I'm beginning to think I must be a blacklisted customer or something so if anyone understands business, and the way it works, please can you reassure me 
I was looking for a particular pushchair to fit in our car, and came across one in an older model, in our local independant pram shop, on their website. It's quite a bit cheaper than the new version.
It's pink - I have a boy - but the pink bit is changeable to another colour so that's Ok.
I went in yesterday to look at it, and they said they have another in blue but I'd need to buy the 'cocoon' thing with it as it's a package. (these are old new stock I presume, so might be hard for them to get rid of the cocoons on their own?)
Anyway it was going to be another £50 more than the pink one so I said I'd think it over.
I looked on ebay and there are loads of cocoons for sale. So I decided it would make sense to buy the pink one and then replace the pink bit from ebay, too.
I rang them this morning to ask about it and the woman said, the pink one comes as a package now - it includes the footmuff and cocoon in pink, and it's £500 
which is £121 more than the original price.
I don't want the extra bits. I said to her can I not just buy the pushchair? She said no.
So I said it's still on your website, and she said, yes it was changed last week but hasn't been updated yet.
So I said Ok, I'll have to leave it, thanks anyway. It's still on the website and I am tempted to order it and pay!
So is there a plausible reason for this malarkey, or is it just that they hate me and don't want to sell it to me? I would have thought they'd be glad of a sale but maybe I am getting it all wrong.
Thanks if you can explain
AIBU?
Why won't they sell me this pushchair?
OutsideOverThere · 26/02/2013 10:29
Crikey. that's shoddy isn't it - well it makes me glad I didn't get it there in that case.
I would love to work in a shop like that but probably not for a boss who is so, hmm, what's the word? I got the feeling she is a bit controlling. I would know too much about prams. She hates me I think!
I tried to buy a buggy there! It was a hauer something or other and they were really unhelpful and said theirs was only a display model so I couldn't try it out but that I couldn't get a discount with it being a display model. Then somebody brought their bamboo baby towels back for a refund and the staff told them their towels were fine, they don't do refunds and that was the nature of bamboo towels.... the customer had pre washed them and they practically fell apart, they were all threadbare! So I quietly left and shopped elsewhere. Tbh, I think they prefer hire purchase customers there.
Glad you got your pram :)
Bogeyface Please please do go into her shop with your brand spanking new pushchair 
Ooh to be a fly on the wall of you did...
(Ineed - I'm afraid of being identified by the shop - but it begins with a B iykwim) 
OTM - why didn't I think of that!!! I did think of getting a friend to order it for me from the website, but was a wuss about asking someone else to get involved in my shenanigans.
In the end it's worked out really well, as it's cheaper than it would have been on their website.
No, not Taunton! our Mothercare is pretty much standard with customer service, not awful, not outstanding but I like them better than weirdy shop woman.
I was so excited to be in a pram shop though. I am fascinated with prams. I felt a bit of a fraud actually as I seemed to know as much as, or more than they do about them and I had to act like a 'normal' customer when they were telling me things...you know, 'Oh this model is lovely, because it has such and such' and I wanted to go 'I know! And actually you're wrong, they did have this issue with the wheels, with this model' when she was trying to big it up.
Maybe she suspected I wasn't being entirely upfront, as I just kept nodding and saying 'Oh really' maybe that's why they have tried to BANISH me by putting the prices up.
Lol, Bogey That would really get her back up wouldn't it! It's a shame - I like to support local retailers, but I remember now why I found her a bit funny last time I went there for something about 5 years ago.
I don't know if she was being pushy and trying to get more money or if it was just unfortunate that they needed to sell off these other bits - but why would they turn down a sale of almost £400, just because of that?
I guess someone might buy it one day. Either they can afford to be picky about their customers or they aren't very good at business, or something.
If I bought it online, then went to collect it they would know it was me and that looks really sneaky - that I went ahead and ordered it having been told it wasn't available any more. like I was trying to get round it. iyswim?
They are our only local independant shop and I want to stay on good terms with them.
Leeloo, yes I thought about that - but I just didn't want the cocoon, from there, as they're much cheaper on ebay and you only need it for a few months at most. But I know what you're trying to say and it's not a bad idea.
What I've actually done is gone and bought one from Mothercare instead, they still had one left, and it was £20 cheaper than this one anyway!
I think I've decided that the indy shop is a bit odd.
Thanks for all your help
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Well this is it - they know there are cheaper shops out there. I will just wait for another old model to come up on a website and it'll probably be less.
It just seems bonkers, that it's available for sale on the website - what will they do if someone else buys it? Tell them they have to have the other stuff too or it's no can do?
I really want it. It's so annoying. Ad when I rang about 2 days ago to ask about the pink one, it was still available
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