Vendors and prices...is this normal?

[Laila619]

I've been shopping around and trying to order some new bands from various vendors. These aren't PS vendors per se, but they have been used by many Pricescopers and are fairly well known. What I've been noticing is for instance, the vendor's website will say $875 for a pave band. I'll call the vendor to place my order, and then the vendor will say, "Oh! I'm so sorry, but that's actually not an accurate price anymore. That band is now $1,000. Sorry!" Is this normal? It's making me a bit suspicious. Why do these vendors even list prices on their websites if they aren't accurate or up to date? Has anyone else experienced this? Again, I'm just bothered by the fact that the price says one thing, but once you want to place an order, it's now more money. I know gold is crazy high now, but then shouldn't they keep prices updated so people don't feel like they're being bait-and-switched? Or am I just being too suspicious?

 

[Amys Bling]

My guess is that the vendors have not updated their sites to reflect the rise in prices yet again.

 

[Circe]

I think this is why so many of them have the small-print disclaimer about how prices are subject to change without notice. I mean ... last week gold started at, what, 1600 an ounce? By the end of the week, it was 1900. Sales made with that kind of discrepancy could beggar a small company in days, and they might not have the time to calculate the changes not just daily, but hourly (I'm not aware of any systems that do it automatically, but if there are any programmers out there who feel like linking the IDEX to jewelry costs using an algorithm, I bet the jewelry industry would be your new best friend).

So, in short: yeah, I think it's normal. Annoying, but normal.

 

[LGK]

I think this is why so many of them have the small-print disclaimer about how prices are subject to change without notice. I mean ... last week gold started at, what, 1600 an ounce? By the end of the week, it was 1900. Sales made with that kind of discrepancy could beggar a small company in days, and they might not have the time to calculate the changes not just daily, but hourly (I'm not aware of any systems that do it automatically, but if there are any programmers out there who feel like linking the IDEX to jewelry costs using an algorithm, I bet the jewelry industry would be your new best friend).

So, in short: yeah, I think it's normal. Annoying, but normal.

Yeah. It's probably simply that they don't have someone there to update their website constantly. It *sounds* easy enough but in practice, when you're running a busy, popular business, everyone's working and they don't want to pay a web programmer constantly most likely. So yeah, normal, but frustrating!

 

[ChloeTheGreat]

I got lucky when I met with Brian Gavin in early June. He offered to honor the price for the platinum setting listed on the website since they had not yet changed the prices to reflect the increase.
I guess vendors have different pricing policies.
Good luck in your shopping!

 

[centralsquare]

It may be standard practice, but it probably didn't occur as much before as it is now! So, maybe it 's more noticeable now.

 

[TristanC]

Price increases are happening far more often. A lot of vendors have contracts where certain websites are maintained and "spruced up" by a third party company on a quarterly basis or something. Not all vendors tweak their webby daily. Sometimes even when they are the ones uploading info, the price doesn't reflect correctly for a few items and they need tech support to sort it out and that takes time.

So yeah, i think it is normal.

It isn't a bait and switch as they are immediately open and communicate the new price when you contact them. Its only annoying when they say yes, come down and look, then when you get there they said a customer took the last one out (limited to 3 pieces this promotion) sorry, would you like to look at anything else? We'll give you a $50 store credit for your trouble - if you spend at least $500 etc etc etc.

 

[iheartscience]

It might be normal but it's not a very good way to run a business and keep customers happy. I worked at a store with an e-commerce site and it is really not that difficult to update prices-it's just data entry. I realize small business don't always have a ton of extra staff hanging around, but having accurate prices on their website should be a priority, IMO.

 

[Laila619]

It might be normal but it's not a very good way to run a business and keep customers happy. I worked at a store with an e-commerce site and it is really not that difficult to update prices-it's just data entry. I realize small business don't always have a ton of extra staff hanging around, but having accurate prices on their website should be a priority, IMO.

I know T2! That's kind of how I feel, but I guess these vendors are really busy.

 

[kenny]

Maybe they need to list prices like this:

On the day you place your order multiply 0.6731 times that day's closing price for one troy ounce of gold.

(Can we safely assume everyone can multiply two numbers on a calculator?)

 

[Phoenix]

I don't know whether it is normal or not, but I would absolutely *dislike* it. I'd walk away!

I had a similar experience, not exactly the same but the end result was the same. DH and I were looking at a sofa on Sunday. The sales lady told us it was $2,300 (discounted by 30%). He went back yesterday to have another look and was told that it was in fact $2,800 (she said that the gross price was $4,000 and so after discount it was $2,800). So DH said to me that perhaps we mis-heard it or that the sales lady had made a mistake on Sunday. I said we both heard $2,300 and that if the sales lady had got the calculation wrong, then too bad for her! So now, we're buying a sofa from somewhere else!

 

[davi_el_mejor]

Maybe they need to list prices like this:

0.6731 x the end of the day's closing price for one troy ounce of gold on the day you place your order.

(Can we safely assume everyone can multiply two numbers on a calculator?)

OOOH now that is interesting...

But I'd put it as "SAVE 33% off the closing price of gold for today!"

 

[Gypsy]

I'm pretty understanding. If they have to commit an employee to updating their websites weekly that adds more overhead cost to the bottom line.

I think a disclaimer that the pricing may be out of date is fine. But I think it should be coupled with a reasonable attempt to keep the prices up to date. Not weekly, but whatever makes sense so that they aren't on the phone all the time saying, "oh I'm sorry I can't honor that price...." Just because it's not a good impression to give and will hurt their business.

 

[Rockdiamond]

Some websites are database driven- that is to say, they press a button, and upload inventory off a spreadsheet.
Such things can be automated- including price and availability changes

Other websites are populated by hand- and this can create a huge problem when prices change.
My feeling is that if it's possible to honor the price , as it was seen by a potential client, the seller has a chance to cement a relations- or try for the higher price
Which is worth more?

That's why choosing a vendor well is very important.

 

[karpouzi]

Here's a way of looking at price increases, in metal anyway. The gold price is quoted by the troy ounce. There are a little over 31 grams in a troy ounce. So a $100 increase in the gold price means a $100/31 increase per gram of gold or about $3.22. That's for pure gold. The increase per gram of 18kt (75% gold) is 3.22*.75 or about $2.41.

So if you are pricing an 18kt ring that weighs 4 grams, every $100 increase in the gold price means the value of the gold in your ring has gone up a whopping $10.

I am not at all saying that jewelers are getting greedy by setting price increases above the actual increase in cost for that piece. Probably with the bad economy and higher prices, they are seeing less business, so to make up for reduced volume they have to raise their margins. That is totally understandable. But it's still interesting to do the math...

 

[Octavia]

It might be normal but it's not a very good way to run a business and keep customers happy. I worked at a store with an e-commerce site and it is really not that difficult to update prices-it's just data entry. I realize small business don't always have a ton of extra staff hanging around, but having accurate prices on their website should be a priority, IMO.

I know T2! That's kind of how I feel, but I guess these vendors are really busy.

I'd be more inclined to understand if it's a jeweler that does the majority of it's business in a bricks-and-mortar store and has a limited web presence. But for companies that are "online jewelers" and get most of their sales through their websites, I see making timely updates as just a cost of doing business. It's a trade-off for not having the expense of a physical shop that is open to the public, IMO. And if the update method the vendor has chosen to use is too time-consuming or difficult, they should address that as a problem facing the business, not hide behind it or use it as an excuse. I'm not speaking about any particular vendor here, just general musings.

 

[iheartscience]

It might be normal but it's not a very good way to run a business and keep customers happy. I worked at a store with an e-commerce site and it is really not that difficult to update prices-it's just data entry. I realize small business don't always have a ton of extra staff hanging around, but having accurate prices on their website should be a priority, IMO.

I know T2! That's kind of how I feel, but I guess these vendors are really busy.

I'd be more inclined to understand if it's a jeweler that does the majority of it's business in a bricks-and-mortar store and has a limited web presence. But for companies that are "online jewelers" and get most of their sales through their websites, I see making timely updates as just a cost of doing business. It's a trade-off for not having the expense of a physical shop that is open to the public, IMO. And if the update method the vendor has chosen to use is too time-consuming or difficult, they should address that as a problem facing the business, not hide behind it or use it as an excuse. I'm not speaking about any particular vendor here, just general musings.

Agreed! If their main presence is online, there's really no excuse!

 

[Ninna]

Not the norm, vendors online [or not] should always honor listed/posted/verbal prices. You will loose a lot more than 1 potential client if you don't.

 

[Laila619]

Well, I will keep shopping I guess! Thanks everyone.