to not understand why people do this and think it's fucking stupid?

[geegollygosh1]

I own my own business selling products via a webpage.

Every now and then I will put on a sale, sometimes randomly, but also for things like Black Friday etc.. I always ensure that all orders have been fulfilled before doing this.

Every time I get customers contacting me acting aggrieved at the fact that an item they bought is now on sale. I understand its annoying but some of these people ordered their items literally weeks prior and will actually be pissed off that the items now on sale WEEKS after they bought it.

I do actually occasionally refund the difference to someone if its a recent order and they are polite in their request but I have people emailing weeks later and being really shitty about it.

Aibu to think this is fucking stupid? A sale has to have a start date surely it's not feasible to expect a refund for something weeks later just because it's now on sale and be annoyed about? Obviously I can't simply go back weeks and refund everyone the difference otherwise there would be no point ever having a sale.

I just don't understand why people do this.

Seeing the price go down would be a disappointment but I’d accept that’s life. Never would I email a small business and ask for the difference!

I was thinking exactly the same.

Say you have a 'return window' of 14 days - I would 'refund the difference in that time frame' .. but not after

That is what decent businesses do (you could return an item and rebuy - and it would cost you time but the business processing time/money)

This has made me think, actually, that I really must go back to Rumbelows and demand that they refund the difference between what I paid them for the Betamax video recorder that I bought in 1982 and what they are generally sold for now: i.e. £0. Adjusted for inflation, of course. Absolute robbing scammers, they are...

I've done that. I've asked for the difference to be refunded when the item is still within the return window. I figure it saves both of us the trouble of having to process the return and then send out the order again. Especially if it is free delivery & returns. That would end up costing the seller more.

No one wants to pay more than they have to when possible.

I wouldn't expect a refund and I wouldn't say anything.

However, I once returned a coat in store that I had bought a week prior for £280 (for Christmas), that had then gone on sale for £150. I then ordered the coat at sale price online.

I wouldn't do this in a small business though.

I one tried to return a vacuum cleaner that I’d bought in the sales, because it was broken, asked could I exchange it for new one and the sales person tried to insist I paid the difference now it was selling at full price, his insistence I paid carried on for a good while, until I asked to speak to the manager. Sadly the manager was busy elsewhere so couldn’t speak to me, but he kindly agreed to let me exchange at no extra charge.
It’s not always the customers.

It's a business. Your allowed to have sales.

I wouldn't email Coco Chanel (RIP) and whine that Coromandel is only available in the massive size.

Just because you are 'available' doesn't mean people have access to you.

Protect your headspace.

1. Encourage them to join your newsletter which advertises when sales are on.
2. Signpost them to your FAQ page which details "sometimes we have sales.... bla bla bla.... - (other brands can give you examples of how to word it more eloquently").

In terms of the emotional labor of running a business and online service, I recently adopted Amy L. Fake Assistant Method

If you don't know of this, it's basically the suggestion of creating an administrator / gatekeeper vibe via a new email - it worked so well for me. Gave me space as the founder (I am a one person band doing EVERYTHING), and partitioned away all the unnecessary contact / follow ups etc. It also bought me an extra 2-3 days because automatic replies included details on what I would come back to and for why and points 1 and 2. Just boiler plate this stuff. Automate it and keep your energy where it needs to be.

I actually have a whatsapp group with other founders called "Darren will get back to you"....cracks me up everytime.

Returning something unused and within the return period and then buying it at a reduced price is just good sense.

Asking for the difference back on an item you have used happily for a few weeks/months because it’s now on sale is peak cheeky fuckery!

I bought a kindle and a case in a shop once and I received, with my receipt, a voucher for a kindle case. I said “oh can I not use that for this case” and the shop assistant said “no you’ve bought it now.”

So I returned to the back of the queue and when I got back to him I said “I’d like to return these please?” And he was very much “but you’re just going to re-buy them separately” and I said “yes of course I am, why wouldn’t I? You should have told me that I could get a voucher when I queued up first.”

So I had to queue 4 times but I saved myself £20!

I’ll confess I’ve done that :)
Still would return unworn items that have been significantly reduced and repurchase at the new sale price - only if the saving was worth the time and hassle!

You can't win either way. Stand your ground and risk getting a bad review 😢

But do you know that this is the case? They could be cutting their losses to shift old lines that are quickly going out of fashion and selling off remaining stock at the trade price that they paid for it - or even less. That doesn't mean they could possibly sustain their business if they always sold all stock at no (or negative) profit margin.

I always remember a relative complaining bitterly when a large local shop was closing down and they had some difficult-to-shift items finally reduced to 90% off - he too was under the impression that they must therefore have been routinely making 90% profit on all products and thus ripping customers off left, right and centre. If they had been doing that, they probably wouldn't have ended up closing down at all!

She got it the wrong way around. You buy the bikinis again, then take them back a few days later with the full price receipt! Silly woman.

i purchased some clothing online from Athleta on thursday night, billed right away on my cc.
i woke up monday am to see they were having a black friday sale 20% off (significant because my order was $400)
i'm in canada NO clue as to USA thanksgiving or black friday dates.
not only me but other also mentioned this on the fb advert regarding the sale.
several people said return and reorder, which is a hassle for everyone.
the Athleta rep came online to mention some strangely worded one time offer we do do this IF the purchase meets certain criteria.
long story short yes i got it, i did have to argue for it twice (once on the phone and then online via fb) and remain sitting on the fence regarding their brand sizing and service.
OP my only comment to you would be to have a firm policy in writing something to the effect of 72hrs before the sale was announced.

Not sure that makes any difference.

In the past I've returned clothes and rebought them but had the attitude of being in luck that I'd bought them just before the sale. I would never think of complaining though as I know that is how the system works. I would definitely never do that kind of thing to a small business though.

It means the staff don’t know what you’re doing 😄

It's really annoying if you pay full price then the item goes on sale. I don't think it's cheeky to ask for the discount. It's more cheeky to put the item at a high price then reduce it.

What are the staff going to do if they find out, perform a citizens arrest.
I’m sure they’ve seen it all anyway.

I'm a senior leader for a retailer that has a very snappy Xmas advert. We retired price matching a long time ago, however as long as you're in our 35 day returns window, we'll refund the difference.You only need to bring in your receipt.

You were looking at a product that was on offer, now it's not? Na, not happening.

We have really tightened up our returns process, and deffo aren't as "yes of course" as we used to be. Times are tough, we don't have enough staff, and post Covid I think consumers are very much more entitled than they used to be. Certainly more aggressive. But if the consumer is not entitled to anything, as per our policy, they won't get it.

I may be paranoid, but I'd want to make sure that they hadn't assigned a new code to the items, now that they're reduced; otherwise, they might only refund the sale-price amount if you return the one bought later.

I'd guess that most shops don't do this, so they'd be none the wiser; but Tesco at least seem to have something that distinguishes between apparently the same bar code on identical products. Last time we were in and used the self-scan thing, we bought multiples of a few items, but it wouldn't let us just put four identical items straight in the trolley and scan a fifth one five times.

I understand your frustration… especially as everyone knows that Black Friday is coming. They could have waited.

Oh wow. Awful behaviour. Are people this tight really?!

I’m sure, but the poster I originally replied to was surprised that staff “let” a customer buy back items they’d just returned. I was suggesting a workaround.

I once bought a 2 coats in Marks and returned one both were in the sale. 2 weeks later both were now reduced to £9. Bought the one I had returned but was too late to return the one I had kept. Original price was £99 so I got at least one bargain. Though I have bought a salel item and returned Original before if within the time frame for a return.