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Newegg .com breaks from the frequent practice of electronics and technology retailers who offer an extensive inventory, feigning depth and availability of product. Often those other retailers order the item from the supplier only after the customer places an order. As anyone who's experienced this practice knows, the benefit is all on the side of the merchant, not the customer. They've got the customer's money, and those other merchants have checked "fulfillment" of the order off their list. But the customer is left waiting, and waiting, and waiting.

Newegg.com knows that its customers start watching the clock as soon as they place an order. So the company commits to delivery reliability. If you can place an order for an item on its site, you're guaranteed that it is on its way to you. This contrasts greatly with many online computer and electronics retailers who continue to take orders just to collect revenue and then put customers into a back-order waiting game.Taking a customer's money without knowing when they can deliver is something Newegg.com just won't do.

Since its first order was placed in 2001, Newegg.com has grown to 11 million registered customers. And it's not just because of its inventory; the Newegg experience is about reliability, commitment, and community. An average of 600,000 daily visitors goes to the website to chat with the swarming masses of folks on its boards, but they also go there to place orders. Newegg.com ships more than 40,000 orders a day. Their customers can count on Newegg.com, so they stick with the company.

Most important, customers show their love with sales. The second largest online-only retailer in the United States, in 2009 Newegg.com sold approximately $2.3 billion of products. In 2011 Newegg.com once again received the "Best Overall Online Store to Buy Tech" in Computer Shopper magazine's "2011 Shopper's Choice Awards." Named among the top 10 retailers for customer service by the National Retail Federation in 2010, customer love fuels Newegg.com's growth. "Just try them once," says one loyal fan. "It just feels better to buy from a good company."

Newegg.com won't mislead customers about stock and won't take customers' orders or payment for products that can't ship immediately.

• Are you as quick to fulfill orders as your customers expect and deserve?


• Do your customers always know when your products and services will be available--and when they will not?

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About the Author: Jeanne Bliss is owner of Customer Bliss, cofounder of the Customer Experience Professionals Association, and author of I Love You More Than My Dog.