Henry,
Thank you for participating in the discussion.
No one disagrees with your reasons.
Yes, competitors could start to tell people the Adorama waiting list is over 4,000 last they heard (just an example) so if you place an order with Adorama there will be 4,000 people in line ahead of you and therefore you should place an order with us since we only have 300 people (just an example) in line ahead of you. We all agree it is to Adorama's advantage for your competitors not to know this about your business and use it against you or to use order date, wait list number and delivery date to extrapolate approximately how many D800s Nikon delivered to you last month. But all that is solely for Adorama's benefit, none of it is for the benefit of the customer.
Yes, the wait list will always change every time you fill an order. No one has ever thought otherwise. Being in a queue that doesn't constantly get shorter would be pointless, wouldn't? It is not "meaningless" to see the queue change, it is a positive thing to know.
Yes, knowing you are #107 doesn't tell you that you will get your camera next week or next month. But being told you are #5,107 from the last order that was filled does tell you some useful information a customer can act upon by starting the search for that camera elsewhere.
Henry, the only valid point you make which is not just an excuse for putting Adorama's self-interest ahead of that of its customers is the inference that Nikon has an agreement with Adorama not to disclose exactly how many D800s Nikon has shipped to Adorama this month. Is that what you mean by a "non-disclosure" agreement? I can see how Nikon may want all of its vendors to not stir up trouble by letting any other vendor know how many of a scarce item Nikon sent them this last month. But no one has been asking for those numbers. A customer's place in the D800 line is not the number of D800 camera's Nikon sent you last month. I find it hard to believe Nikon prohibits you from telling people how many other people are ahead of them in the wait line. It still seems to me you are just placing Adorama's self-interest in keeping people from looking elsewhere before you make the sale to them ahead of your customer's interest in knowing if they are #7 or #107, or #507 or #1,107 or number #5,107 in line from the last order you just filled.
I understand it would be a pain to send e-mails to all each week informing them of their constantly changing position in the queue. No one has asked you to do that either. But that information is easily available on a computer somewhere in your offices and for those who call in or e-mail you it could easily be looked up and told to them. It seems the only burden this would place on you is if you had something like 5,000 people in the queue and if even 10% called to check you would become overburdened by 500 phone calls. But then, if that is the situation don't customers have a right to know that?
No one here expects to get their camera any faster if they complain.
No one here expects you to ship what you do not have.
But, for those few people for whom a month, two month, three month, four month or six month wait may cause a hardship, it is reasonable for them to want to know how many people are ahead of them in the line so they can decide whether to keep waiting or to see if they can find one on the shelf elsewhere, such as the few people who have happened to find them at Best Buy.
I am sure some here are satisfied by the reasons you have stated for your policy.
But some here also see Adorama placing its self-interest ahead of your customer's best interests as the main reason for your policy and you are being confronted with it.
That is all. No mean-spirited harm intended. You are entitled to place your own self-interest ahead of the customers if that is how you want to run your business and if someone is #5,107 on the wait list when he or she foolishly thinks they are #7 well, that is just too bad sucker!
