Bass Direct

[fretmeister]

3 minutes ago, bartelby said:

Just noticed they have an "Alpha Omega Poton"

🤔

 

They do that a lot.

 

And they also have links that go to the wrong place quite often, and then within the text describing something there will be contradictions because someone has cut and pasted and not checked the info properly.

[Eldon Tyrell]

1 hour ago, ped said:

It does on my phone, but desktop it loads the first part of the page then seizes. So the 'New Arrivals' age shows a few Spectors, then I scroll down and it's all white, then it freezes. Mind you this Mac is pretty ancient and it's not it's only problem!

Sounds perfectly fine to me. You see the Spectors, you buy (at least) one of these and that's that. What else do you need to see? 😉

 

Edited December 16, 2021 by Eldon Tyrell

[BigRedX]

Works fine under High Sierra and Safari for me. 

 

Personally I don't see what the problem with the website is. It might not be bang up to date with all the latest HTML, but it does the job of showing you what is in store and what can be ordered along with all the salient information about the products they stock. What more do you want? There are plenty of much nicer looking websites out there, that use all those new flashy graphics to try and cover up the fact that the product(s) they are selling aren't really up to much. The website for that vapour-ware footswitch that's recently popped up on Basschat is a prime example of looking flash while obscuring the details.

[Rich]

2 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

There are plenty of much nicer looking websites out there, that use all those new flashy graphics to try and cover up the fact that the product(s) they are selling aren't actually in stock really up to much. 
 

 

Fixed. Yes, several well known shops, I'm looking at you.

[wateroftyne]

8 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

Works fine under High Sierra and Safari for me. 

 

Personally I don't see what the problem with the website is. It might not be bang up to date with all the latest HTML, but it does the job of showing you what is in store and what can be ordered along with all the salient information about the products they stock. What more do you want? There are plenty of much nicer looking websites out there, that use all those new flashy graphics to try and cover up the fact that the product(s) they are selling aren't really up to much. The website for that vapour-ware footswitch that's recently popped up on Basschat is a prime example of looking flash while obscuring the details.

 

Away from being bang-up-to-date with the latest HTML, it could do with a restructure, and a good clear-out of all the visual clutter.

[fretmeister]

23 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

Works fine under High Sierra and Safari for me. 

 

Personally I don't see what the problem with the website is. It might not be bang up to date with all the latest HTML, but it does the job of showing you what is in store and what can be ordered along with all the salient information about the products they stock. What more do you want? There are plenty of much nicer looking websites out there, that use all those new flashy graphics to try and cover up the fact that the product(s) they are selling aren't really up to much. The website for that vapour-ware footswitch that's recently popped up on Basschat is a prime example of looking flash while obscuring the details.

 

 

I'd like - for example - a bass to only have 1 weight on the product page and not 2 very different ones.

 

I'd also like them to get the scale length correct on all the basses.

 

That sort of thing.

 

Ugly website I can cope with. Incorrect product info I can't.

[Daz39]

All these issues smack of poor resources of time, and the lack of funds/willingness to get a professional to tidy it up, or even just sending all new entries to someone to proof-read before posting.

I do like the pictures, they do have a lot of lovely stock, and I suppose it is at least organised well by section and type - so I suppose it's considered good enough for them.

[tauzero]

It is distinctly function over form and could do with some improvement. At least it's not so stuck in the 1990s that it has "Click to enter" on the home page <points the finger of shame at Status Graphite>.

[Skybone]

4 hours ago, BigRedX said:

Works fine under High Sierra and Safari for me. 

 

Personally I don't see what the problem with the website is. It might not be bang up to date with all the latest HTML, but it does the job of showing you what is in store and what can be ordered along with all the salient information about the products they stock. What more do you want? There are plenty of much nicer looking websites out there, that use all those new flashy graphics to try and cover up the fact that the product(s) they are selling aren't really up to much. The website for that vapour-ware footswitch that's recently popped up on Basschat is a prime example of looking flash while obscuring the details.

 

It's more a case of being quite convoluted. The "Accessories" and "Effects" sections are a case in point, where you have to navigate through all sorts of options.

 

It's OK, but very clunky and not that easy to navigate.

[Munurmunuh]

They managed to sell my TRBX604 ... they stock strings I'm interested in at good prices ... their website is a bit clunky.

 

That last bit doesn't take the shine off the first two.

[fleabag]

7 hours ago, Frank Blank said:

 

I'd read about @fleabag's experience of doing this before I sold a bass via BD.

 

The less said about that the better.  I mean the experience of my commission sale, not the 20%  commission itself.  Even that's too high when you look at the percentage some other bass shops charge.

Edited December 16, 2021 by fleabag

[OliverBlackman]

My only issue with Bass direct is that they have a constant flow of lovely instruments and if you happen to try one of those instruments and don’t go through with the sale for whatever reason, you spend a lot of time you should be practicing wishing you had bought said instrument. It’s a torturous hell. 

[rhysyjob]

I have to wean myself off the website, then occasionally I slip, before you know it I’m on the motorway and we know what happens then.

 

It’s a trap! 🤣 

[Stub Mandrel]

7 hours ago, BigRedX said:

Works fine under High Sierra and Safari for me. 

 

Personally I don't see what the problem with the website is. It might not be bang up to date with all the latest HTML, but it does the job of showing you what is in store and what can be ordered along with all the salient information about the products they stock. What more do you want? There are plenty of much nicer looking websites out there, that use all those new flashy graphics to try and cover up the fact that the product(s) they are selling aren't really up to much. The website for that vapour-ware footswitch that's recently popped up on Basschat is a prime example of looking flash while obscuring the details.

 

There are some genuinely confusing errors. One page describes a Fender bass, and continues into a description of a rather different Squier version of the same, with contradictory information. From the price I imagine they were selling the Squier but it was not at clear which or both are on offer.

 

It is very confusing, I bought a speaker cover recently and the website information was all unhelpful.

 

They are very helpful by email, but the website gives the impression of a business that doesn't need a website except to evidence its bona fides (like my business - I don't generate work from it  it's just there to reassure customers it's genuine and provide extra information).

[dmccombe7]

I dont have any great issues with the site.

If i see something i want i usually drop Mark a message and he confirms in stock or answer any query i have. I sometimes just call them to confirm something and just pay over the phone. I find it all relatively easy.

Altho its not a major issue for me I can see the point on accessories / effects sections where it would be nice to individualise the items in a simpler way but i've been visiting the site for such a long time i've just gotten used to how it works.

Dave

[Woodinblack]

10 hours ago, ped said:

I really wish they'd do a better website! It doesn't even work on Safari, at least on my desktop. 

 

Works on my Safari - odd that there is something that wouldn't work, its not like there are any webdesign techniques from the last few decades used!

 

Didn't it say on there there were looking for someone to do them a website at some point, or was it on the emails?

[Stub Mandrel]

5 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

or was it on the emails?

 

I suspect that their emails generate most of their custom. When you have a very specific audience and a distinct business offer, a slick website is less important than communicating with your customers.

[BassTractor]

On 16/12/2021 at 23:30, Stub Mandrel said:

When you have a very specific audience and a distinct business offer, a slick website is less important than communicating with your customers.

This.
Stronger: a better website may be not only less important but even detrimental.
Like when the quality of the firm is in the quality of the knowledge and in the putting the customer's needs at the centre. A better website could a.o. mean more custom, generating a need for more workers, making the boss more of an administrator, and maybe lowering the standards.

BTW, this is not an invention inside my head, but the actual situation I had in my old firm. No way I was gonna better the website. Complaining customers, normally of the not-"very specific audience" type, got told it's because we spend that time on catering for the needs of the very specific audience.

[wateroftyne]

On 16/12/2021 at 22:30, Stub Mandrel said:

 

I suspect that their emails generate most of their custom. 

 

...the emails that link out to the self-same flaky website we're discussing?

[Munurmunuh]

How do people who have trouble getting around that website manage to move from the E string to the A string?

[mybass]

…..and I suspect most business websites actually use existing templates from a company, place their own banners/names into it and then have their own issues with inherent running problems within that template. I have seen similar website setups to our own Basschat. I can’t imagine the complex setup for Bass Direct advertising and updating hundreds if not thousands of products every week.

[Woodinblack]

I think many peoples complains are more the accuracy of the data on the website than the quality of the pages.

[wateroftyne]

1 hour ago, Ricky Rioli said:

How do people who have trouble getting around that website manage to move from the E string to the A string?

 

...but it could be so much better with a few simple changes.

[Munurmunuh]

29 minutes ago, wateroftyne said:

 

...but it could be so much better with a few simple changes.

 

And yet they're not done, astonishing. What could the explanation possibly be? Incompetence? Purely idle laziness? A perverse desire to annoy the internet commentariat? Or a retailer whose time and manpower are limited exercising the right that belongs to him alone to decide what to prioritise on the endless to do list that is the reality of a retail life? 

[wateroftyne]

3 minutes ago, Ricky Rioli said:

 

And yet they're not done, astonishing. What could the explanation possibly be? Incompetence? Purely idle laziness? A perverse desire to annoy the internet commentariat? Or a retailer whose time and manpower are limited exercising the right that belongs to him alone to decide what to prioritise on the endless to do list that is the reality of a retail life? 

Calm down. I’m just suggesting binning a bit of the clutter would be a massive immediate improvement, not that he implements a whole new commerce platform.