Buying TVs and Such Not a Pretty Picture

Selling consumer electronics via the Internet poses unique difficulties, so it stands to reason that few Web retailers offer a complete package of services.

Ideally, the Circuit Cities and Best Buys of the world would have elegantly constructed, smoothly operated Web sites that could obliterate competition from digital upstarts. They would offer low prices, large selections and the convenience of multiple neighborhood locations, so you could have someone to complain to.

Alas, Fry’s Electronics doesn’t have a Web site, Best Buy sells only music and videos online (and not very well, at that) and Circuit City’s online store poses unnecessary burdens.

It’s nice to see online a copy of Circuit City’s weekly printed advertised specials, but you can’t click on these items to purchase them. You must sort through each product category to find them. And why force people to choose how they want their product delivered, even before they’ve picked it out online? Why is their online selection of computer games limited to Sony’s PlayStation?

There are some pluses, however.

Circuit City has more information on the features of various items and does offer somewhat better tools to select specific products, which is helpful because they carry more than three dozen Walkman-like stereos.

But the highlight came when I ordered some items from their Web site and arranged to pick them up at one of their stores. Time between walking up to the counter and walking out the door: 1 minute, 15 seconds. Beautiful. No guarantees that it will be that smooth Christmas Eve, however.

Amazon.com does its usual yeoman’s job of creating a smooth-running consumer electronics site, but it falls short in unexpected ways. Although some of its product descriptions are unusually detailed, others fail to list features.

Also, while Amazon used to boast that it was “Earth’s largest bookstore,” the same cannot be said of its electronics store, although it does have a leg up on many of its strictly online competitors.

Manufacturers are concerned about how their products are represented and serviced, so they can be finicky about who sells their wares. Thus, such top online stores as 800.com, ValueAmerica and Crutchfield don’t sell a full line of products from consumer electronics giant Sony.

But that doesn’t excuse 800.com from failing to supply a lot of product photos online, or ValueAmerica’s oddly placed sales pitches that might as well double as advertisements.

For decades Crutchfield has made a name for itself in the catalog business as the expert in audio products. Although its Web site is not as elegant as some, it perhaps has the most extensive information on each product and clearly has the audiophile in mind.

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Electronics

Web sites reviewed: Circuit City: https://www.circuitcity.com; Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com; 800.com: https://www.800.com; ValueAmerica: https://www.valueamerica.com; Crutchfield: https://www.crutchfield.com.