Ethics questions-> Are these people are of poor character?

[mugs]

Originally posted by: karlchad
does it upset you that certain major retailers advertise great deals(black friday), but once you get there.......sold out- and you ask the associate....how many they had in stock? uhh only 2......... how about extended warrenties they sell you.......but once you try to use it.........uhh sorry, its not covered..... and you end up arguing with the manager for 2 hours to end up buying a new tv,etc.....If you(consumer) dont know its a price mistake......and take advatnge of a low priced item...... is that unethical? Hey i am just stupid enough to think a 50 inch plasma TV is 200 dollars... =)

With door busters and limited stock items in Black Friday ads, most retailers put the minimum quantity per store in the ad. It is well-known that if you want to get the doorbusters, you have to get there early.

I've never bought an extended warranty, but it doesn't surprise me if what you're describing happens... because most consumers are stupid. They think warranty means they get a replacement for any reason. Warranties cover manufacturing defects. If you drop your cell phone and it stops working, that's not a defect. Etc, etc, etc.

 

[waggy]

on "hot deals" i think it is fine. the store knows its out and is willing to make that deal.

on Price mistakes i am will take advantage of it. BUT i will not get upset when they cancel the order and refund me the money. The only problem i have is when people cry about it and threaten to sue over it.

 

[Pacemaker]

Originally posted by: mugs

Originally posted by: karlchad
does it upset you that certain major retailers advertise great deals(black friday), but once you get there.......sold out- and you ask the associate....how many they had in stock? uhh only 2......... how about extended warrenties they sell you.......but once you try to use it.........uhh sorry, its not covered..... and you end up arguing with the manager for 2 hours to end up buying a new tv,etc.....If you(consumer) dont know its a price mistake......and take advatnge of a low priced item...... is that unethical? Hey i am just stupid enough to think a 50 inch plasma TV is 200 dollars... =)

With door busters and limited stock items in Black Friday ads, most retailers put the minimum quantity per store in the ad. It is well-known that if you want to get the doorbusters, you have to get there early.

I've never bought an extended warranty, but it doesn't surprise me if what you're describing happens... because most consumers are stupid. They think warranty means they get a replacement for any reason. Warranties cover manufacturing defects. If you drop your cell phone and it stops working, that's not a defect. Etc, etc, etc.

It's not just that they only cover manufacturing defects; it's that they will make sure it's not most of the time. My wife got told her laptop had "water damage" when it wouldn't turn on one day they wouldn't honor the warranty. (No it was not dropped in water, nor do I have any idea why they claimed that)

 

[karlchad]

it was your human sweat, when the laptop overheated in your hands

 

[FoBoT]

hot deals are fine
mistakes are mistakes, not hot deals
tricks with coupons are not hot deals

 

[EKKC]

no. as long as you are a paying customer.

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

Originally posted by: Mo0o

Originally posted by: SarcasticDwarf
It really is a black and white issue for me, though some factors do play in. For instance, if it was a big box store that often incorrectly priced things (to ones's disadvantage, simply because they are incompetant), then I would not feel AS bad about it. Then again, I probably still would not do it.

wait where's the black and white part again?

Simple. It is wrong, but that does not mean I will do what is right.

 

[funboy6942]

Heres one for you and this has happened to me several times.

Say they made a price mistake and say said item is going for $20 when it shoudl of been $200 and they come back to you and admit there was a problem BUT since it was advertised at that price and say you can have it for that price if you still like to would you still take it for the advertised price you saw it for?

Case in point. One time at BB several years ago they had a MSN Webtv box advertised as open box for $20 when the new was going for $200. I saw it, saw the going price for new and about craped and told the associate I wished to purchase it and asked it they had all the assesories behind the counter for it. He grabed it, then came back to me and said he had to get a manager. Manager came to me and said there was a price mistake. It was an open box an dthey had everything but the price was extreamly low that I had saw it for BUT said since I did see it up on the shelf I could have it for the price I saw it for if not they were going to make it the correct price and I can walk away. Well I took it for thats what I saw it priced as, was I wrong? I dont think so and it was the one item on the shelf.

This happened to me alsmost in same fashon with a mispriced computer at CC the same way with the manager coming to me explaing to me of the price mistake and said I can have it for that price.

And one more time at BB on a Samsung HD tv that was open boxed from $999 to $500 and when I asked if the 2 weeks had passed since it has been marked in price they manager came back to me and said it has been a month and the new price for the tv was $400 and asked if I wanted it for that price. For if you didnt know and you look on the dates on the open price tage (atleast this was true 3-4 years ago) that every 2 weeks a open box item would be discounted even more and I would go through BB and look at the dates before buying an open boxed item. Of course I bought it and turned around and sold the tv a few days later for a quick profit to justtaint of $150.

So would you still buy the item if what you saw at the time was a kick ass deal and then they came back and told you it was a price mistake but could still get it for that price if you wanted it knowing if you said no the said item if you changed your mind may be much higher in price later.

 

[JDMnAR1]

I hardly see how it can be considered unethical to make a purchase while abiding by the sellers policies, and in some cases state or federal consumer protection laws. If the retailer has policies in place that allow for coupon usage and price matching, then by all means let the consumer make use of them. As far as price mistakes goes, in many states a retailer is legally obligated to sell goods at the posted price to prevent the old "bait and switch". However, once they are aware of said price mistake, they certainly have the right to correct the erroneous price.

 

[badmouse]

This thread is depressing. Who are you people with your "ethics"???

Having worked in retail, I can tell you that "stores" are not human, nor are their employees - from the point of view of the higherups, that is.

Therefore, it is impossible to be of poor character in any transaction of any type, period. Since it is not an exchange between two actual humans, no "character" or lack thereof can take place.

It is the purpose of the store to sell you something - and there is no reason for them to be "honest" or "moral" or anything like that; they offer for sale, you buy or don't buy.

If it bothers any of you, go buy whatever you can at whatever discount you can wrangle- or pay full price - and donate it to the poor.

THAT'S character.

 

[JS80]

opportunistic =/= poor character

 

[yllus]

Nothing you mentioned is fraudulent, it's just working the system to cut away at the margin the company is making from you. Nothing wrong with being a smart consumer.

 

[Wheezer]

I guess the moral of the story is, that if you are going to be in business, you better have your t's crossed and your i's dotted.

You don't think that big business takes advantages of suppliers when they make a price mistake? or even abuse a good deal?

Let me give you an example. I worked for a soda manufacturer and many times stores will use soda as a drawing card to pull customers into thier store, why? because it is cheap they can afford to loose money on it when they wil make it up in the sales of other items...when you are a store like Wal-Mart or Meijer or Kroger you buy so much at one time the supplier often gives MAJOR price breaks...sometimes they sell below cost. (Plus the fact companies pay stores million of dollars a year just to have thier products on the shelf...ever wonder why some things have more space than others? that's part of the reason.)

Now the mom & pop stores don't get that, in fact many times they will pay more per case than say a Kroger does simply because of volume...so what do they do? They take trucks and vans to Kroger and buy pop by the cases, if it is a limit of 4 cases, then they make as many trips as they need to get what they want. They are buying it at say 4.99 a case which breaks down to about .21 cents a can. They then use these cases to fill thier vendors where they charge .50-.75 cents a can. All the while wiping out the store stock for other customers and not buying from the driver that makes regular stops at thier store cutting his commision....is that fair? no but it happens. (I was not a driver but heard it from many)

Taking advantage of the system and the negligence of others is human nature. If you don't want it to happen to you then don't make mistakes.

Don't blame me when you have a $200.00 item mismarked for $20.00.

If that store could get the same $200.00 item form thier supplier for $20 don't you think they would...and then turn around and sell it for $200.00? hell yes they would it's called business.

 

[sourceninja]

We are lead to belive we are no longer allowed to barter in this day and age. I was told at a car dealer that the price on the car was the lowest they could go, other dealers have told me they do not post prices, they talk about payments. I'm sorry this is a barter world. I dont care if it is mis-marked, I have coupon, talk them into it, etc. It simply is not unethical.

 

[BigJ]

Originally posted by: Wheezer

Now the mom & pop stores don't get that, in fact many times they will pay more per case than say a Kroger does simply because of volume...so what do they do? They take trucks and vans to Kroger and buy pop by the cases, if it is a limit of 4 cases, then they make as many trips as they need to get what they want. They are buying it at say 4.99 a case which breaks down to about .21 cents a can. They then use these cases to fill thier vendors where they charge .50-.75 cents a can. All the while wiping out the store stock for other customers and not buying from the driver that makes regular stops at thier store cutting his commision....is that fair? no but it happens. (I was not a driver but heard it from many)

I was under the impression that this is against some sort of business law they have out there. When I was managing a Mom & Pop pizza shop, we used to work with the town and vend at a fair they had every year. We bought our soda from a restaurant depot for more than you could find in a supermarket.

When I suggested to the owner that we may be able to cut costs by buying it on sale at a supermarket, he said that they could get into big trouble if someone found out that we were doing that.

 

[BigJ]

Originally posted by: sourceninja
We are lead to belive we are no longer allowed to barter in this day and age. I was told at a car dealer that the price on the car was the lowest they could go, other dealers have told me they do not post prices, they talk about payments. I'm sorry this is a barter world. I dont care if it is mis-marked, I have coupon, talk them into it, etc. It simply is not unethical.

Bargain/haggle, not barter

 

[Wheezer]

Originally posted by: BigJ

Originally posted by: Wheezer

Now the mom & pop stores don't get that, in fact many times they will pay more per case than say a Kroger does simply because of volume...so what do they do? They take trucks and vans to Kroger and buy pop by the cases, if it is a limit of 4 cases, then they make as many trips as they need to get what they want. They are buying it at say 4.99 a case which breaks down to about .21 cents a can. They then use these cases to fill thier vendors where they charge .50-.75 cents a can. All the while wiping out the store stock for other customers and not buying from the driver that makes regular stops at thier store cutting his commision....is that fair? no but it happens. (I was not a driver but heard it from many)

I was under the impression that this is against some sort of business law they have out there. When I was managing a Mom & Pop pizza shop, we used to work with the town and vend at a fair they had every year. We bought our soda from a restaurant depot for more than you could find in a supermarket.

When I suggested to the owner that we may be able to cut costs by buying it on sale at a supermarket, he said that they could get into big trouble if someone found out that we were doing that.

IF an owner say went out of a producers territory and did this can can get into trouble but that is only if they company wants to push the issue...usually if a store owner has vending machines or coolers that they lease from the company, the company simply comes in and pulls the equipment. But with stores like Sams club where you can buy vending machines and coolers, that is kind of an empty threat nowadays.

I have seen situations where the BBB was brought in, but nothing really came of it...they promised to stop buying if they got a good price and it got worked out.