One good thing about reviewing electronic products is that if they don't work, you just call the PR people. Help is at hand almost immediately.
It is not always so if you buy the product. The call to the customer care will ask you to take the product to the service centre (if the product is portable). Many companies have just a few centres and seem to take extra effort to put them in inaccessible places.
The ordeal starts once you enter the ‘service' (they should call it by some other name) centre. You are looked upon as someone who has come there specifically to disturb the staff. If you find someone even with a hint of a smile, you can consider yourself lucky. You are driven out as early as possible with an assurance that you “will be informed” about the status, which never happens.
By the time you manage to scrap some information about the ‘status', you are half-exhausted. After several phone calls and visits to the service centre, they decide they have had enough fun making you run around and deign to give back your product. By now, you are happy just to get the product back, whether it functions or not.
It's another thing when you buy from Web sites. Most of us don't know whom to contact if the product is not up to the mark or defective. We don't make any effort to keep abreast of the feedback/support process. Many sites discover newer ways to hide them. It is important you take some effort to find out the support details from the site before you buy that gadget.
There are some who are ready to take the risk of buying online and are prepared for the long haul if something goes wrong. If you are not, it is better to go to some brick-and-mortar outlet you know that will help you in case of problems.
It doesn't mean you can't trust online traders. Many of them have a transparent and easy support process. In eBay, if you use PaisaPay, eBay takes the pain to contact the seller in case of problems. Flipkart also takes efforts to call you and inform you if the delivery of the product is going to be delayed or if it is out of stock.
Whether you buy a gadget online or at a brick-and-mortar shop, first check out the service/support system in place.