Ebuyer
 | |
| Private | |
| Industry |
Computers Computer Hardware Software Electronics Consumer Goods Gadgets Kitchens (Sister Company Wren Kitchens) |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Founders | Paul Cusack |
| Headquarters | Howden, East Riding of Yorkshire, England |
| Products | Computer hardware, software, peripherals, gaming, electronics, accessories, DVDs and more |
| Revenue | GB£220 Million (2005) |
Number of employees | 250+(2012) |
| Website | http://www.ebuyer.com |
Ebuyer is an electronic commerce retailer based in Howden, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is the largest independent online retailer of computer and electrical goods in the United Kingdom.
The Ebuyer website is the 210th most visited site in the United Kingdom [Alexa.com ranking] and has 1.3 million registered customers. Ebuyer has a number of strategic business partnerships in place, most notably with Hewlett Packard (HP Preferred Partner 2010). Other partners include Microsoft, Toshiba, Sony and Zoostorm. Ebuyer sponsored The Kingston Communications Stadium's west stand in Hull.
History
Ebuyer was founded in November 1999 in Sheffield by Paul Cusack, Mike Naylor, Steve Kay, Neeraj Patel, and Adam Ashmore – with startup capital of £250,000 from Paul Cusack, its annual turnover was in excess of £220 million by September 2005.[1] Its current Managing Director (CEO) is Stuart Carlisle, who joined the company in August 2013.
Security
In July 2008, Gavin Brent, from Holywell in Flintshire, North Wales admitted stealing goods worth £20,000 from the firm before returning the goods, and demanding full refunds.[2] Brent, whose suspicious transactions were spotted by Ebuyer's security team, went on to conduct an online campaign against the company and the investigation. This included menacing Ebuyer staff and a police officer from Brent's now-defunct blog.[3]
Controversy
During 2005 Ebuyer had significant customer service problems. Sheffield Trading Standards received 282 complaints about the company, and the customer service phone number had been removed from its website. After this, the firm promised to improve its service, and restored the customer service number to its site. Average daily telephone wait times are published. [4]
On 28 November 2011, eBuyer ran a £1 promotion via email, offering new deals on the hour until midnight. eBuyer angered customers when their website was unable to handle the extra traffic, causing it to crash.[5] When the website did work, many customers were emailed after successfully ordering and paying for items, only to be told they were out of stock. Many customers vented their anger at the company on their Facebook page, however eBuyer ran a campaign on their customer forums in an attempt to counter the bad publicity.
In December 2013, eBuyer posted pictures to Facebook of its staff wearing Christmas themed jumpers. However, a Facebook user named Phil spotted that one of the images contained a leaderboard in the background that suggested that eBuyer staff were rated on the number of returns that they reject. eBuyer responded to these accusations by stating that these were RMAs avoided by providing technical advice. [6]
References
- ↑ "Etailers eat away at Dixons". The Guardian. 22 September 2005. Retrieved 3 March 2007.
- ↑ "Hacker admits online shop thefts". BBC. 25 July 2008. Retrieved 26 July 2008.
- ↑ "Blogger fined for 'menacing' rant". BBC. 29 April 2008. Retrieved 29 April 2008.
- ↑ "Ebuyer promises to be better". Channel Register. 21 July 2005. Retrieved 12 September 2007.
- ↑ Kunert, Paul (30 November 2011). "eBuyer £1 sale fail: Customers vent fury... on Facebook". The Channel. The Register. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
- ↑ "Ho, ho, HOLY CR*P, ebuyer! Etailer rates staff on returns REJECTED". The Channel. The Register. 24 December 2013. Retrieved 16 November 2016.