I used to have a sign in my office that read:
Quality
Speed
Low Cost
Pick Two.
It reminded people that although you can get something quickly at a cost, it won’t be cheap. But if you want something cheap and fast, it won’t be the highest quality possible, and if you want something low cost and high quality, it takes time. Well, in retail, you have an 8 hour shift to push as much sales through as possible, and if you don’t… you are fired. Same thing goes for the warehouse. Get it in, inventory it, and get it out. You aren’t there to grammar check, or spell check, or do anything short of a cursory look over the physical security of the box in your hand, or the crate pulled out of the 40′ container. Get it done, go home, drink a beer. Rinse, and repeat. That is the typical day.
I also think people need to realize that there is a thing called a supply chain. Manufacturers sell to buyers, and retail outlets purchase from those buyers until they are big enough to purchase directly from the manufacturer. It keeps the manpower overhead lower for manufacturers so they don’t have as many cubicles. I’ve been watching this for awhile now, waiting for it to become a meme really. And it did last night. I find it funny that so many people are blaming retail outlets for purchasing counterfeit items when in likelyhood, someone has in their possession at some point, a counterfeit $20 and no one caught it. It happens. Nothing to get upset over, nothing to blame a major retailer about… at least, not yet. Wait until the investigation is done. Until then, it is a lot of people getting very upset about something that doesn’t affect them in any way unless you’ve got a bias towards said company or companies involved. Some people just don’t like getting a bad hard drive, and from that point on they are inconsolable when it comes to a store. Anyway, PCworld, Engadget, Hardware 2.0 [ZDnet's blog], and others all have the same vernacular;
Newegg sold counterfeit Core i7-920 CPUs
I understand the need for a catchy headline, but being supplied counterfeit CPUs is one thing, and that is what should be reported. I doubt that anyone will write about it again to follow up with a “Oh, we were extreme in our hyperbole, Newegg was supplied counterfeit CPUs” and people will follow up to read that. No, they won’t. Most people enjoy a good explosion but don’t really want to stick around to watch someone hosing down the dust after it settles. The inference of the headline is one of intent, that Newegg knowingly, or through incompetance, unknowingly, sold bad processors and profited from the deal. They didn’t, the suppliers may have if they don’t get caught [they will], but the suppliers to the supplier will probably never be caught or known in the United States. Again, we get back to the fact that no one really cares when the screaming stops, the movie has ended. Keep in mind, I have a site called PublicShame that I would love to have people sign up for and post their issues. I have absolutely no problem with calling out shenanigans when there are true shenanigans and you’ve got the cause truly identified. With that said.
In the immortal words of Chris Crocker, the internet celebrity best known for screaming “Leave Britney Alone”…
Leave Newegg aloooooonneee!