[QUOTE=vxf111;8777685]
I am not a “staunch anti-Dover ambassador” and in fact order there from time to time. But I will always try SP first because I find their website much easier.
I don’t like to call. I prefer to shop entirely online.
I don’t have any reason to diss Dover. I’m a real like customer giving real live feedback on their website. They can choose to hear it or choose to lose some of my business.[/QUOTE]
I have to say that I’m with vxf (et al) here. I’ve always assumed that I’m “anti Dover” because I live in one of the areas that doesn’t have a brick & mortar store and they clearly don’t care as much about their catalog-only business. And in all seriousness, I’m not anti-Dover so much as “pro” any company that goes out of their way to support me, which is just about all of them other than Dover.
I find that shopping on the Dover site is more confusing - the “dual” prices is a frustrating model and one that I wish they would discontinue. And I don’t want to speak to someone on the phone. I far prefer being able to manage the entire order online without involving a customer service rep.
Beyond that, I HATE HATE HATE the shipping policy. Increasing the shipping price based on the dollar amount in the cart is the most antiquated, ridiculous policy of all the online retailers I frequent. Do they have to offer free shipping, like SP? No, of course not. But the fact that if I buy an expensive bridle I’m quoted a $25 shipping fee and that shipping fee is LESS for an on-sale blanket that will obviously cost more to ship? It’s just ridiculous. Someone one posted the “tenoff” code you can use to get $10 off that I now use, and this has been enough to get me shopping there when I can’t find an item elsewhere. But I will look at multiple other websites before going to Dover every single time. (On a side note - I do not want another credit card. I already have credit cards that I use and I’m not getting another).
And rarely do I find that Dover has the cheapest price, especially when shipping is figured in. Dover is often $10-25 more with shipping.
Example:
Tailored Sportsman Trophy Hunters
Dover: $189.99 plus $24.95 shipping = $214.94
SP: $189.95 plus automatic free shipping = $189.95
To be fair, I can use the tenoff promo on Dover for a total cost of $204.94, but that’s still $15 more than SP.
Another example (a random fly spray I often purchase):
Farnam Endure Sweat Resistant Fly Spray 32 oz / 1 gallon
Dover: $19.99 / $69.99 (plus add’l $5 shipping)
SP: $18.95 / $61.90
With shipping included the prices look like this:
Dover: $27.94 / $89.94
SP: $18.95 / $61.90
Those are not insignificant savings. Although I will acknowledge that if I add the tenoff promo the smaller flyspray comes out cheaper ($17.94), but the larger size is still almost $20 more.
I’ve provided this feedback via multiple surveys over the years and have spoken about it with many Dover CSRs. I figure the company is well aware of how customers feel (especially? those of us nowhere near a brick & mortar store and out of “quick-shipping-range”), and just don’t care.
As noted above, I do still order items from Dover. I recently ordered the Ariat Monaco Stretch boots because Dover was the only place that was carrying the patent top version. So they do still pull me in with their better selection on some items. But if they want to get more competitive, they need to take a look at their shipping policies and the way they manage their sale prices.
