Essential items being sold online during lockdown

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#2453517 3-Apr-2020 09:12

amiga500:

The anomaly with some iPhones being available and others not available might be due to stock levels. Maybe they are sold out of iPhone 8s and have no idea when more stock is coming?

I was wondering if it's something perhaps a little simpler still: reducing the number of items available to reduce complication in a difficult time for retailers

iPhone 11 - top end

iPhone 7 - bottom end

Nothing in between...you choose - top or bottom. Both work, both available.

Maybe I am just oversimplifying it, but that's my hot take of the day.

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#2453521 3-Apr-2020 09:15

amiga500:

The anomaly with some iPhones being available and others not available might be due to stock levels. Maybe they are sold out of iPhone 8s and have no idea when more stock is coming?

I guess the dropship websites who hold nothing and simply run software to beat the next cheapest dropshipper by 0.5% are going to be out of luck...

"In stock" and "In stock at supplier" are really worlds away if the supplier is closed for the foreseeable future.

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#2453522 3-Apr-2020 09:17

The other side of the coin is the couriers, at the moment they have significantly reduced work, so to be honest,

I don't really have a problem if people are ordering slow cookers and Iphones, if it keeps things ticking over,

( staff working at fulfillment centres are not usually in close proximity)

"Freightways boss Mark Troughear says his company has seen volumes drop 65 per cent in the last four days.

He says as an essential service, the company wants to retain all its workers, and so they are carrying on with a lot of spare capacity."

https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/120767390/freight-company-retailers-join-call-to-free-up-online-sale-of-goods

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#2453523 3-Apr-2020 09:19

Perhaps this should be approached from the opposite direction. Since the objective is to minimise human contact, then if a retailer can prove their delivery system doesn’t adversely affect that, why can’t they provide almost anything?

Minimising human contact would include warehouse staff, transport and delivery of goods, etc, and need to be certified because the ‘honour system’ doesn’t really work that well. Not practical for a 4 week lockdown, but will be more necessary when stretching to 3+ months.

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#2453526 3-Apr-2020 09:26

Handsomedan:
amiga500:

The anomaly with some iPhones being available and others not available might be due to stock levels. Maybe they are sold out of iPhone 8s and have no idea when more stock is coming?

I was wondering if it's something perhaps a little simpler still: reducing the number of items available to reduce complication in a difficult time for retailers

iPhone 11 - top end

iPhone 7 - bottom end

Nothing in between...you choose - top or bottom. Both work, both available.

Maybe I am just oversimplifying it, but that's my hot take of the day.

Logic suggests that if a mobile phone can be sold, it ought to matter not one iota which one is being sold if the retailer can supply it, surely?

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#2453530 3-Apr-2020 09:34

Dingbatt:
Perhaps this should be approached from the opposite direction. Since the objective is to minimise human contact, then if a retailer can prove their delivery system doesn’t adversely affect that, why can’t they provide almost anything?

Minimising human contact would include warehouse staff, transport and delivery of goods, etc, and need to be certified because the ‘honour system’ doesn’t really work that well. Not practical for a 4 week lockdown, but will be more necessary when stretching to 3+ months.

Yes. This.

It’s the only logical approach if it goes beyond 4 weeks.

For example, you can’t buy paint but I’m sure lots of people would use the time they have at home to paint things if they could get paint.

If you could have paint left at the door/gate then why not?

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#2453531 3-Apr-2020 09:35

Boeingflyer:
Geektastic:
As I have said elsewhere, apparently a slow cooker is not essential if you want to buy it from Noel Leeming.

It IS essential if you want to buy it from Briscoes.

Only a bureaucrat could see any logic in that. Either a slow cooker is essential, in which case anywhere that is allowed to be open and which sells slow cookers should be allowed to sell one, or it isn't in which case nobody should sell one.

Do you need a slow cooker?

If 'No' then move on and stop complaining

If 'Yes' order from Briscoes.

Sick of people poking holes at all the small stuff, if you can't see the big picture then there's no hope in yourself.

I’m sick of living under house arrest because the government let the disease into New Zealand but we all have our crosses to bear in life.

MrAmerica

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#2453554 3-Apr-2020 09:50

Luckily beer is considered an essential item.

Got sent a 5% discount and free shipping code for Behemoth from a mate if anyone wants beer to the door.

https://behemoth-brewing.myshopify.com/discount/BEHR823GDEC?redirect=%2Fcollections%2Fall

sud0

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#2453599 3-Apr-2020 10:35

FYI - Trade Me is also selling essentials items.

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#2453604 3-Apr-2020 10:42

Geektastic:
Dingbatt:

Perhaps this should be approached from the opposite direction. Since the objective is to minimise human contact, then if a retailer can prove their delivery system doesn’t adversely affect that, why can’t they provide almost anything?

Minimising human contact would include warehouse staff, transport and delivery of goods, etc, and need to be certified because the ‘honour system’ doesn’t really work that well. Not practical for a 4 week lockdown, but will be more necessary when stretching to 3+ months.

Yes. This.

It’s the only logical approach if it goes beyond 4 weeks.

For example, you can’t buy paint but I’m sure lots of people would use the time they have at home to paint things if they could get paint.

If you could have paint left at the door/gate then why not?

That approach may seem logical to you. But in reality it requires more people to leave their homes to manufacture and dispatch that non-essential paint to your door just because you're bored.

Level 4 restrictions are designed so that only necessary people leave their homes. Minimising contact isn't just about you and the courier. Before that paint gets delivered to your gate people have had to come into contact with each unnecessarily. Put yourself in their shoes. Would you be prepared to go to work to make paint, putting yourself at risk so someone who's safe at home could keep themselves busy?

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#2453620 3-Apr-2020 11:07

Geektastic:

I’m sick of living under house arrest because the government let the disease into New Zealand but we all have our crosses to bear in life.

It's barely a day over a week of lockdown ... and hardly the entirety of the governments fault. How many times have you been troubleshooting an issue thinking "it's only a minor thing .. won't take long to solve", only to have to expand in scope ? Now think of this problem many orders larger, involving many other people, organisations and other countries all looking at their own issues thinking "it's only a minor thing .. won't take long to solve".

Think you could do better in corralling all that into a plan that kills the least amount of people, tank the economy and tries to get as many stranded folks back home as it can, all while knowing not all of it is actually possible to achieve ?

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Laforet

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#2453693 3-Apr-2020 12:19

It's quite entertaining to see the definition of essential evolve so much over a couple of days. On April 1 only prebuilt PC and productivity-related peripherals were essential. However at the moment of this post (midday of April 3) all manners of computer parts are apparently essential. One store that I won't name are currently shipping gaming chairs as "essential ergonomic work aids" rather than luxury furniture.

In case this comes across as me against these word games it really isn't. My understanding of the government's intention has always been to start out strict and gradually open up small sectors of commerce so the fluctuations between supply and demand could be minimised. Most countries in lockdown still allow some delivery service for pleasure if that helps to keep people sane at home.

RunningMan

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#2453712 3-Apr-2020 12:43

Laforet:

[snip] Most countries in lockdown still allow some delivery service for pleasure if that helps to keep people sane at home.

This is probably a really key point. While there are some things available which are clearly not essential, having the odd extra thing available may actually improve overall compliance with the lockdown by alleviating boredom or improving happiness.

mattwnz

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#2453796 3-Apr-2020 14:15

I got an email today from a retailer to which basically says this

The New Zealand Government has recently provided further guidance on the essential items that can be purchased while we are at Alert Level 4. We have been given clearance to sell items classed as essential via online stores and contact centres.

antonknee

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#2453819 3-Apr-2020 14:44

Scott3:
The retailers have been left to interpret broad categories given by the government.

This puts the retailers in a tricky spot, they want to make money, and provide as much as possible to their customers, but not get told off for going to far. Clearly different brands have drawn the line in different places.

Within retailers, the inconsistency with say some phone being included by not others is likely due to staff being in a hurry, and systems not set up to automate classification.

This is essentially correct yes (work for a retailer involved in this process).

There is a balancing act between interpreting too conservatively and not selling what people need/maximising revenue and between being too liberal and copping a fine. It is being very closely managed.

It’s also very manual work (at least for us) putting the systems to support this in place. From a transactional point of view, we have to go right down to an individual item level to do it - can’t just be set for a group of items based on a category like ‘cellphones’.

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