IN STOCK SOLAR AT THE OTHER DEALERS

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN ?
 

" In stock solar " what does that mean exactly ? When a merchant places the words "In Stock" next to an item, you would think that it meant that they have the item on a shelf in their showroom or in their warehouse right now, not "we're expecting it in the next couple of days." I mean that would make sense wouldn't it ? Well you would think so, but for a long time now that has not been the case for many solar dealers.

Sure there is a massive shortage of solar panels, but why do these dealers continue to advertise that they have particular solar panels in stock when they don't. Sure inventory comes and goes, but it only takes seconds to changes a web page when a dealer runs out. Most of the items that these dealers are advertising as in stock are not expected from the manufacturers for months, some panels won't be available till the middle of 2006. Yet these dealers for some reason continue to advertise that they're in stock.

Every once in a while, we'll call one of these dealers up pretending to be a customer and will ask about the item that their web site claims is in stock just to get a good laugh from the excuses that we hear. For instance one dealer told us that he didn't actually have the "in stock" item in stock but was expecting it soon. He went on to say that if we wanted to get in line for the product, he would have to charge my credit card in advance. Get in line and charge my credit card, give me a break ! Why would they need to charge my credit card ? Are they having cash flow problem ? The distressing thing was that I knew for a fact that the item in question wasn't going to be available to any dealer anywhere till June or July, yet this dealer wanted to run my credit card in January. Another dealer in the Solar Biz  stated " Oh you can't go by what's on the website" when asked about her in stock solar panels.

We get calls almost daily from customers have had their credit cards charged by other dealers months ago that still do not have their product ! What's wrong with just providing your credit card number but not having the card run until the product shows up ???

Never let a dealer charge your credit card for something that he does not have in stock, unless you are placing a special order.

It's the oldest game in the book !

Our pet peeve is shopping carts !  Especially the ones that don't mention anything about whether or not a product is in stock before you place your order. You would think that these dealers would program their shopping carts to give you an error message when you're trying to order something that's out of stock. But nooooo !  the shopping cart will take your order, your personal information and your credit card number despite the fact that the item that you've ordered may not be in till next year ! Try to figure that one out ! 

If you'd like to know whether or not you're about to deal with one of the scam websites and have decided to place an order with a dealer that uses a shopping cart, try this little experiment first. Take the shopping cart transaction right up to the point where you have to enter your credit card information, then stop.

Call the dealer and ask him if he has the item in stock ready for shipment. Even go as far as asking him when the item will actually ship. If the dealer tells you that the item is out of stock or that it will be a while before it ships, then you'll know that you've run into one of these types of dealers who is only interested in your credit card number and personal information. Go back to the shopping cart and cancel the process by simply closing the website window and steer clear from the dealer in the future.