When FirstandSecond first came on the scene, I was thrilled by the number of books they offered as well the massive discounts offered on those books. They also had some great review competitions and so on (one of which I even managed to win:).
However, in the recent past, the discounts seem to have done a disappearing act - most books can only be had at cost price. That makes it unviable to buy from them if one adds on courier charges, ISP and dialup charges to the final figure.
I sought to avoid all that by attempting to buy a book from their brick and mortar store in Delhi where one had the option of ordering for the book and then picking it up when it came through. That endeavour was a disaster; in the first instance, though the address of the store was on the site, there was no mention of the phone number. I reached the store at 10 a.m. only to discover it opened at 11 a.m. I ordered the book which was mentioned on the site as being available and ’’despatched in one day’’. I was assured by the staff that I would get the book in four days (I had to send it through a friend who was going abroad). Despite their promises, they were unable to procure the book within the said four days. I then had to make a second trip to collect my refund since they insisted on taking the money in advance.
The point I’m trying to make is that these guys haven’t realised that their brick and mortar store is an extension of their web site and they should figure out how to treat it as such. There’s no point in their crowing about being ’’India’s biggest bookstop’’ if they can’t get their act in order.