Almost 2 months ago I ordered some code 250 Aristo 5’ flex track from one of the online vendors who have a shop in Illinois and Las Vegas as well. The price when I ordered it was defiinitely decent, but when I called today to check the status, as luck would have it, they ‘just got it in yesterday’. I then checked on the price, and it was 60 dollars more for a box of 12 than when I ordered it, and they weren’t budging, even though my order data was available. Has it gotten so bad that even the large retailers are resorting to this?
Don, They probably know you have no other alternative.
Did you prepay this? Check around, this is why I wont buy anything online unless its in stock, if they have to back order it I just OK I’ll call you back when its in, otherwise risk such things, I personally believe if they took your order at price X they should honor that price, even if they say the price will be at the higher level on your next purchase at least they were good to their word when they took that order.
Don Pearson said:What counts as the "it" that has gotten bad?
Has it gotten so bad that even the large retailers are resorting to this?
With the way economies and currencies are going lately their cost to get that box may well have gone up at least 30 to 40 dollars. And they’ve got their bills and employees to pay.
A lot of catalogs and advertisements carry the note that “Prices are subject to change without notice” because of the way those economic things and relative currency values change.
With the value of the US dollar dropping on account of all the government borrowing and bailout money printing I am not at all surprised.
The original post does not say that the order was paid in advance, so I’m saying these things based on the conclusion that it was not.
Forrest,
I agree with most of what you say, but … should this famous nursery (or any other retailer) advertise a product at a very attractive price, take all the orders they’re bound to get, then charge a considerably higher price because of “increased current wholesale prices”? I think not. If they cannot honor the original price, they should not take the order. At the very least they should warn the customer that if the item is back ordered the price will likely be more when it ships. That gives the customer the opportunity to continue shopping for the best price. It’s in everyone’s best interest when retailers operate in a way that avoids the impression that they are apt to take unfair advantage of their customers.
The point is that this customer feels that he’s been poorly treated. It doesn’t matter weather it’s true or not. As long as he thinks he has, he will not trust this retailer again … everyone loses.
Walt
Pre-Ordered Thomas from Trainworld…for $189…hang on a min, lemmie just paste the email I sent them upon receiving the Thomas set:
Quote:
. . Hi Trainworld,just wanted to share with you my thanks for a Great transaction with your company. When Bachmann announced the release of the new LS Thomas set, I immediately set out to find who was taking pre-orders…As usual I started at the TW site and found you had the product listed for $189. I called and placed my name on the list. Over time my credit card expired and I called back in, hoping to keep my place in line and snag the set at the lowest price I had found to that point. Customer Service rep; Kim helped me on the phone, and not only did she update my CC info, she also went through the entire order and reviewed my billing address, which had changed and may have caused a billing/purchase issue. She also verified my mailing address and even confirmed my e-mail preferences. She was a Doll on the phone and I felt she should be recognized for the great job in customer service she provided-an excellent representative of the Trainworld company.
My order arrived a few days later, all there and ready to go for Christmas at the reserved price with a fair shipping charge to boot!
Thanks again for your great service and I look forward to shopping with you again!
Merry Christmas
.
.
.
They took a credit card reserved order at a lower than now advertised price and honored it, Nice!
sorry for your troubles,
cale
Honestly, most of the online LS retailers have very poor web-sites.
Few of them have real time inventory. Some list every item cataloged, with out any indication of what is in stock.
It is a good idea to make a phone call and make sure what you want is in stock.
Ridge Road Station’s web site is generally accurate as far as inventory. Most of the others are not.
If a retailer did not honor the price at the time the order was taken…I would return the merchandise or cancel the order if not yet shipped.
Time to send these yahoos a message.
Ralph
I cancelled the order immediately. It’s not even about the money or I would choose another hobby, its about integrity. Why did I need to call to find out it arrived the day before? What are the odds of that after 2 months? I have enough track for a fair sized layout, but considered another box for expansion later on. I can get along without it just fine, and can get along with another vendor with business ethics even better.
Receiving something shipped from California to Las Vegas and sending it right back out the door is not rocket science, and an additional 60 bones tacked on to the back end is exhorbitant at best. I am not messed up about a guy making a living, but the end result is a no brainer; they have gotten my last business.
This does not even remotely effect my progress now or later on, so no big deal, but the way it was handled on their end was pretty sad.
Don Pearson said:It's not only the LS Vendors that screw you. My wife has turned into a tv order junkie. She'll see some crap on tv and has to have it. I end up going to the dot com site she has written down and order the widgets by giving them my debit card number and then the fun begins. They like to place you on a rebilling system where you get the widgets each month and they automaticaly rebill your debit card month after month. You go online or call them to cancel and most often they delay this until they send more widgets and rebill your card again. Ok--the widgets you thought you had cancelled show up via USPS or UPS so you call their customer service to return the widgets to get your money back and you end up eating the shipping costs to ship them back.
Almost 2 months ago I ordered some code 250 Aristo 5' flex track from one of the online vendors who have a shop in Illinois and Las Vegas as well. The price when I ordered it was defiinitely decent, but when I called today to check the status, as luck would have it, they 'just got it in yesterday'. I then checked on the price, and it was 60 dollars more for a box of 12 than when I ordered it, and they weren't budging, even though my order data was available. Has it gotten so bad that even the large retailers are resorting to this?
I quit ordering for her from the automatic rebill companies and that really caused some tension around here for a while but thats just tuff sh** 
Then you have the companies that don’t rebill but still screw you. Last example is the people that sell those Snuggies. Back in Sept I placed an order online for my wife for a bunch of snuggies for her and the dogs. They kept delaying the shipping date and I finally cancelled the order because we found that a lot of brick and motor stores here locally sell them. I check my checking account daily on line and a few days ago I found that my snuggie order had all of a sudden been posted to my account. I call their customer service at the 800 number and the gal says it’s to late to cancel as its now been shipped. She assured me though that once the snuggies arrive I just have to use the prepaid label in the box to ship them back and get my money back. OK I say.
Yesterday the box arrives with no return label in the box. OK-I call the 800 number again and all I can get is one of them robots that talk and take you from option to option with finally an option to talk to a live person. That option gives you an 888 number to call which I did. After about eight minutes on hold I get a live guy who says he will mail me a return label with an authorization number on it. OK I say and I also say that the gal I spoke with a few days ago said the return postage is on them. No NO he says—they don’t do that. I have to pay to ship the crap back. NO matter how I ranted, raved and cussed he kept his composure and refused to pay the return shipping costs.
Depending on what it’s going to cost me I’ll either just eat it or make an issue of it.
Now a days with the convenience of the internet and online banking and instant money transfers (which I like) their are too many instances of screw the customer.
I have learned though that before buying this as seen on tv crap on the internet that a lot of local stores sell the as seen stuff with out all the drama.
I have gotten to where I deal mostly with the smaller busineses and I talk to the owner along the way. A good example. I emailed with the owner of Colorado Model Structures this week and bought several things from him. The day after I purchased it my cell phone rang and the owner called to confirm our address and let me know he was getting ready to mail the order. That’s service. I also buy most of my trains from Upland Trains where I can see what I’m buying. I have gotten to know him and his dad personally. The same goes for Ozark Miniatures. They are all on the interet.
Recently I saw rolling stock on the internet I liked. I sent a note to confirm the car was in stock. They never bothered to answer my email. I won’t be buying there.
There are scams on the internet but there is a lot of good businesses too.
Doug Arnold said:That there are: Champ Decals (HO & O), Accurail (HO), and Hartland Locomotive Works (G), being 3 which I've communicated with and ordered from in the last few months. A couple times each.
... there is a lot of good businesses too.
Good people. Good service. I’m impressed.
Bait and Switch?
Yes!
-Brian
Yup bait dem retailers, and then get out yer big switch and switch em until they turn dem selves around LOL Regal
Rudolf Jager said:
......I have learned though that before buying this as seen on tv crap on the internet that a lot of local stores sell the as seen stuff with out all the drama.
There’s nothing like a well informed consumer! Let the rest learn the hard way!
Several weeks ago my wife received a set of six DVD’s (invoiced for $72.00) from a well-known company that markets a monthly condensed digest of stories along with numerous other publications. She did not order the set nor has she purchased the little monthly digest magazine for many, many years (no interest in historical/travel DVD’s). After a prolonged harangue with a person in a foreign country with a strange twist on the English language, I received a reply paid address to return the unsolicited items. Items were returned. Under our law, unsolicited packages are regarded as legally defined ‘gifts’. This is to stop rogue sellers posting items to potential customers and then billing them. The DVD’s were not ordered but to keep them, which is legal unsder our law, would result in a credit black listing for a minimum five years, plus to be removed would cost a minimum $20.00 just to receive the information from the credit blacklisting company. A week later, received three letters stating that my wife was no longer on the company’s mailing list (pigs can fly too!).
Sure enough, last week another set of six DVD’s arrived. Once again a heated conversation with a call-centre operator in another country with English not their native language. Received a reply paid address and returned the items (five kilometre round trip to walk to the post office). Once again assured that my wife was no longer on the mailing list. Company representative stated that no DVD’s would be sent unless ordered by the person on the invoice. End result is that we will receive the entire DVD collection, over the next many months, since the company pre addresses all DVD offers before the first set is sent to the customer. This will result in intense aggravation every time an unsolicitted package arrives. It is our responsibility to ensure the items are sent back to the company. If a set is not returned, we are automatically billed for each missing set not returned, at $72.00 a set.
Last time that I purchased from this company was over thirty years ago. Do you think that my wife or I would ever again purchase items from this company? The companies marketting actions are nothing but intimidatory and predatory.
Hmmm Tim and how would they invoice you? Do you guys have such an institution as small claims court? Turn the tables on them and sue the bastards in small claims court for the time and effort spent! BTW can’t you just refuse delivery or clearly mark " Return to sender" and leave it for the postie to pick up? PS got an email the other day with the latest routine of credit card scam. The caller - from the issuing institution - apparently has all the info required except the three digits of the security code which they “need” to confirm that my credit card is actually in my possession. Noooooooo problemo … my security code is “666” and I’ll be having a hellishly fine time when they’ll question the validity!
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HJ,
as is most likely the case in other countries, quasi-government and semi-government organisations, compile lists of ratepayers, customers, etc, and sell on this information to commercial marketting organisations, telemarketters, etc. In our case the invoice is included in the unsolicitted ‘gift’ sent to us. As I stated earlier, big companies are predatory and intimidatory and to refuse to comply with their invoices would necessitate legal action to clear up any credit black listing that results. No matter how much ‘right’ we have on our side, right to privacy, truth and righteousness are always casualties under law.
Our only defence is that we did not order the goods. We have no proof that we did not order, only our word. The companies response will be that they would never send expensive items unless they had a firm order. The company representative, in the last telephone conversation, stated that an order had been made on the goods by my wife (no proof provided by the company). My wife's response was that she made no such order and has no interest whatever in the material sent to us.
A strange sideline is that although my wife is now supposedly removed from the companies mailing lists, they still reserve the 'right' to send us material relating to upcoming releases, six to eight times a year.Tim Brien said:
HJ, (snip) Our only defence is that we did not order the goods. We have no proof that we did not order, only our word. The companies response will be that they would never send expensive items unless they had a firm order. The company representative, in the last telephone conversation, stated that an order had been made on the goods by my wife (no proof provided by the company). My wife's response was that she made no such order and has no interest whatever in the material sent to us.A strange sideline is that although my wife is now supposedly removed from the companies mailing lists, they still reserve the 'right' to send us material relating to upcoming releases, six to eight times a year.</blockquote>Some companies that sell books, compact disks and tapes automatically send shipments to their subscribers. This is called a “negative option.” You have to say “no,” or you’ll get a shipment - and a bill - automatically. While I am not sure how laws in Oz may differ from US, negative option plans are legal over here, but state and federal laws regulate them. The laws require companies to obtain your consent before sending you merchandise. A company cannot send you a solicitation and assume you want to participate simply because you never responded. If it does, the merchandise you receive is considered unsolicited - and therefore yours to keep.
The more important burden here is the company’s - do they have bonafide proof that you wife did order the merchandise or consented to receiving it? Of course you have no proof that you did not order anything. No one has proof of everything they never ordered (that list would be essentially infinite).
Al,
‘negative option’ is not legal here. One has to sign up and consent to receive goods. However, like mobile phone ring tone ‘subscription’ plans, one may not even be aware that they have given consent.
In our case no consent was given. The items sent are of no interest to either of us and were not ordered.Inform them IN WRITING that you did NOT order it, therefore they sent it to you unsolicited… and since they won’t take it back… that you appreciate their free gift. Save a ‘carbon’ for your records.
Either you’ll get a prepaid return label really fast, or you can cheerfully toss every bill they send you. If they report it to the credit bureaus, send the credit people a copy of your carbon and and demand it be removed.