Tricks at Checkout = Bad Branding

ordered from a popular online printer this week and was amazed at how slick they tried to be as i placed a simple order. first, they tried twice to trick me into signing up for a newsletter (even after i clicked i didn’t want it at first). second, they slammed me with three pages of upsell products from ‘partners’ and gave me no opportunity to opt out to complete my transaction (only got a ‘next’ button). third, they tried to sign me up for a magazine subscription (who buys those any more?). lastly, they tried to add an item to my cart after i went through paypal to pay for the order (offering ‘accept with notepads’ or ‘accept without notepads’ button). WTF?! companies need to realize that this is hugely detrimental to their brand and does not instill confidence in their business model. developers – steer your clients away from these practices!