This notice is specifically addressing Walmart, but can apply to all other sites acting "funny". This also applies to all forms of alerts: email, RSS, and Desktop Alerts.
I just wanted to address all Zhu Zhu Pets seekers of the seemingly inaccurate inventory status of Walmart.com.
There are no issues on NowInStock.net's end. So, why does NowInStock.net lie to you? We don't! So why do you still receive alerts that say Zhu Zhu Pets are in stock and when you go to the site they are Out of Stock? Here is where we get a little more complex...
First, Walmart's inventory management system is not the most profound or at least it doesn't always act like it. They are lagging in the online world, just as other sites are. They are not Amazon when it comes to inventory management. They are more in the arena of Toys R Us, Sears and Kmart. These specific sites (Walmart, TRU, Sears, Kmart) all do the same thing... maybe they all use the same inventory system?
Second, when we send alerts, it is because we see inventory showing "In Stock". Mind you, we do not know how much stock is available. As a result, they might only have 3 units available. If those 3 units sell out to the first 3 visitors, then it shows out of stock again. Why would they only have 3 units? Maybe they get cancels which are pushed into the system randomly only to sell out as soon as they return, or maybe they just get really small shipments. We do not really know. Our best advice when you get one of these alerts is stay on the product page for that item and keep refreshing (Press the F5 button on your keyboard) the page, you might get lucky. It has happened many times before.
We do know that everyday we get closer to Christmas... more and more people will be looking for Zhu Zhu Pets. If you started looking for them after the middle of October you are late. There was a time when these pets were in stock much more frequently and with much more volume.
When they do have large inventory you will more than likely know, because you will see it in our history by the amount of time they were in stock. Remember though, our spiders only hit Walmart every so many minutes. Not seconds. So, when we see stock, we show it as in stock until the next spider trip which is minutes away. If Walmart was a little more advanced, such as Amazon, we could be more accurate. But currently they are not, so we all need to just maintain our composure and hope for the best.
So what should you do about it? Please, do NOT get frustrated. Please, do NOT blame NowInStock.net. If NowInStock.net is ever wrong, we are willing to admit it. In fact, we are proactive to admit our errors. Spidering is not a perfect process for certain. Web sites change their code all the time, and we have to too. However, we have been doing this for years and are pretty darn good at it. That said, our spiders have not been wrong with Walmart for quite some time.
We have always said, and continue to stand by our motto, that we are not a replacement, but rather an extension to you getting the item you are looking for. If you feel yourself getting overly depressed because your hopes keep getting crushed, then by all means please unsubscribe from the alerts. We are not here to make anyone depressed; our goal is quite the opposite. If you are completely frustrated with Walmart results, then just turn them off in your account and go with the other stores that are more reliable. Simple.
NowInStock.net continues to work hard for our users, so please be optimistic, heed the advice above, and you will find what you are looking for, hopefully with the help of our site.
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