The Sharper Image - For The Person Who Has EVERYTHING!
Written: Dec 08 '02 (Updated Dec 08 '02)
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Preamble
I remember the first time that I walked into a Sharper Image store in my local mall. What is this stuff? It all looked like high tech, overly expensive, metal stuff with no real purpose in life. That was about ten years ago. Since then, my income has gone up significantly, I own a home, and I've turned into a spoiled consumer.
Recently, I was perusing the Home & Garden section of Epinions when I came across a couple of cool things (Roomba anyone???) When I went to see where I could check this pup out it turned out that very few places sold it - one of those being The Sharper Image.
Instead of walking into the mall, I decided to visit SharperImage.Com.
The Website
SharperImage.Com has an above-average busy-looking site. Their main colors are dark blue and black and once you log into the home page, you're hit with some of their best-selling products. If that's what you've come to the site for, your experience of purchasing and leaving the site will happen very quickly (unless you're a browser, like me).
Across the top of the home page is a tool bar of product categories. If you were to click on Personal Care, you could go directly to the page of ALL of the personal care items OR you could further drill down (i.e. air purifiers) without leaving the home page.
Once you get into looking at the actual products, SharperImage.Com does a good job with providing pictures and solid descriptions of each item.
Every item page has the option for you to purchase extended warranties, batteries, and to have the item gift wrapped.
Moving from area to area is quite easy but if you're a fascinated browser like I am, be prepared for a long journey :).
Product Selection
Oh my...There are products on SharperImage.Com that you never knew existed! I have no clue on the number of items they sell on their web site. I did spend a couple of hours looking through different ones and I didn't get through all of them.
Pricing/Shipping/Returns
Prices are on the high end. What would you expect from a place that specializes in unique things? In the event that you do find a lower price on the same item, you can jump through some normal hoops to get a refund/pricematch from SharperImage.Com.
On my order, I received free shipping, but if you are stuck for that part of the bill, The Sharper Image charges you according to the amount you spend. For instance, if you spend 0-$25, you're going to pay $5.95; $26 - $50, $7.95.
If you need to return an item, you generally have 60 days in which to do so (there are a couple of exceptions that are 30 days).
My Experience
When I saw the prices for the couple of things that I wanted, I freaked! I went in search of some coupons and was able to find a 15% off entire purchase and free shipping with the purchase of $100 or more.
Alright, I was in business!
Purchasing was easy and to my surprise, the site accepted both coupons. Once I entered my payment information and pressed the order button, The Sharper Image sent me a confirmation email listing the products I had purchased and the amount of the purchases.
Within 24 hours, I received another email indicating that my entire order had been shipped. I was furnished with a tracking number.
Three days later, my package arrived. Every thing I ordered was packed neatly and secure. So far, every thing works just fine too :).
Reading over some of these other reviews of The Sharper Image, I was quite shocked by the negativity surrounding customer service. After I had received my package, I emailed customer service to ask if it was possible to add a warranty on to my Roomba AFTER the fact. They responded with 24 hours. Yes, some of the email was scripted, but other parts of it wasn't.
The End
The Sharper Image has all of the good elements of a solid etailer. I was quite pleased with the products I ordered, customer service, and the timeliness of delivery.
Now, I wouldn't advise shopping at The Sharper Image frequently unless you have thousands of dollars to blow on a weekly basis. If you're looking for a unique gift for that person who has everything, chances are at The Sharper Image has it.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
kristinafh
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Member: Kristina Frazier-Henry
Location: Indiana
Reviews written: 1344
Trusted by: 1169 members
About Me:
Cannot breathe. Missing Barbara.
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