I called to complain but the woman I talked to obviously didn't have a clue how the issue happened or what to tell me. I sent an email as well but that resulted in a long winded form letter response that attempted to justify the reasons for what happened but I still think it's just plain wrong of Future Shop to just raise their prices on an item for no other reason than supply and demand. The item wasn't on sale and then bumped back to the regular price....they just raised the regular price.
Here's the note I sent which explains what I'm upset about.
"I printed off the page listing for the Acer One 11.6" (AO722-0465) last night with a price of $349.99 and intended to buy it online today. When I went to purchase it Tuesday morning it was listed at $399.99, up $50 in less than 10 hours. It wasn't listed as being on sale so you've jacked up the price. What gives? How can you justify the price increase? How can I get it at the previously listed lower price? Please explain this. I was prepared to buy it but feel like I'm being scammed by your company now."
If nothing else I felt better by venting but this to me seems like sneaky blatant price gouging. The new before taxes price is higher than what it would have been with tax before the price jump. There's no way the laptop suddenly increased in value overnight.
I realize I'm only one person and losing my little sale doesn't mean much to a big company like Future Shop but I have spent a lot of money over the years in their stores and I'm pretty sure I won't be again any time soon. I think I'll give the local small store retailers a look from now on.
Just to update...
ReplyDeleteIt would seem my complaints were finally heard and I have to commend the powers that be at Future Shop for eventually doing the right thing by offering me a $50 discount on the laptop as it was originally listed for.
They have restored my faith in their company and maybe they'll revisit their policy and give it another look after this.
As it turned out, I didn't need the discount after all. I was told the laptop was going to go down even further in price and when it did I picked it up. So thanks again to Laura at the Future Shop Community Forum for taking care of me. While I still don't understand the thinking behind the policy, I'm at least satisfied that I felt they did their best to satisfy me.
ReplyDeleteFor anyone else interested in the Acer Aspire One 11.6" Netbook, I can tell you in my limited use so far, it is a rather robust little piece of technology. Speedy with the 4 GB of RAM and a nice display.
My only two real complaints so far is the amount of "bloatware" that comes pre-installed on the Acer products. I realize it's another way they make money as a company but for their customers it's just annoying. I spent the good part of the evening uninstalling and removing the included trial software and links to crap I have no interest in. Secondly, I like the full size keyboard however the left hand Shift Key is too small and I miss it most times when typing. Other than that, I like what I see so far.