Caveat Emptor
Let the buyer beware. This is something that I’ve held true ever since I heard it as a youngster. Basically, if you are going to buy something, it’s up to you to make sure you are not getting screwed. You need to do the research, do the legwork, and then buy a product for a price that you are happy with.
My friend Chris Byrne and I disagree on this recent experience of his. Feel free to jump over and read it quick. But for those that don’t have the time, the short story is that Circuit City had a camera for a price online. You could buy it for that price and have it delivered, or you could pick it up at some select stores. The problem was, it wasn’t available for pickup at stores close to him. So he didn’t buy it at the time.
Out of curiosity he stopped by one of the stores, and they had it in stock for $30 less than the online price. Doing some sluething, he figured out that stores he COULD pick it up at had higher prices than the online price, and places he couldn’t pick it up had a lower price. It seems that it was programmed into the system specifically to not let you get the lower price at those stores.
Chris has a major problem with that. I, on the other hand, don’t.
I had an exchange with colleague Jon Rolling (sic) about this and he did not have the same problem with this that I did. He felt that it is incumbent on the consumer to perform due diligence and find what the best deal is and live with the results. I totally agree with this, which is why I chose to shop on-line. I was able to find what I considered to be the best deal and then make my purchase. I would not have had any reason to suspect pricing games on the part of Circuit City. Until I made some phone calls.
Here’s my first problem. Chris states that it’s up to the consumer to find the best deal, that’s why he chose to shop on-line. In this case the best deal wasn’t on-line but rather in-store. So to me, shopping online doesn’t necessarily give you the best deals. Next, he states that he was able to find what he considered to be the best deal and then make his purchase. Great, he found a price he was happy with and was willing to pay for a product. If he was shopping online, he must have checked all of the other online retailers too. So the price must have been very good. Then when he got to a store he found it $30 dollars cheaper. Instead of being happy at the prospect of saving an additional $30, he felt betrayed.
Well here’s the problem I have with that. Businesses are there to make money for their shareholders. Market price fluctuates via supply and demand so prices store-to-store and city-to-city can fluctuate dramatically. The internet has removed those barriers, so it makes it increasingly hard for businesses to make money. I guarantee you that all online retailers will have wierd price fluctuations, quirks, and downright trickery to get you to pay as much as possible for a product. That doesn’t necessarily make it right, but Circuit City is not alone in this.
The point I’m trying to make is that even though the in-store price was $30 cheaper, his online price was still lower than most out there and something he was willing to pay. So he was still getting a good deal. I don’t think it’s up to Circuit City or any retailer to raise a flag and say, HEY, IT’s CHEAPER OVER HERE.
It’s up to US to find that out. And besides, Circuit City and Best Buy and most major retailers have their 30 day price guarantee. So it’s up to you to look around during those 30 days and see if you can find a better deal. Most times you can, it’s just up to you to do it. The retailer has no responsibility to you to make sure you pay the lowest price. Because if every retailer did, they would all go out of business.
Because what Circuit City, and possibly other retailers, is doing is letting the human trait of trusting a known vendor, to extract profit unfairly from the consumers. Again this is plain wrong.
First of all, I trust NO vendor, to do so is foolish. There are some I have better experiences with than others, but there’s no trust of Best Buy or Circuit City or Comp USA. They are businesses trying to make profit. It’s up to them to get the highest profit margins possible. It’s up to ME to find the lowest prices.
And I don’t really get how this is “profitting unfairly” from the consumers. Once again, he found what he thought was the best deal online and was willing to pay that price. He could buy it at that price. AND if he drove to the store and looked for himself, he could have gotten an even better deal. No one was stopping him from doing either thing. They were just preventing in-store pickup at the cheaper stores. A little dodgy, sure. Plain wrong? No.
Once again this store has an obligation to shareholders first. If you paid $30 more online to get it (or even $80 more to buy it at one of the other area stores) then more profit goes to the shareholders. It allows the business to continue. There’s nothing inherently unethical about that.
If you’ve been a reader of this blog for any length of time, you’ll realize that I’m VERY heavy on personal responsibility. I take that to heart in pretty much everything. So, for me, it’s up to the consumer to buy the product at the price they are willing to pay. It’s up to the consumer to explore all avenues for great deals, and it’s up to the consumer to look for even better deals for the 30 days after purchase. If you do the necessary legwork, you’ll get the best deals you are comfortable with. It’s not up to any business to make that easy for me.
I can post all of this because I respect Chris and I know he respects me, and we can agree to disagree. The one thing I like, are people that are strong-willed enough to have an opinion. Chris definitely fits that description 🙂
Anyway, let us both know what you think in our comments. I do know I’m probably in the minority on this one. I’m okay with that.
**DISCLAIMER** In a previous life, I was a salesperson at Circuit City. But, be aware that I do not blindly defend them. I haven’t even shopped there in years because Best Buy has kicked their butt in my opinion. Anyway, just thought you should know. Heh.
July 26, 2005 @ 12:35 pm
Keep up that personal responsibility talk and we’ll have to find you a place in Naperville…
July 26, 2005 @ 1:25 pm
I agree in both cases… I think it’s nasty and cheesy and durnright sneaky of a company to sell something this way – but also, if you make a big purchase without shopping around or doing research, you will find this happens a lot.
Dell just had an “awesome” sale on some Inspiron laptops – $750 off. I looked into it, and they had special configurations set aside with the $750 off. Well, if I picked a regular one and did my own configuration, it was cheaper anyway. Because Dell marked UP the laptops higher to begin with before taking away $750.
I wouldn’t have known this had I not stopped and said “well, let’s see what the prices were *before* the sale, and then I’ll know how good it is.”
I agree with Chris and would feel betrayed by a company I previously really liked. I could probably also feel strongly enough about it to not shop there again. However, I agree with Grey’s assessment of personal responsibility also. It’s nobody’s fault but my own if I pay too much, and I’m not willing to take the time to price shop.
If I buy something online, I pay the monthly ISP fee. If I go to the store and buy it, I pay for gas. There’s ins and outs of both aspects.
Cheers,
Jess
July 26, 2005 @ 1:53 pm
Thanks for the comments Jess. Yeah, I guess I just come from a starting point of thinking that the company is betraying me from the get go. That way I’m never surprised. Heh.
And John, then I would have to live near all those Republicans that are “do as I say, not as I do”
*ducks*
I do like the personal responsibility angle though, no matter who espouses it.
-Grey
July 27, 2005 @ 9:03 am
Naperville… *shudder*
I agree that it seems a little shady, but as both John and I know (I also had the misfortune of having worked for The Circuit for a time — I was a manager), Circuit City is also very reactive. They actively shop the competition. So, it is likely that a nearby physical competitor carried the same camera for $30.00 cheaper and those stores dropped the price.
Is it sneaky and/or shady for them to remove those stores from the list? Probably. But I’m not surprised and I don’t think it’s anything to get excited about. My bet is the online store is programmed just to look for prices that have been changed in-store rather than by the corporate buyer, and drop those stores from the pick-up list.
Take care,
Mike
July 27, 2005 @ 9:39 am
I think Circuit City has the “right” to do what they did, but you have the right to
A. Not shop there anymore. Vote with dollars!
B. Tell everyone on the internet about it.
I had something along the same lines with Ultimate Electronics. I had a crappy situation. I asked them to help. They had no obligation to help me, in fact they probably would have lost some money. But the point is, if they helped me, I would have become a loyal customer. They didn’t, so I never went back. The Free Market works for you too. Don’t just shop for the cheapest prices, shop where they go the extra mile to take care of you.
If Circuit City pissed you off, then don’t give them your money. If they pissed you off and you still bought from them, what’s their incentive to not screw you the next time?
July 27, 2005 @ 10:05 am
Well the point that I’m trying to make is, HOW ARE THEY SCREWING YOU?
They have posted prices in store and posted prices online. If you like the price, buy it, no one is twisting your arm. Are they making it a little harder for you to find out that some stores have lower prices, well sure, but that’s hardly SCREWING you.
If you don’t get the lowest price, it’s because you srewed yourself by not finding it.
-Grey
July 30, 2005 @ 1:49 pm
Another way of looking at this… What Chris has done is find a new way for consumers to benefit! Go to the web site, find a price you like, find out which stores that price is honored at, and go to one of the other stores! In reality, Circuit City was telling us what to do all along. We just needed someone as smart as Chris to figure it out.
-rich