Bait and switch scam?

thefairlaneman · Mar 21, 2009

Thursday a local big box store( I wont mention their name) ran an add for a lawn tractor on sale. Add said 4 days only and limit only one to a customer. Friday morning I called the store close by to ask about a bagger for it and before I could even finish the clerk said "we are sold out of the mower" What? I then said well can you find out which store has them and was told "all are sold out". I then said "lady you mean to tell me that EVERY ONE OF YOUR STORES ANYWHERE EVEN NEAR THIS COUNTY DONT HAVE THE MOWER? " She said "yes all are sold" . Anyone here ever have this sorta ripp off scam happin to them.? Problem is how can some clerk at 10am be able to tell me every ONE was sold within 50 miles and her not know that the mower never was on sale. I smell scam but cant prove it. I have spent thousands at this store chain but may never spend another dime there.....I hate people who just try to figure ways to cheat others and get paid for it......

JB · Mar 21, 2009

Re: Bait and switch scam?

They probably hate people who see a conspiracy in every effort they make to stay alive and in business. They ran a sale and sold out. So what?

You smell a scam but can't prove it, huh? Danged right you can't prove it.

Bait and switch usually involves a switch. No switch? No scam.

thefairlaneman · Mar 22, 2009

Re: Bait and switch scam?

Well maybe Im being too quick to call fowl but with about 20 stores in the general area and ALL of them sell out at the same time makes me wonder if they really did have the product and were acting in good faith. Hey Im talking 20 stores here....I should not call it bait and switch though ,maybe just baiting will be better.

dave11 · Mar 22, 2009

Re: Bait and switch scam?

It may have been an incomplete shipment from their supplier.

kenmyfam · Mar 22, 2009

Re: Bait and switch scam?

All depends how their ad read for it. Small print etc. Things I have come across are "limited quantity only" "no rain checks" "only 3 per store" etc etc etc.
The hope is that you will go in to buy one, find they are "sold out" and they will sell you a different one instead.
Happened to me back in 1999 when we went to buy a big screen TV. The one we went for that was advertised was "sold out". We did end up with them offering us a very similar one for the same price so we got that one instead. They still got a sale and we were still satisfied with the deal.

tashasdaddy · Mar 22, 2009

Re: Bait and switch scam?

the sales person, did not say we are sold out, but we have the next model up, for and additional $300.00, so there was no bait and switch. she just said they were sold out. no foul.

idrownworms · Mar 22, 2009

Re: Bait and switch scam?

This is an example of effective advertising. The store would have liked for you to mention their name so it would work for the whole group. Every time you drive by the store your going to think "Man they are a rip off" imprinting the name more deeply into your memory. In a few months you will still remember their name while forgetting the incident the made you remember in the first place.

Like any Psychology/Sociology issue your millage may vary, offer may not be valid in all 50 states, 4 out of 5 doctors recommend ( but remember we screened the doctors so we know what their answer will be)

jamie

Edko · Mar 22, 2009

Re: Bait and switch scam?

Alot of things can sell out in minutes.

Sporting tickets, video game systems, items with great sale prices, etc.

You probably hit #3. Obviously the price was pretty good if you went to the trouble to call. And I doubt given the items size they stocked a significant quantity. If the deal was that good perhaps you were just beaten to the punch.

Bob_VT · Mar 22, 2009

Re: Bait and switch scam?

Oh I feel your pain. I recently did battle with a Staples store for a computer special for a friend. Ended up finding one in Wisconson and they shipped it free to VT. It took a bit longer but it worked.

Call the corporate Hq and ask. It is usually a toll free number....... explain to corporate what you wanted and what could they do to repair the problem and re-instill your confidence in the store.

In the economic times we are living in.... everyone needs to go the extra 10% to make things right...... they can not afford not too.

jonesg · Mar 22, 2009

Re: Bait and switch scam?

some retailers take raincheck orders then go to the mfger to negotiate the order , or they already have the price from the mfger if they can get the quantity they need.

I prefer craigslist, dime on the dollar,
I just snagged a 50 alum tank, 6 months old for $100.

Shizzy · Mar 22, 2009

Re: Bait and switch scam?

I used to work in one of the box stores and I had this happen many times. there would be some great deal in the sunday flyer yet the D.C. would only send us a couple. Those black N decker Snakelights come to mind. new "hot X mas gift" item, but each store only got about 6 of them despite being plastered all over the Sunday add at a killer price.

How many Lawn tractors do you think they stock? Mine only stocked 2-3 of each model. did you ask if any more were coming? Raincheck?

and yes, many places can check inventory of many locations right from their teminal. in this day and age somthing as simple as inventory tracking is easy.

Pony · Mar 22, 2009

Re: Bait and switch scam?

thefairlaneman said:
Well maybe Im being too quick to call fowl but with about 20 stores in the general area and ALL of them sell out at the same time makes me wonder if they really did have the product and were acting in good faith. Hey Im talking 20 stores here....I should not call it bait and switch though ,maybe just baiting will be better.

There is no bait......certainly no switch. You weren't tricked in to buying anything.......something you wanted sold out, and that isn't anyone's fault.

I can't begin to tell you how many times I have wanted to jawjack a customer who comes in 6 days after an ad starts and DEMANDS we find him the product he wants because its in the ad.

You realize most of these big "ad items" are corporate driven right? The company as a whole probably has a bunch of them that they need to liquidate to avoid losses in margin or some sort of holding cost. It may just be that your area doesnt have any.

Your 10am argumant makes no sense either. My store opens at 10am and I can tell you that by 8am I know how many of the major ad products I have and which other stores have them. Plus I can check the entire states inventory in about 5 seconds without clicking more than a couple buttons

Oh and btw in these economy they would have sold you the product if they had it.

lowkee · Mar 22, 2009

Re: Bait and switch scam?

It is simple baiting, which is the same as any sale. Black Friday is popular because of it. It isn't kosher with me, but nothing business sits well. The fact is, advertising is all about hyping up a minor thing (3 lawn mowers on sale for a deep discount, maybe even a loss) and ignoring the bad things (we've increased our stock of high margin mowers just for this sale). If you ran the business you would be doing the same thing.

Shizzy · Mar 22, 2009

Re: Bait and switch scam?

Pony said:
There is no bait......certainly no switch. You weren't tricked in to buying anything.......something you wanted sold out, and that isn't anyone's fault.

I can't begin to tell you how many times I have wanted to jawjack a customer who comes in 6 days after an ad starts and DEMANDS we find him the product he wants because its in the ad.

You realize most of these big "ad items" are corporate driven right? The company as a whole probably has a bunch of them that they need to liquidate to avoid losses in margin or some sort of holding cost. It may just be that your area doesnt have any.

Your 10am argumant makes no sense either. My store opens at 10am and I can tell you that by 8am I know how many of the major ad products I have and which other stores have them. Plus I can check the entire states inventory in about 5 seconds without clicking more than a couple buttons

Oh and btw in these economy they would have sold you the product if they had it.

add to that when I worked at the box store, we would put the sunday sale signs up during the last hr of the shift on Saturday. guess what happened as soon as I stuck that bright pink SALE sign on the item at 10 minutes to close on Satuday? thats right it was on sale!! "its not the real price till tomorrow" was NOT a legitamate argument since I was the one who put the price tag on it just 3 minutes earlier.

If it make you feel any better, they make little if any money on the large items. the boss man always told me to sell them a set of drill bits, an extra saw blade, a gas can, saftey glasses or something along with the big item so we would actually make money.

a70eliminator · Mar 22, 2009

Re: Bait and switch scam?

lowkee said:
It is simple baiting, which is the same as any sale. Black Friday is popular because of it. It isn't kosher with me, but nothing business sits well. The fact is, advertising is all about hyping up a minor thing (3 lawn mowers on sale for a deep discount, maybe even a loss) and ignoring the bad things (we've increased our stock of high margin mowers just for this sale). If you ran the business you would be doing the same thing.

Thats exactly right, I used to run maintainence of an 450 siute high rise just off the main college campus. Suites were advertised having new carpet and appliances, the kids were shown a beatiful model suite with such ammeneties, there were only a small amount of suites with new carpet and appliances, all in all the place still always rented up full, sure there were lawsuits and people were let out the lease contract, my property manager set me down one day and told me there are things we do that are semi legal is how he put it, he said there are suites with new carpet and appliances not all of them, statistics show for every ten suites we rent 1 person will ***** and have to be let out of the lease and we have our own attorneys just for such cases.

Shizzy · Mar 22, 2009

Re: Bait and switch scam?

a70eliminator said:
Thats exactly right, I used to run maintainence of an 450 siute high rise just off the main college campus. Suites were advertised having new carpet and appliances, the kids were shown a beatiful model suite with such ammeneties, there were only a small amount of suites with new carpet and appliances, all in all the place still always rented up full, sure there were lawsuits and people were let out the lease contract, my property manager set me down one day and told me there are things we do that are semi legal is how he put it, he said there are suites with new carpet and appliances not all of them, statistics show for every ten suites we rent 1 person will ***** and have to be let out of the lease and we have our own attorneys just for such cases.

thats their fault then. the apartment I live in right now I walked through THE apartment I was to be renting. I inspected it top to bottom and made damn sure THAT was the apartment I was signing the lease on.

thefairlaneman · Mar 22, 2009

Re: Bait and switch scam?

I guess I should not take it personal when I waste my time because of sales adds that arent real. It often takes me several weeks to decide about spending more than a couple of hundred bucks on anything and once I have made the decision to buy something it sorta makes me mad that I now have to play games about if they have it, or its sold out, or on back order, or a shipment issue etc etc. I like to do business in a straight forward manner and have little time for games or excuses. The main reason we take the newspaper is to see the sales adds. Now that I have learned that the adds really dont mean anything , we are stopping the newspaper....Its not practical to buy something you cant really use for the purpose you are buying it does it?

BWR1953 · Mar 22, 2009

Re: Bait and switch scam?

I have a buddy that works for Harbor Freight Tools up north. A couple weeks ago they ran an ad for a big sale. People lined up outside the store for HOURS ahead of opening time. When the doors opened, the stuff on sale was gone in minutes.

I remember back in the 70s when my favorite hotrod shop was having a big sale, including custom wheels and a limited selection of those were only a buck apiece. I went to the store at 1am and was #14 in line! By opening time, there were hundreds of people in line. Stuff was sold out VERY quickly.

It happens.

chiefalen · Mar 22, 2009

Re: Bait and switch scam?

Black friday this year i picked up a dewalt cordless 18 v drill usually 175 bucks , 89 bucks , and a bench double wheel grinder 29 bucks. But i was there when they opened the door believe me 10 minutes everything was gone even the display models, had one guy try to take my drill out of the carriage.

You got to be there early and even then you might not get it, my friends daughter works at best buy she puts aside a tv for her dad if it's a great buy last years model or something.

He just paid 300 for a open box tv lcd, great buy i wanted one but alas not to be.

Tyme2fish · Mar 22, 2009

Re: Bait and switch scam?

I've been in the market for a generator and Harbor Freight has one in their current sales ad. Plus I got a 20% off coupon via the internet. The catch is the coupon is only good thru March 23rd.

I called the local store and guess what, they don't have the generator in stock. Never had it. Don't know when they'll get it, if ever.

But I went on down to the store, 40 mile round trip, just to get the rain check on the sales price plus the coupon.

When and if they ever get the generator my coupon will supposedly be valid and that will a $100.00 savings.

I will call every Monday (order receiving day) to check on the stock.

Front cashier was very nice and wrote out the rain check and said just to call on Mondays to see if they ever get the generator in.

Bait and switch scam?

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