Is this Barnes & Noble crazy or am I?

07-09-2010, 12:26 PM

Quite possibly - I dun really know.

But Banquet Bear and myself are remarkably close on the issue, like her (I think BB is a she) it wouldn't even occur to me to go ask for a further discount. Either buy or not..simple.

But it would be groovy (for the customer) if we followed your customs.....although I still say that its some kind of abdication of something by the consumer, but if I can use the policies like that to my advantage then I would be stoopid not to...and not many people call me stoopid.

07-09-2010, 02:10 PM

The level of pig-headed stupidness in this thread is mind boggling. If nothing else, B&N has received a boatload of badwill over a few bucks, in addition to be willing to incur the extra cost of re-shelving items rather than turn around and selling them again immediately. Why in the world would anyone defend this policy? Brick and mortar stores are fighting for their lives. They don't need to shoot themselves in the foot at the same time.

07-09-2010, 03:35 PM

Originally Posted by bengangmo

Quite possibly - I dun really know.

But Banquet Bear and myself are remarkably close on the issue, like her (I think BB is a she) it wouldn't even occur to me to go ask for a further discount. Either buy or not..simple.

But it would be groovy (for the customer) if we followed your customs.....although I still say that its some kind of abdication of something by the consumer, but if I can use the policies like that to my advantage then I would be stoopid not to...and not many people call me stoopid.

I always thought it was silly to have policies and then look for reasons not to follow them if you might lose a buck. Special circumstances like close outs are fine but other than that, follow your own policy with a smile. If you think you're being taken advantage of, change it.

07-09-2010, 04:35 PM

Originally Posted by El Presidente

No not really, since it is simply someone puffing out their chest and writing their fantasy of how they'd like to teach a retail store some sort of lesson. The only way you'd have free time to do all that would be if you didn't have a job.

How long do you think it takes me to threaten those actions at B&N? All day?

Well, maybe for you, since your charisma would be holding things up.

07-09-2010, 05:41 PM

I think they're saying that they can't sell you back the DVDs until they reshelve them, correct? They weren't saying that you couldn't go right back into the store and pick up new copies of what you just returned, right?

Nope, they were clear that if I returned them, I was never supposed to buy those DVD's. Their policy seemed to be that I had one chance to buy them and having used that chance I didn't get a second one.

(you should have just purchased second copies of the DVDs, then returned the previously-bought ones in a separate, later, transaction)

I considered that possibility. But they didn't have that large a Criterion section. Most of these DVD's were the only copies in the store.

That said, what I'll probably end up doing is returning them all to the store and buying copies of them online. It seems sort of petty - we're talking about less than fifteen dollars. But at this point I almost feel obligated to figure out a way to thwart their stupidity.

You know your credit card may have price guarantees?

Mine doesn't unfortunately.

**Chimera** · 07-09-2010, 06:20 PM

The big secret is that everyone is crazy. So the OP is a trick question.

07-09-2010, 06:52 PM

Originally Posted by Rumor_Watkins

Yeah, see, I don't think return policies are genuinely aimed at anything. They're generic blanket policies that apply regardless of the reason - as they should be. I don't want uncertainty when I buy a product, only to discover that I can't return it due to the vagaries of this particular clerk or manager.

The other part is that running return policies like this give retailers an edge, too. As was mentioned upthread, even though you're giving this policy to 100% of your customers, only (say) 66% of them may actually follow through with making the trip to get the price adjustment. Those that don't, it's pure gravy that they paid the extra $ under the belief that they were going to get their money back, and those that do, you're still profiting.

I doubt that it's gravy. Margins in retail are pretty slim because of competition. Often sale items make no profit , in hopes people will buy other items or just get to know the store.

I once had a customer ask to get last weeks sale price on an item and I said no. His rationale was that if we can afford to sell it last week for $50 less then we can this week too. Still no. Sales aren't designed to maximize profits through selling the sale items.
I've noticed what an item is worth is often a matter of perception. Once a customer fixes a price in thier mind they decide that's all it's worth. Sales used to create a perceptoin of money saved. It's worth X but it's on sale for less. Still works a bit I guess but I think now a lot of people just won't buy unless it's on sale and the altered perceptiopn is it's only worth the sale price.

07-09-2010, 08:02 PM

Originally Posted by Rumor_Watkins

Why, as a business or a representative of the business, do you feel you ought/should be able to play Constable of Morality and Fairness - Retail Products Branch?

A sale is a sale - what do you care if it's sold back to the returning customer or not? You don't, rationally. (frankly, it has risk to it, even if it is on sale, because you're not guaranteed the sale by re-shelving it - so it's extra specially irrational - unless you get your jollies from sticking it to customers?)

I think this is the easiest route but I also think it's fair for the store to say.

"It takes us a day to process returns. Would you like to come back tomorrow and chance that it's still here, or would you like to keep it at the sale price you already paid" to prevent future sales reservation purchases.

Most major retailers have a policy of not telling the customers that a specifc item will be on sale next week. We want to sell it today.

07-09-2010, 09:56 PM

Why didn't you just return them on the spot and come back for them later? Sorry if this was already covered; not flipping through four pages of a thread on something so trivial.

07-09-2010, 10:50 PM

[QUOTE]

Originally Posted by Little Nemo

.If this policy exists, the store employees I spoke with are apparently unaware of it. They all agreed I could get a refund if I wanted one

. The question is, did anyone explain that your purchase was part of a special promo and not part of the standard return policy?
The fact that they eventually agreed to give you a refund is understood but my question is did you know either before the sale or when you came back, that the sale you had taken advantage off had the added detail of NO Returns. THat makes a difference. Did you have to talk to several people just to get them to agree to accept the return?

In retail management sometimes the inexperienced cashier would tell a customer they could and would do something that they shouldn't be doing. A simple mistake. Occasionally a customer would argue that since an emplyee said they would do it I was somehow bound by their offer. It's not true.
If you knew it was a no return deal and asked if they'd make an exception because you didn't know or whatever that's fair and reasonable. If you badgered several of them into accepting a refund and they decided to repay your badgering by not selling them back to you I have some compassion for them.

Can't think of any important details I've left out.

How about the ones I just mentioned. Did you know at any time that the sale you took advantage of had a no returns add on?
Did they immediately immediately agree to take them back or was part of your talking to several people getting them to agree to take them back and override the specific sale policy.

Welcome to Discuss Everything Forums...

Tags for this Thread

Thread: Is this Barnes & Noble crazy or am I?

Thread Tools

Rate This Thread

Display