Dabs.com go compliant

[David]

Dabs.com (http://www.dabs.com) have just unveiled their new site and what a treat it is. I always loved the original Dabs site for it's ease of navigation and just plain and simple logic - it worked well. A couple of years ago it was changed and I really didn't like it. All of a sudden, finding things became more difficult and I found myself shopping elsewhere despite having been a loyal customer. Version 3 is now up an running and I am very pleased. There is a return to the old ease of navigation and searching, a better, less cluttered interface and the site is CSS and XHTML compliant - note the W3C badges at the bottom of each page. As a reward, I just bought a wirless access point from them - I found what I was looking for with just 2 clicks - really impressive.

[James]

Thought I'd share my recent experience - not good.

I want a USB external hard drive as want to back all my data up (following a recent scare where I feared my hard drive had broken - turned out to be the power supply, but it made me think!).

Two weeks ago I went to Dabs, found a hard drive (I agree it is easy to find stuff) and placed the order, or so I thought. When I checked back a week later I found the order was still in checkout. Turns out I missed the final link to complete the purchase. Maybe I was being scatty but the site had an extra step in the purchase process that I haven't seen before.

So, I placed the order last weekend. Just checked back and see my order is now "awaiting card authorisation", yet there is nothing wrong with my card as I use it every day. So I cancelled the order and bought one at reliable old Amazon.

[David]

Hmm, I think you may have been unlucky. I must admit that I've always had good service from Dabs. Just like Amazon, you always get a confirmation email when your order is placed, so I guess that should have alerted you. The credit card thig is a bit funny but a similar thing happened to me on another site a few months ago. I've also been using Novatech (http://www.novatech.co.uk) for computer supplies. Although they don't have as big a range as Dabs, they are often slightly cheaper and the service is excellent - I think they won some award this year.

[Tom]

I find Amazon the best - and wish they had an even wider stock. But I also find myself making more and more use of eBay. Not for auction items - more for just any-old-stuff at buy-now prices. Stationary is a good example - its half the price of WH Smith and delivered to your door.