I went shopping this afternoon, and I came back hopping mad. I mean hopping.
You know how you can go out with a list and for one reason and another you don’t seem to be able to get anything you want? I had one of those days.
One of the things on my list to look at, with a view to buying for OH’s birthday, was a Sony Reader - an interesting device intended to store up to 160 books and allow you to read them directly from the e-ink words on its little e-ink screen. It comes pre-loaded with 100 classic books (ie, out of copyright, but not necessarily any the worse for that), and allows you around 7,000 page turns without recharging. That’s probably enough for the average transatlantic flyer, no?
So I went into Waterstones, having heard that they are now stocking these things, and I asked at the desk, and a nice young lady directed me upstairs, where I was proudly shown the Sony Reader.
It was bolted into a perspex stand, which was itself bolted firmly onto the damn shelf of the display unit!!
Wha … ?
‘Can we take it off here so I can see it?’ I asked the sales assistant.
Her face fell and she poked half-heartedly at it. ‘I don’t think so,’ she said.
And so it was. Nobody in the shop has the authority to allow a customer access to a Sony Reader until they’ve handed over their two hundred smackers and left the premises. Nobody. There is No Way to Unbolt It. It is a fixture.
Now, here’s the problem.
I’m around five foot four inches tall, and the thing was just a little above my comfort level for reading.  Not only that, but I wear varifocals and have a damaged neck.  There is no way I’m going to be able to see what this reader is like for actual, you know, reading, because to do that, I need it in my hands, so I can position it where I normally like to hold books - ie, at my preferred reading distance, and in the right area of focus for my glasses. And surely I can’t be unique in that.
If I have to crane my neck up and tip my head so that I can focus on the screen, the answer to the question ‘would you find this device comfortable to use to read a book’ is going to be an unequivocal and resounding ‘No’ - a word which would probably be accompanied by various colourful and almost certainly profane adjuncts.
And I don’t know about you, but if I’m buying something which I’m going to use with my hands, I want my hands on it before I buy it so that I can judge whether it feels good to me, whether it ‘fits’, and whether I actually like it.
So the Sony Reader stayed on the shelf and I gave up on it, resolving not to buy one until someone was willing to let me handle one, and I went into John Lewis to buy a knife, because I tend to buy knives when I’m depressed* and because we actually did need one for a specific task - cutting cheese.
You know what? They had just the knife I was looking for: perfect size and shape, and not only good quality but a thing of beauty.
It was packaged, ladies and gentlemen. It was packaged tightly - nay, strait-jacketed - in the following:
1) A layer of thick, rigid plastic, sealed at both ends
2) A thick cardboard box with a window cut into it (at the back) through which the would be owner was allowed tantalising glimpses of the contents
3) A foam insert which half hid the knife itself
4) Those terrible, horrible, hideously frustrating, thick plastic tension ties. These ones were so tight you’d have been hard put to slide a scalpel blade underneath them
So. This knife, this object of culinary usefulness, made to fit into and be used by a human hand, was totally, 100% inaccessible for me to try the grip and the weight and balance before I paid my money and took it home.
What are we going to do, girls and boys? What are we going to do about this mistrustful Nanny State ‘we know what’s good for you’ attitude?
I know.
AAAAAAAAAAARRRGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
There. I feel marginally better, now, thanks.
*A fact that perhaps some purveyors of nameless e-readers might do well to note.
Sometimes marketing idiocy knows no bounds. I would have been hopping mad too.
Ruth Hull Chatliens last blog post..Friday Fotos
Proving the point that it’s never a good thing to quote out of context, the phrase “I tend to buy knives when I’m depressed” is a classic !
I have to say the US is a much better place for this sort of thing and they’d have opened up a new box and let you have a play. The other alternative would be to buy it and then try it at home and if not totally satisfied with it, take it back for a full refund.
I’d suggest that you need to carry around a milk bottle crate when doing the shopping but that would be non PC and a tad cruel ! It also shows my age as anyone born after about 1980 wouldn’t know what a milk bottle crate was.
Silverbacks last blog post..1 Down - 176 To Go.
Oh yes, they have the Sony Reader bolted to the stand here in the states, too! It’s maddening! My husband is traveling quite a bit and would love to have something like that, but the Kindle is prohibitively expensive (and they never tell you quite what the wait time is) and the Sony Reader is bolted down.
However, a bolted down reader is not much different than ordering a reader through the mail, except that you can actually look at it in person to see the dimensions (that is assuming you can find a step ladder, in your case!). Do you think you’ll go back to get one?
Peace - D
RiverPoets last blog post..A Trip into Town - Part I
Haha hello shorty! I sympathise (my back is sore and I feel like Quasimodo and I also wear graduated lenses which require you to look like a bobbly headed dog mounted on the dashboard of a car) I’m not sure shopping for knives is the thing to do when depressed but I guess a cheese knife is harmless enough! Very frustrating. I’m a chronic try-before-you-buy person but it’s not that hard out here. (Then again I consistently buy clothes without trying them on when I have every opportunity to do so . . needless to say they look crap or don’t fit!) Do Apple Mac have an alternative, they’re very touchy feely! @Silverback - I can’t get on a horse without the assistance of a milk crate! Always have one in the boot! Erm trunk!
Bainos last blog post..Hard Yakka and New Skins
I love these things, slightly different theme, I went to buy a new golf club, about $400 worth.. all I could do to see if I liked it (golf clubs are VERY personal things, and they differ from player to player), was to hit balls into a net…. I was not allowed to try it on a range etc …. I can tell you, I walked out !
Also, with the sony reader, I looked at one, but I couldn’t have one, I just love to hold, feel, smell the book.. wierd I know, but I love the book itself …..
Hilariously funny. I’m glad you got all of the stuff off your chest. Feel better?
I imagine we have all felt those same frustrations. I came across one of those neat little readers at my local Borders Bookstore. Same deal. It was bolted to the stand. I couldn’t even hold it in my hand. And unlike you, I am very tall, so I had to stoop way over to see what was going on. No thanks, I told the sales lady.
It was an interesting gadget, though, so I looked it up on Amazon and they have a very good write-up. Plus, the one on Amazon has more features thnt those sitting in the book stores.
Good luck, and remember…
happy trails.
Swubirds last blog post..THE RODEO KID
Ruth - I find I’m easily made hopping mad by shopping these days. But this, I find positively insulting. And I’m surprised that the shop staff don’t find it insulting, too - after all, what Sony are saying is that they don’t trust them to make sure they don’t get swiped. All they have to do, is do what they do in mobile phone shops. You go to the counter and ask to see one, and they show you. How many times do you hear of someone stealing directly from the shop assistant’s hand? It’s nearly always stealth, from the shelves.
Either that, or these things are extremely fragile and wouldn’t stand up to too much handling, and to be frank, that doesn’t sound good to me, either!
Silverback - Yes, I think if I was allowed to have a box opened and actually try one out, I might just consider it as a gift at some point in the future. They’ve lost the sale for now though.
And it’s always a good time to buy knives! What are you thinking!!
River Poet - No, it’s staying on the shelf for now. If and when they allow us to handle it, or someone makes an alternative that we’re allowed to handle, then I might consider it for long trips away. Till then. Nope, I’ll stick with paper.
Baino - Shopping for knives is best done when depressed. Trust me. LOL!
It’s a lovely thing, that one. Actually is rather good in the hand, and it’s a five inch, razor sharp serrated blade. Not your traditional cheese knife, but neither of us like those!
Moon - See? See? Same thing. It’s something you use with your hands, you need to try it properly. You need to know what it’s like after ten minutes of use, half an hour of use, even. These things are pricey!
I bought a new camera recently. You can go into any camera shop in the world and have a very pricey and fragile bit of kit put into your hands to try out. My local camera shop even allows us to walk outside to try it in daylight before committing to buy! And they make all this fuss over a bloody £200 reader!
I have to say, I’m with you on books. Part of the joy is the feel of them in your hand, the sound of the pages turning, the smell of them. I’m not about to give that up in a hurry.
Swubird - Yes, as a matter of fact, I do feel better, thanks!
I can’t believe they’re doing this all over the world. It must be a gimmick, surely. Perhaps intended to subliminally convey the desirability and rarity of the things? Well, it ain’t working with me, and apparently not with you either.
I think most people are smarter than that.
Well. Some are.
*Sigh*
You think you have troubles. Try being five foot one inch. I need a milk crate to use the toilet :O)
It’s getting more and more like that now. Most gadgets are bolted down and in enclosed glass cases. I refuse to buy unless I can hold it in my hand and get a feel of something.
The more wrapped up a knife is, the better I like it!
I wonder how many customers they lost with that attitude, Jay! How can they begin to sell something without the prospective buyer made to feel like a criminal is asking to have a look! It’s insane. The packaging is another issue. Recently went throgh the same ordeal with a small item which was sealed like Fort Knox! A shame! p.s. Jay, the winners on “The Longest Date” were Meg Ryan and Bill Murray. I hope you enjoy, “Sharing Popcorn with God.”
Hope you’re having a wonderful weekend, in spite of…
Petra :))
petra michelles last blog post..Sharing Popcorn with God
Funny you mention the camera, we have just bought a new won, $2500 worth, they let us play around for ages with them …..
Moons last blog post..The Best Day of my Life xx
Funny you should mention this, as two people at the conference I went to last week had Sony e-books. It was very interesting, though I am not ready to go out and get one just yet. Call me old fashioned, call me a tree killer, but I love the feel of a book in my hand. I can however, appreciate how handy one of these things can be, especially on long trips.
Mr. Nighttimes last blog post..The would-be-Empress has no clothes.
Cool it lady and pop down to Curry’s where you can lovingly fondle electrical items that cost thousands of pounds and no-one expects anyone to buy them!!! x
Ooohhh I know just what you mean about not being able to see goods or get advice before you buy. I think the service industry in the YUK has gone down the pan! As for packaging, which wheelie bin do you put that delightful little lot protecting your knife into? Bon Courage! Debs x
P.S. Thanks for your visit!
Debss last blog post..A Big Bag of Poo!
Babs - ‘The more wrapped up a knife is, the better I like it’! ROFL! I wonder how you manage to cut things up?
Five foot one, huh? Yep, I have a few inches on you, for sure. I feel for you.
Petra - I’ve had several people say to me that they’ve been to look at one and walked out again, too. I think they’re doing themselves no favours.
Have a good weekend yourself, too!
Moon - There you are, you see! It’s standard practice in camera shops and they’re more fragile than the reader.
What’d you get?
Mr N - Now, see, that would be a good way to try one out, if you know someone with one who is willing to let you have a play!
No, I don’t think I’m quite ready to buy one for myself yet. And it would only be for travel, for sure. They’ll never replace books for me.
Kate - Ah, but do Curry’s have an e-Reader? I bet they don’t! LOL!
Debs - Hi there! Yes, I really resent being treated like a criminal for wanting to look at something properly before I buy it.
The packaging from the knife all goes in the recycling bin. It’s all plastic or paper!
Hmmm… this is potentially a good discrimination against short people case.
Sue them & Sony together, get 10million pounds, then buy 1000 of those Sony Readers.
The Real Mother Hens last blog post..Little Adventure
“And I don’t know about you, but if I’m buying something which I’m going to use with my hands, I want my hands on it before I buy it so that I can judge whether it feels good to me, whether it ‘fits’, and whether I actually like it.”
um yeah…and as the consumer I think you have every right to know that BEFORE you buy anything.
meleah rebeccahs last blog post..Madonna - Hard Candy - In Concert!
Ugh…packaging … yes it drives me crazy too. Let’s just all stroll around in bubble wrap. I mean humanity has manage to survive this long.
DrowseyMonkeys last blog post..Why Canada Has a Low Crime Rate
RMH - It is, isn’t it? And I wonder how they’d manage with someone in a wheelchair?
Meleah - Absolutely! I wonder what the position in law would be if you bought something that you weren’t allowed to try out, and then, say developed RSI because it wasn’t quite right for you? Could you sue? Get your money back? I’m not into the litigation society thing, but seriously, if you can’t try before you buy … ?
DM - Bubble wrap? But isn’t that part of the problem? LOL!
And if you don’t at least cut yourself trying to get said knife out of the razor-sharp PACKAGING then it’s not been packaged properly.
I do have to admit, I was getting some flashes of Mr. Bean shopping in a store with a fish in his pocket, bringing it out to test whether it would fit into a new frying pan.
On the Sony reader issue….that is soooo annoying, particularly if you are considering an expensive purchase you need to be able to look more closely….but that’s the issue. As ex retial security I know things such as that get stolen in enormous numbers, even if they are horrendously inconveniently displayed, the store hates doing it, the manufacturer hates having to do it, the customer hates it and the store staff hate the grief customers give them for it but if it wasn’t such, there would be very few left to purchase!
Please, don’t blame the retailer, I have known literally 100’s of small tech gadgets be stolen in just one day, countless times, before this kind of display was used…..blame the professional shoplifters, it’s because of them you suffer this kind of hassle. :o(
gemmaks last blog post..Should I stay or should I go?
Jenn - Hahaha! Mr Bean! Oh yeah .. well, I feel like Mrs Bean, sometimes.
Gemma - I do understand the thing about shoplifting, I really do - but it doesn’t explain why my camera shop will let me try out a camera worth far more than the Sony Reader without it even being chained to anything. Or why Marks and Spencer - who I’m told have thousands of pounds worth of clothes stolen each year - seem to be perfectly happy with me taking armfuls of clothes into the changing room to try on. I can handle mobile phones, I can handle jewellery, and I can handle Mont Blanc pens (for example) to see if I like the way they fit my hand. So it can be done, IF the shop is prepared to put the measures in place to make it possible.
Also, it doesn’t explain why Waterstones had the Readers sitting unattended on the shelves, in their packaging!
darn frustrating sk
sandys last blog post..Wake me when it’s Monday !!!!
Lol…that’s easy to explain….the stores that appear to be happy to have things on more accesible display just assume a higher rate of theft/loss in their accounts and add it to the price we pay at the checkouts rather than trying to stop the theft, have to pay for a higher level of security or aggravate their genuine customers. It’s you and I that pay for it in the end, not the retailer.
gemmaks last blog post..Best weekends and best friends!
Sandy - Yes, indeed.
Gemma - But … Waterstones, the people with the bolted down display, also have them out on the open shelves in their packages! And they don’t have security on duty. *Shakes head*
Which all seems bizarre and crazy to me. LOL!
Oh my… buying knives when you’re depressed? Me thinks you’ve seen Sweeney Todd a tad too much…
Nah… what am I saying??? No such thing as too much Johnny! (but be careful with those knives!)
Maureens last blog post..I’m Pessimistically Optimistic
I’m always careful with knives, Maureen.
Except when I’m not.
MWAHAHAHA!!!