Trying to find clock Best answer on the web
clock. It is located at http://www.oceanuk.com . Under "Search by
category" go to "Clocks". It is the third clock down listed as
"Brushed aluminum wall clock". I've had trouble ordering from the
company or even contacting them (email links don't work). If you guys
could either find an alternate location where I could purchase this
clock OR simply figure out who the manufacturer is (they don't have
the manufacturer listed) I could do the rest. I've tried for hours
over the web with no luck. Thanks.
From the home page, exactly where is "Search by Category"?
Huntsman
Don't pick up the phone quite yet.
Ocean's web site seems to be working a little better. In the sections below are a direct link to their clock, along with a more reliable email address and other contact information and suggestions.
Thanks,
Huntsman
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Direct Link to the Clock -
Ocean's main page (http://www.oceanuk.com/index_live.htm) contains the following paragraph:
"For a short period of time we are offering a range of "Sale items" along with a selection of some of our "favourite items" on this website."
If you click on the words "favourite items", you will see a two-column scrollable list of items: the clock is in the right column about 3/4 down the list. If you click on the clock's thumbnail picture, you will see the following description of it along with a larger picture:
Ocean
BRUSHED ALUMINIUM WALL CLOCK
http://www.oceanuk.com/CGIBIN/PERLCON.PL?RANGE=LVG1101
"A really large wall clock with a brushed face and contrasting polished hands, ideal for the lounge, kitchen or office, its good looks make it a wall decoration as well as a timepiece. Battery operated (not supplied).
We are temporarily unable to confirm stock levels. If the products you have ordered are out of stock or discontinued we will advise you accordingly. Otherwise you will receive your order within 7 working days. Thank-you."
Product Code Description Retail price
ICL031 Brushed aluminium wall clock £39.95
Dia 46cm, D 4cm
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If the Clock is Discontinued -
Regarding Ocean's "out of stock/discontinued" statement in the above description, remember the old cliche, "On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog."?
Ocean certainly offers some nice products, so "dog" doesn't apply in a derogatory way. Like many Internet retailers, Ocean might be a marketing company that doesn't keep much physical inventory. They could just pass your order on to a wholesale distributor or manufacturer who then ships the item directly to you.
It's possible that Ocean's distributor may not have any more clocks, or that they are no longer manufactured. Smaller home accessories like clocks are typically made in mainland China, Hong Kong, or Taiwan, and their product lifetimes can be short.
If it turns out that Ocean no longer carries the clock, ask them for the name and contact information of the manufacturer. This could come from an instruction sheet (if Ocean has a copy in their files), or from the back of a clock (if Ocean has one hanging on their office wall).
You could then contact the manufacturer and find out if the clock is still made, and if it is distributed within the USA.
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Another Email Address -
You mentioned that you tried the following email addresses (from Ocean's Web page) without success:
webquery@oceanuk.com
all-personnel@oceanuk.com
However, Ocean has another business name that gives us something new to work with:
1. From their main page, click on the "Help" tab.
2. Scroll down to the bottom of the Help screen.
3. Click on the text link that says "contract terms".
4. The "Contract Terms" screen appears.
5. Scroll down to the bottom of the Contract terms screen.
Note the address in the following company details:
"We, ‘oceanuk.com’, are registered in England under the name of Ocean Home Shopping Limited. Our registered company number is 3043063 and our registered office is 689 Mitcham Rd, Croydon Surrey CRO 3AF."
If we also do a Google search on "Ocean Home Shopping Limited", we get a result that mentions the domain name "oceancatalogue.com".
If we take the "oceancatalogue.com" domain name and plug it into Sam Spade's "Do Stuff" field (at http://www.samspade.org/), we can find out the name and business addresses of Ocean's domain name contact person:
Sam Spade Macro
http://www.samspade.org/t/lookat?a=oceancatalogue.com
For clarity, I've edited Sam's results and posted the pertinent facts below. These domain name records were last updated on July 7, 2002: since updates are usually done by email, the new email address should be very reliable:
Registrant:
Ocean Home Shopping Ltd
689 Mitcham Rd
Croydon, Surrey CR0 3AF UK
Administrative, Billing, & Technical Contact:
Rich Theobald
Email: rich.theobald@oceancatalogue.com
Phone: 1-44 20 8664 1313
Fax: 1-44 20 8664 1314
Note that the physical address and the email's domain name match what we found earlier.
Mr. Theobald is more than likely in Ocean's information services department. In fact, he may be the entire IS department.
If you email him with an explanation and a polite plea for help, I'm sure he can give you the name and email address of someone who can check on your order. Hint: ask him for the name and email address of a Manager or Supervisor, along with an alternate name in case the first person isn't available.
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The Old Fashioned Way -
It's cheaper than a phone call, so you could always send snail mail. Here is Ocean's contact information for international customers (from the "Help" tab on their main page):
Ocean Home Shopping Ltd
Unit B, Maritime Business Park,
Campbeltown Road, Birkenhead
CH41 9HP, UK
You should also send a copy of your letter to the address given in Ocean's domain name records:
Ocean Home Shopping Ltd
689 Mitcham Rd
Croydon, Surrey
CR0 3AF, UK
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Search Terms and Google Results -
"Ocean Home Shopping Limited"
://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&q=%22Ocean+Home+Shopping+Limited%22
"oceancatalogue.+com"
://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&q=%22oceancatalogue%2E%2Bcom%22
First I noticed on the web site that no email address was listed for questions regarding an order. Only a PHONE NUMBER. Of course this would not have bothered me had I been BRITISH or living in Britain, but the thought of calling a store in Britain from the U.S. seemed pretty ridiculous for a $50 clock! So I finally found an email link on their web site that says "Website Query". I sent out an email to them explaining my situation. The email BOUNCED back to me (no such email address)...So I tried sending the email again from another email account. Again no success. I tried sending an email with the only other address from their site (regarding applying for a job at Ocean). AGAIN the email bounced back (no such address)...This absolutely ASTOUNDS me that a company that lists it's mearchandise on the web WOULD NOT have a place to contact them via email. For god's sake they could get a hotmail account for free, or a HUNDRED other free email accounts...I understand that they may be working on a new catalog, are between sales seasons, or even reorganizing their entire store. But I don't see how that could justify not having an email address that customers could contact them by! And to tell customers from other countries to call them if they have questions! Pretty audacious if you ask me...(sorry this anger isn't directed at you guys but at this store). Man, it's not the friggin 1980's....geez.
I thought I might be able to just find the same clock at another retailer. Unfortunately I don't know who manufactures the clock. I scoured the web for days looking for "aluminum clock", and just about every other search term I could think of and checked NUMBEROUS web sites. No luck. The closest clock I could find to the one at Ocean is the one that you guys located at Target. Not to sound too uptight but that clock just doesn't do it for me. I'm going for a certain look in my room and that just doesn't work (though I appreciate your effort on my behalf). In response to the last comment posted: I don't have an issue with their web site per se--only the fact that I can't contact the company via email.
So I saw your guys add and decided to give it a shot. It sounded like a very INTERESTING service. I always thought such a thing would be nice to have. After all you all know how frustrating it is to search the web! Anyway, so I thought my price of $15 would probably be CHEAPER and MUCH LESS of a hassle than a long distance phone call to the U.K.! Plus I might have to call them a COUPLE of times to see if they were having any other problems with my credit card. This could be quite a phone bill.
So in conclusion what I am looking for is either:
1--Find out the manufacturer of the clock (so I can then find a retailer or contact the manufacturer directly) 2--Find another retailer who has this clock OR
3--(Just added) Find an email address for Ocean so I can contact them WITHOUT having to call the U.K.
One of you guys already called them so I HOPE the person in question was in the U.K. at the time! Otherwise it was probably an expensive phone call. If one of you IS located in the U.K. perhaps you could do #3 (above)?
If it ends up I HAVE to call the U.K. I'll do it (though I would rather not). And of course for your guys' effort regardless you can of course charge the $15 on my credit card. I appeciated all your effort and thanks for putting up with my rambling explanation! This has been an interesting experience. Let me know if you think I'm going to have to call the company in the U.K. Thanks. --Jeff
We are temporarily unable to confirm stock levels. If the products you have ordered are out of stock or discontinued we will advise you accordingly. Otherwise you will receive your order within 7 working days.
The site seems to be up and running again though. Maybe if you try ordering it from them now it will work.
Hope this helps!
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=2-1/qid=1029525172/ref=sr_2_1/602-4230109-9893428?asin=B00005OU18
Nice price, too.
Neither the fax nor the phone numbers listed on the site appear to be working either.
Best,
Rebeccam-ga
If you're dialling from outside the UK, the number is +44 870 2426283 (you replace the + with the code you use to dial international numbers).
Ocean are an established housewares company -- I've ordered from them in the past and found them helpful and delivery quick. However, they appear to be at the end of their sale period, and between catalogues, and most of the features of the site aren't working at present (including the 'search by category', so I wasn't able to check whether the specific clock you were looking for is in stock).
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