the Better Business Bureau. While the BBB is funded through business membership dues, it functions, if it functions at all, only when it remains neutral in disputes between businesses and customers. If that neutrality is ever brought into question, the BBB could lose it most valuable asset, the trust of customers. Without this trust, many trades would not otherwise occur or occur only at much lower rates.
So, it's surprising to me just how many Internet-based companies either aren't members of the BBB or refuse to work with the them when disputes with customers arise. Note here that the mere fact that there are business/customer disputes is not necessarily an indicator of a bad business. Especially if they resolve all of these disputes to the satisfaction of the customer/BBB. But I digress.
Back to a current example. I've been thinking about replacing the stock Intel supplied CPU cooling fan on SWMBO's PC (Prescott, 2.8E). This fan is way too small for the heat that is coming off the CPU and Intel should be ashamed to have mis-designed it. I've already added two 80mm case fans in addition to the existing 120mm and power supply fans but it's just not enough to keep the CPU fan from spinning at its highest speed as it vainly tries to cool the over heating core. The sound of that fan is truly irritating, even though she has the case under the desk she uses.
Recently, I decided enough was enough and it was time to find a solution. My search narrowed down to the Zalman CNP S7700-AlCu and the Thermalright XP-120. I chose the Thermalright based on its lower weight (the Zalman exceeds the Intel motherboard limit of 450 grams by weighing 600 grams) and reviews. But when I started looking for sites where I could buy one, I was stymied by either it not being in stock, the business had an unsatisfactory rating from the BBB, or they had it in stock and had a satisfactory BBB rating but were selling for $20 more than other sites (about $67 USD vs. $47).
I am in a quandary. Do I pay the $20 premium, keep looking, go with the Zalman instead, or just forget about it and don't buy anything? I haven't decided yet. How you decide to buy stuff may be different from me. But if you can't trust the business to adhere to simple business ethics and sell at a fair price, would you (should you?) give your financial information to them? You decide. YMMV.
Have a Great Weekend, Everyone - Aloha!
