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Online sellers have become the sales method of choice for office equipment due to the fact that they can carry an inventory broad enough to fit corporate orders of the largest size.
Competition for corporate office supply orders is stiff, and it can really stretch the mind to find anything exciting about the hundreds of cookie-cutter online stores competing for corporate dollars. Most annoying are the sites that try to upsell you everything under the sun with pop-ups and so called "one time offers" when all you're looking for is a telephone. Hellodirect.com at least avoids that epithet, as it is primarily an online store for upscale office products, free of annoying upsells and pop-ups. Despite being a relatively new site, their interface looks rather dated. On a widescreen laptop all of the content appears pushed over to the left. What, they couldn't bother to set center alignment?! If making a strong first impression is part of their business model, it's not working on me so far.
At least they're not hawking post-its and staplers. Hellodirect is focused on medium to high end office electronics including:
Two alternatives to Hellodirect that deal in online business equipment sales include Tigerdirect.com and Headsetplus.com
Compared to Tigerdirect, Hellodirect does carry a wider inventory of headsets, telephones, and other office equipment, so for the targeted shopper it could appear quite attractive. Tigerdirect also does not make the instruction manuals available as a free download either. However, for those not susceptible to information overload, Tigerdirect can serve as a one-stop shop for all of an office's electronics requirements, something that Hellodirect does not even attempt to do. Tigerdirect also has a wide selection of used or refurbished equipment that makes them the better choice for offices seeking to get fitted out on a modest budget. Tigerdirect has an entire website devoted to corporate and government sales, although reviews on the quality of their customer service is mixed.
Headsetplus.com is even more targeted than Hellodirect in that they only offer office headsets and other phone related products. They do not provide free manuals or any in-house technical support. They do, however, have a large selection of FAQ's and articles related to their products, which is appealing for the buyer interested in getting a feel for the latest in headset technology. They do mention a bulk order discount, but they appear less optimized for corporate and government sales.... the best they can do online is list a tiny font message of “corporate and government sales welcome” Over a phone number, which is not exactly assuring proof of expertise.
In terms of usability, Tigerdirect ranks first. The search bar is in the top center of the page, and the drop down menus make for easy navigation. Hellodirect is second, despite the symmetric site layout, because it is simple, well organized and still easy to navigate. Headsetplus is least recommended as using it is likely to give you eyestrain, the text is so small, and you need to embark upon a quest before you actually locate the search bar.
Listed prices don’t always tell the whole story in online retail. At first glance, Hellodirect can appear overpriced next to its competitors. Hellodirect's $226.57 price for a mid-range Jabra GN 9330e headset was over $20 Cheaper at Tigerdirect for the exact same model! However, you are not likely to find much product overlap as Tigerdirect’s inventory, while substantial, doesn't measure up with Hellodirect's range in their chosen product niche. Although a corporate client seeking to outfit an entire office with a single order could probably get a bigger bulk discount with Tigerdirect.
Headset plus, however, matches Hellodirect in product scope all the way up to the most high-end CEO quality wireless conference phones. The model I searched for, the Polycom Soundstation 2W EX Wireless conference phone with 2 Microphones, was listed for $999 at Hellodirect, and for $60 less with Headset plus.
Price isn't the only thing to look for. The differences in price are close enough that extra shipping charges can still push the cost advantage the other way. Upon hitting the checkout screen as a guest buyer, Hellodirect knocked $100 (10%) off the Polycom phone. Very thoughtful indeed, thought I. Headseat plus, after REQUIRING me to fill out an interrogation form just to see the checkout screen, did not offer any discount, giving Hellodirect a $40 price advantage on a very high end piece of hardware.
The same discount was applied to the Jabra headset, bringing the price to parity with Tigerdirect.
While it was not clear to me at first why Hellodirect would list products more expensive than the competitors, in retrospect this is a wise feature for them to offer, as customers of this kind of equipment generally upgrade every few years and therefore make great repeat customers. Someone who has already bought from them is much more likely to simply click the bookmarked link rather than do comparison shopping again. And if these buyers come to expect a 10% "discount" at the end of the process, then that will make then just as likely to keep returning.
USA shipping costs were comparable across the board, ranging from $17 standard ground shipping, although express shipping was typically 40% cheaper with Hellodirect.
Hellodirect.com has mixed reviews to say the least. Past customers either swear by them or curse the day they opened for business. Some of the more positive Hellodirect reviews mention that:
"I've been purchasing work headsets from Hello Direct for 10 years, and have never been disappointed. The quality of units they stock is exceptional. The shipping response is awesome. It is a week before Christmas, and I still received my unit in 2 days. You just can't beat that. Finally, their service is nothing short of fantastic. In the past, when I used to order from their 800 number, their reps were skilled in giving advice on headsets. Now that I use the web, I don't call much. However, my latest order was supposed to come with a freebie, that I forgot to add to my web order. My fault...No problem. I called their customer service desk and they are shipping it right out. I truly love these folks.
Obviously, I highly recommend Hello Direct."
On the other end of the coin, the same review site is littered with nightmare stories like these:
"I purchased 3 products from this company over the last 3 months. The first product had problems. It was replaced by another brand that the clerk had no idea what they were talking about and it was not at all what I asked for. The 3rd shipment was a good phone, but the 2nd base had problems and kept cutting off the main base. After trying to make it work for 4 weeks and communicating with Hello Direct, I sent it back. They refused it and said I waited too long to return it. 3 days too long. Despite my attempts to make it work, rather than return it, we are squabbling over 3 days??? Sometimes businesses get too big for their britches. I will never order them again"
"BUYER BEWARE - ORDER FROM ANOTHER VENDOR
I ordered 6 phones from this company and they shipped only 1. When I contacted customer service about the issue, they said that their inventory showed the correct amount of phones and refused to send the additional phones I had paid for."
Despite the horror stories, such complaints are just as easily found regarding their competitors. The overall ratio of reviews leans towards the positive. While this reviewer is not overwhelmed by Hello direct, they do have enough worthy features to merit the consideration of a price-comparison from corporate and government buyers of high-end office equipment.. If you're just looking for a headset for personal use, you can probably do better elsewhere.
