Let’s face it. The Internet gnomes track every move and search you make on line. You are being watched and profiled so much so that seconds after you search for, say, yoga pants, banner ads appear on the side of your email and your search engine. And it is not a one off as these ads can and do appear months after you searched.
And that is creepy enough but then there are the strange super discounted versions of the product that appear offering deals that are just too good to be legitimate. We found that these businesses are more than likely off-shore companies with questionable labor policies, poor production quality and unreliable customer service.
Because LucyandClaudia.com relentlessly searches the Web for fashion influencers and new products for our friends, we decided to check out some of these untoward sites. Lucy decided it was time to take a chance and ordered a pair of boots from one of these “special deal vendors”.
Boots we both love
Here is how it worked: The boots were “on sale” 50 % off, and then Lucy got a special credit of $5.00 at check out and shipping was $10. The boots are described as handmade and leather and imported (from where you might ask) and of course there were “verified” reviews that were mostly positive. ( The vendor would not even let us put a photo of them on our blog!)
The boots take 8-20 business days to deliver which means, either, they are made to order or, they are coming by slow mule from very far away. Lucy gave them a seldom-used credit card and her address, knowing that she can look forward to an overabundance of promotions and special customer deals, already being offered 15% off her next order.
Maybe this is okay and maybe the boots will be great and we will keep you posted but we do not like this “shopping experience”. Understanding that for a long time, advertisers and businesses could not find how to make money online. Now they can target exactly who they want as the perfect profile customer. There is no question that banner ads are a vital part of marketing and profit for the Internet. But when is enough enough and what about the quality of some of these banner ads?
Banner ads appear with 20 cars every time I open email!
Claudia made the mistake of shopping for a new car on line. You can only imagine the banners and deals she has been offered in these promotions from car gurus to auto trader to car dealerships from all over New England!
We will keep you posted on the boots! Do let us know your experiences with these “super sales deals”.
Ciao
Lucy and Claudia