Price matching small print

[davidc4430]

so a few days ago my sharp convection microwave died after some 20+ years of service.

so i jump on my computer to seach for a replacement, here in the sticks not a huge choice of stores, just Betta Electrical Kadina and Retravision Kadina.

found a new Sharp Convection Microwave similar to my old one on the Sharp website.

looked it up on Betta Electrical $799 in white my preferred colour.

looked on Retravisions website, they only had it in stainless finish on the website $828

looked up Harvey Norman online, they had it in white for $739, but nearest store is 2 hours drive away, or delivery $30

so i think, well all these big stores offer Price Matching these days, never used it before i'll give it a try.

Ring Betta Electrical, chap is all over me wanting to sell me the oven, until i mention price matching to Harvey Normans. then out came the excuses, we only price match locally, we cant match harvey norman, blah blah blah

pretty much what i expected really. you know, too good to be true.

big headline WE PRICE MATCH but reality is no we dont!

heres their webpage about price matching

https://www.betta.com.au/shopping/price-match-policy

notice one line :(3) Betta reserves the right not to match a competitor price that falls below our cost price

well isnt that a get out of jail free card?

so i gave the guy an angry 'well i wont be buying from you then' and hung up on him!

so i ring Retravision, thinking well they have a much less confusing Price Gaurantee,

Lowest Price Guarantee

We don’t just offer the best price, we guarantee it!

At Retravision, we’re not happy offering just an appliance price match. Instead, we offer all our customers a Lowest Price Guarantee*, which means if you can find a competitor's* lower advertised price on the same stocked item, we’ll beat it!

And together with our interest free finance options on purchases over $1500, that dream designer kitchen or home theatre can finally become a reality!

i get a lovely lady on the line, explain which model i'm after and the fact i want white not stainless, she gets on her computer and after a minute or so she comes back, yes they have one in stock in white, $811

so then i hit her with the 'will you price match Harvey Norman?

to which she says i'll have to talk to the BOSS, can i call you back.

i said fine.

about 5 minutes later she calls back (first miracle)

they will price match Betta Electricals $799

i say, wait a minute, i asked if you will price match Harvey Norman, hes got it for $739 on his website

expecting the same result as Betta i get a surprise, "i'll have to go talk to the boss again, can i call you back"

of course.

2 minutes later, she calls back again (miracle 2)

The boss says YES, we will price match Harvey Norman! (miracle 3)

so i have my new Sharp Convection Microwave and They have a customer for life (maybe)

btw, i called Betta back and let the guy know he lost a $740 sale and i will not be surprised when there is a Closed sign hanging on their door!

well thats my story of 2 companys and Price Matching

[chameleon54]

Thanks David. Interesting read and some food for thought. We are a bit the same. We only have one brand name country electrical store ( Betta Electrical ) where we live and the owners are not the most helpful. Its a bit to far from our home to pop into the city all the time.

Luckily the farm is a lot closer to Adelaide and only 20-30 minutes drive to the outer edge, big box electrical stores so I can drive the old farm ute with the dogs on the back into the city fringe when needed. I am finding I am doing this more and more as some of the country businesses need a  "rocket up em to be honest" , the local Betta Electrical electrical store being one !!! 

We have a couple of new car dealerships in town. One of those has a brand I would consider buying, but again they have a reputation for being fairly difficult to deal with. My guess is the owners get big fish in little pond syndrome. Look at us we have this well known franchise..... We're S.P.E.C.I.A.L

[springyzone]

Glad you got your price!

As you say, betta electrical had a get out of jail free card with their disclaimer, whereas retravision's guarantee was more cut & dried.

A few years back a friend & I had a good experience with Betta, where they met a competitor's price on a fridge and came down almost $100 but they did go onto the Harvey Norman website first to check my friend wasn't lying. Their delivery fee was also amazing ($15 for a delivery that was a good 25 minutes away up in the hills).

So I was impressed with Betta but then again, I'm in the suburbs of Melbourne where there is competition galore so maybe they have to shape up more down here.

Getting ideas about prices is so much easier with the internet around, isn't it! A real boon for anyone not living in a big city.

[brerrabbit585]

My local Betta Electrical (I think) is fantastic, or was when I last needed to buy an appliance.  It may have changed since I last bought but the deal used to be that whenever you buy an appliance, in the next few months they send you an invitation to a special day they have where anyone who's bought from them in the last few months is able to buy something else for the store's cost price.  In other words, you buy one item and get a second item for a heavily discounted price. 

I got the offer when I bought my washing machine and my fridge.  They delivered the fridge for something like $20 (an 80km round trip) and he took special care getting it in my front door, which was a really tight squeeze.  It was only a day or two before Christmas at the time and they made an effort to get it to me before they closed for a few days.  Everything always breaks down in late December here!  I was lucky with the fridge as I'd only just finished packing two sheep in the freezer when the fridge stopped working.

[travlyn2012]

It's good to hear that you are pleased.

Have never shopped at Betta, being in the big smoke we have a lot of choices, but I have always got a reasonable deal with Bing Lee.

One of my sons lives in a country area and needed a new wshing machine just after xmas. Went into town where they have a few stores. He got the best deal from Bing Lee. Harvey Norman was the dearest and wouldn't price match.

I haven't shopped at Hardly Normal for over 10 years. I was shopping for a TV for my daughter-in-law, waited almost 40 mins to be served while the sales guy was on the phone, 3 or 4 metres away from me. When he finished he served a person who had arrived well after me. 

I went to the main entrance area to complain about the lack of service and was told that all the departments in the store are separate franchises (  so you have a franchisee for computers, one for white goods, one for TVs & entertainment and on it goes, and sales people can only assist people in their relative department ).  I was told that I would  have to speak with the manager / franchisee  of that section. I wasnt going to wait any longer and left, and haven't been inside a Hardly Normal store since. 

[davidc4430]

i have avoided mr harvy for many years, he is my last resort seller so to speak.

but i'm quite happy to use his advertised prices for a price match LOL

back when i lived down in the big smoke we had a HN store about 20 minutes from us.

nearly every sunday in the sunday paper HN would have full page ads, with one day only specials.

i dont know how many times i got tricked into driving down there to get told 'sorry they are all sold out'

but you only just opened?

it was very limited stock.....yeah right.

i let my computer do do the searching now and i guess now i'll be testing the price matching policys out more often.

ring first, get the deal before getting out of my chair.

they should not sign up to price matching if its not going to be honored

[lyndal1838]

The biggest price matching scam that I know of is perpetrated by Bunnings.

They have items specially packed for them in package sizes that no other retailers stock....so there is nothing to compare their prices with.

I wanted a bar fridge which they had on sale with a few extra items...ice cube trays and butter containers which were not standard in the fridge stocked by other retailers.`   They were much more expensive than anywhere else.  I asked if they would price match, even if they had to remove the extra items which I did not need or want anyway.

I was told no, that was their deal and they would only price match if the other retailers had the same two items included.

They also use their own packaging for bulk nails and screws....and refuse to price match because the other hardware stores do not have the same packaging, even if they have the same sized pack.

[davidc4430]

so true, i forgot Bunnings.

i remember many years ago trying to get a price match on a power tool and struck the same thing. although the tool was identical theirs was in a slightly different box! so no price match.

these large companys yell loud in advertising 'we will price match' but some fix it so they can get out of it.

it would be interesting to know just how many companys have small print 'get out of it' clauses.

i can just say Kadina Retravision are to be aplauded.

i actually rand the kind lady who i talked to on the phone and said thank you, i think she got a bit of a shock.

but good customer service deserves advertising.

[wide-world-of-stamps]

Not only the box size - if the shop across the road is closed on Sunday they won't price match - even if you have a receipt from a couple of days ago showing the exact item at a lower price.

They rely on people needing an item in a hurry.