This isn't actually photo related... but it is photo relevant and many of us make purchases at one retailer with the understanding that a preferred more reliable, faster shipping retailer will grant a price match.
I was looking for a new audio receiver for my home. It needed a few key ingredients... decent audio quality (although I am not an audiophile), it needed a minimum of 3 hdmi imputs and a single hdmi output, and ideally I wanted hdcp 2.2 so if I upgrade to 4k in the not too distant future I wanted it to be compatible.
Finally after a few weeks/months of waiting patiently for the right receiver at the right price, Fry's has a deal on a Yamaha RX-V379BL for $218. It's normal price is around $280. Not the greatest deal ever... but it has the specs I need and it is a value as it is on sale.
The sale starts on October 6, 2015 both online and instore for Fry's. I have a past history with Fry's that I won't go into in detail... but it was in intent to never buy from them again. In brief, the last time I made a purchase at Fry's (two SLR bodies) they cancelled one order because they incorrectly assumed it was a duplicate... then they lost my credit card information and called me for a new card... then they found my credit card information and charged that... which lead to a whole other ordeal with the bank.
That may not sound like too great of a sin... but it took several hours for me to get EVERYTHING set straight... and if a retailer is going to waste my time (even accidentally)... they are no longer a retailer to me.
I like Adorama and B&H... and for whatever reason... a slight lean and predilection for Adorama... I decided I would make the purchase through them and request a price match. October 6 was a holiday, Sukkot, so I had to wait until October 7. So the morning of October 7, I opened up the Fry's page to confirm it was still priced accordingly and I then went to Adorama where I purchased the receiver @ 8:08a.m. I subsequently called their customer service department @ 8:12a.m. They were closed... so I elected to send an email as I would be at work when they opened at 9a.m. This was done @ a.m. The perteninent information in the email was included... my order number, the web address for Fry's and the receiver. I'm thinking that sending an email was my biggest mistake.
I did receive an automated response indicating that the office was closed and the customer service department would be in @ 9:30a.m. But, per the email, "Due to the expected volume of emails submitted to us, there might be a slight delay in answering your email, we will do our very best to reply as quickly as possible."
I should have called the morning of the seventh... but I didn't.
I know many of us really appreciate the quality of packaging provided by both Adorama and B&H and the promptness at which things are shipped. The receiver arrived from Adorama the following day, October 8... and I was pleased, albeit not surprised, and I didn't even have to pay for overnight shipping because I only live 3 hours away.
The afternoon of October 8, I sent an IM to Helen Oster, who we all have a great deal of affection for and inquired about the status of my price match request. After a litte back and forth, she indicated that the Fry's website for that specific page was down and possibly sold out. I should have called the morning of the seventh... but I didn't. I did still have the page up on my desktop. I took the attached screen shot, saved it as a .jpg and sent it to her via email.
She responded that she has to be able to provide a valid link (i.e., one that allows a purchase) to the Purchasing Department. I requested that she initiate a return, preferrably where I did not have to pay shipping. She is unable to do this and suggested I contact Adorama directly. And thus... I did.
Between that conversation and the morning of October 10, I hit the f5 button more that my manufacturer's warranty would prefer... but finally the morning of SATURDAY, October 10, 2015, the Fry's webmaster wakes from his drunken stupor and the page is back up. My first instinct... call Adora... and it is Saturday. Oh right, they are closed on Saturdays. October 10, 2015 is the last day of the sale. So I swallow my pride... and I try and forget that blood oath I made to myself to never shop at Fry's again... and I made the purchase of the receiver. It still hasn't shipped as of the writing of this post.
But then I think (@ midnight on October 11th)... the sale is over on the 10th... so even if the link is up, it probably won't reflect the sale price... so calling Adorama on Sunday with the link being up won't work... but I have a receipt... a proof of purchase... maybe... this will be sufficient evidence to provide. It is more than a link... it is a rudimentary contract for good and services. They can match the price, I can cancel the Fry's order... no blood (oath), no foul.
But no. I should have called the morning of the seventh... but I didn't.
I just re-read the email from Helen from the 11th... and she said, "But if you can send me a live link to the lower price on Frys - or a screen shot of the lower price - I can forward it to the Purchasing Department and request a price match."
Wait... didn't I already do that on the 8th?
So the good news is that the return is "hassle free" per the email from Adorama. The bad news is that I will be required to pay for the initial shipping to me and the subsequent shipping back to Adorama. (Per the email: Shipping charges are not refundable. Items that qualified for free shipping that are being returned for refund will have our standard shipping charges deducted from refund or credit.)
And so here I am... I preferred one retailer over another... and due to the serendipity of holidays, a sketchy unreliable website, Saturday closures, cancelled "duplicate" orders, and simply thinking that an email would suffice... I'll probably wind up paying $30 for free shipping. That's a real bite to the ass.
Addendum:
I wrote this to get my thoughts and facts down before I called Adorama customer service. I explained the above situation... and I am pleased to say they are authorizing a return and emailing me a shipping label. The presumption is that I won't have to pay anything for this little escapade... so that's a plus.
I was looking for a new audio receiver for my home. It needed a few key ingredients... decent audio quality (although I am not an audiophile), it needed a minimum of 3 hdmi imputs and a single hdmi output, and ideally I wanted hdcp 2.2 so if I upgrade to 4k in the not too distant future I wanted it to be compatible.
Finally after a few weeks/months of waiting patiently for the right receiver at the right price, Fry's has a deal on a Yamaha RX-V379BL for $218. It's normal price is around $280. Not the greatest deal ever... but it has the specs I need and it is a value as it is on sale.
The sale starts on October 6, 2015 both online and instore for Fry's. I have a past history with Fry's that I won't go into in detail... but it was in intent to never buy from them again. In brief, the last time I made a purchase at Fry's (two SLR bodies) they cancelled one order because they incorrectly assumed it was a duplicate... then they lost my credit card information and called me for a new card... then they found my credit card information and charged that... which lead to a whole other ordeal with the bank.
That may not sound like too great of a sin... but it took several hours for me to get EVERYTHING set straight... and if a retailer is going to waste my time (even accidentally)... they are no longer a retailer to me.
I like Adorama and B&H... and for whatever reason... a slight lean and predilection for Adorama... I decided I would make the purchase through them and request a price match. October 6 was a holiday, Sukkot, so I had to wait until October 7. So the morning of October 7, I opened up the Fry's page to confirm it was still priced accordingly and I then went to Adorama where I purchased the receiver @ 8:08a.m. I subsequently called their customer service department @ 8:12a.m. They were closed... so I elected to send an email as I would be at work when they opened at 9a.m. This was done @ a.m. The perteninent information in the email was included... my order number, the web address for Fry's and the receiver. I'm thinking that sending an email was my biggest mistake.
I did receive an automated response indicating that the office was closed and the customer service department would be in @ 9:30a.m. But, per the email, "Due to the expected volume of emails submitted to us, there might be a slight delay in answering your email, we will do our very best to reply as quickly as possible."
I should have called the morning of the seventh... but I didn't.
I know many of us really appreciate the quality of packaging provided by both Adorama and B&H and the promptness at which things are shipped. The receiver arrived from Adorama the following day, October 8... and I was pleased, albeit not surprised, and I didn't even have to pay for overnight shipping because I only live 3 hours away.
The afternoon of October 8, I sent an IM to Helen Oster, who we all have a great deal of affection for and inquired about the status of my price match request. After a litte back and forth, she indicated that the Fry's website for that specific page was down and possibly sold out. I should have called the morning of the seventh... but I didn't. I did still have the page up on my desktop. I took the attached screen shot, saved it as a .jpg and sent it to her via email.
She responded that she has to be able to provide a valid link (i.e., one that allows a purchase) to the Purchasing Department. I requested that she initiate a return, preferrably where I did not have to pay shipping. She is unable to do this and suggested I contact Adorama directly. And thus... I did.
Between that conversation and the morning of October 10, I hit the f5 button more that my manufacturer's warranty would prefer... but finally the morning of SATURDAY, October 10, 2015, the Fry's webmaster wakes from his drunken stupor and the page is back up. My first instinct... call Adora... and it is Saturday. Oh right, they are closed on Saturdays. October 10, 2015 is the last day of the sale. So I swallow my pride... and I try and forget that blood oath I made to myself to never shop at Fry's again... and I made the purchase of the receiver. It still hasn't shipped as of the writing of this post.
But then I think (@ midnight on October 11th)... the sale is over on the 10th... so even if the link is up, it probably won't reflect the sale price... so calling Adorama on Sunday with the link being up won't work... but I have a receipt... a proof of purchase... maybe... this will be sufficient evidence to provide. It is more than a link... it is a rudimentary contract for good and services. They can match the price, I can cancel the Fry's order... no blood (oath), no foul.
But no. I should have called the morning of the seventh... but I didn't.
I just re-read the email from Helen from the 11th... and she said, "But if you can send me a live link to the lower price on Frys - or a screen shot of the lower price - I can forward it to the Purchasing Department and request a price match."
Wait... didn't I already do that on the 8th?
So the good news is that the return is "hassle free" per the email from Adorama. The bad news is that I will be required to pay for the initial shipping to me and the subsequent shipping back to Adorama. (Per the email: Shipping charges are not refundable. Items that qualified for free shipping that are being returned for refund will have our standard shipping charges deducted from refund or credit.)
And so here I am... I preferred one retailer over another... and due to the serendipity of holidays, a sketchy unreliable website, Saturday closures, cancelled "duplicate" orders, and simply thinking that an email would suffice... I'll probably wind up paying $30 for free shipping. That's a real bite to the ass.
Addendum:
I wrote this to get my thoughts and facts down before I called Adorama customer service. I explained the above situation... and I am pleased to say they are authorizing a return and emailing me a shipping label. The presumption is that I won't have to pay anything for this little escapade... so that's a plus.
