Tweet
Following on from my blog entry titled: [URL="http://dpnow.com/forum2/blog.php?b=71"]Are UK retailers their own worst enemy?[/URL] here is some practical evidence to substantiate my complaint.
I needed a mini HDMI to standard HDMI lead in order to connect a HD-enabled camera to a TV. I decided a 3m long one would be best for my purposes.
PC World's web site offers you a choice of - 1, and even then page doesn't tell you how long the cable is. Even worse, the price is an eye-watering �25, with almost �5 postage on top, although you can avoid that by collecting from your local PC World store.
Yesterday, I ordered on eBay exactly the product I wanted, I had a choice of suppliers and, and my purchase arrived this morning; cost including 1st class postage, �6.50. I could have had a similar deal from [URL="http://temp.dpnow.com/ads2/www/delivery/ck.php?oaparams=2__bannerid=169__zoneid=43__cb=eff6750d78__maxdest=http://dpnow.com/store-uk.html"]Amazon[/URL].
So just how can PC World justify stocking outlandishly priced accessories? And how can that inspire me to shop with them in the future?
Are you listening retailers out there?
A few minutes after the order had been submitted THEY cancelled it, claiming they were "out of stock" and that the new stock would be in soon but costing �400 MORE than the one just ordered (and still advertised on their website at a considerably lower price).
So I got on the phone in less than a heartbeat and pointed out
a) the payment was cleared and already going through.
b) they DID have it in stock as an assistant had opened the box a few minutes earlier to confirm the contents.
The upshot was that the person I spoke to confirmed there were FOUR left in stock and she hadn't a clue why my order had been cancelled. I held on whilst she went to investigate and was told she would personally correct the confusion and my lens would arrive tomorrow by special delivery.
She phoned me a few minutes ago to reassure me the lens was on its way and that she'd overseen the packaging and despatch personally. That same website is now selling the lens at �410 more than I paid for it and, after I metioned that, she told me I was lucky to get the last one at the price I paid for it.
Now I can't help wondering if that could have been due to the fact that a few websites were offering the lens at approx �560 - �650 but the bigdealers were selling it at upwards of �920!
So EVERY retailer is now selling it at �900+ and those few remaining that are advertised at a lower price are suddenly claiming they're "out of stock but getting more in soon" with price to be announced.
I won't mention the name of the retailer I dealt with at least until my lens arrives safely and I've made sure the correct price was deducted from my account. I'm very glad I phoned and chased them up about the sudden 'cancelled' status of the order though other wise I'd have had to pay at least �410 more for the lens than I have done.
So how can a lens suddenly go up in price by at least �400 right across the board within just a few minutes? That's price fixing in my book!
Pol