Zap are really providing a great price-comparing service, I use it all the time.

But of course this is Israel, so I always wondered whether the store reviews are real. I'm sure every online store out there, would log on and post 500 favourable reviews of themselves, if they could. Can they?

Hearing some awful user-experiences from people I know, and having purchased some stuff online myself, I wanted to help fellow customers and also share the love for places of business that are doing a great job. So I decided to post some store reviews on Zap. Turns out they have a Stalinist review regime over there. Guess they figured the Israeli head out too. You must provide a digitally scanned copy of your purchase receipt in order for them to post your review of a store!

I don't own a scanner, and who does anyway? Like I'm going to look for a scanner somewhere, go there, remember I don't have the receipt, go back home, find the receipt, go to the place with the scanner, scan the receipt and email it to Zap just so I can review an online shop. I don't have that much love to share. Not to a website, for sure.

Now they're obviously in a dilemma: they want the user-generated content, and they can loosen the controls so it'll be easy to post a review, but then the info will be very unreliable (that may work in Norway, not here). Or they can make you go through hell so that almost no one will post reviews, but the small amount of data that's available is very trustable. They went for the latter.

But I still want to help you out with your online shopping (and you already know I'm very trustworthy) so I'm going to put up some short reviews for google to index:

The Official and Unbiased pashabitz.com Online Stores in Israel Reviews

a) e-net - ordered a Nokia phone, received in two days, no problems at all. "Totally Happy" on the Bitz-scale.

b) Mardanit - ordered a memory chip for a PC, same thing - delivered in two days, no problems. "Totally Happy".

c) Yarden PC - a graphics card for a PC. Fast delivery, no problems. "Totally Happy".

d) Master PC - an LCD screen. Had a few time-wasting phone calls with their orders department. For some reasong they were having problems with my credit card (listen, my credit is respected worldwide, don't be thinking nothing funny). But then after 3 or 4 days the screen got delivered as should. "Just Happy" on the Bitz-scale.

e) Photofilm - bought a compact flash memory card. Arrived in two days. No problem. "Totally Happy".

And remember: the spin stops right here.