Macy's rant

gidgetgh · ‎03-09-2010

This post is lengthy- my apologies.

I don't shop at Macy's a ton, but have bought some things there recently, including a new mattress/box springs. This may have been going on for some time now, but what is it with their "preview pricing" policy thing? It's not on sale today, but it's been on sale recently and it's going to be on sale again soon. So.... you can buy it today at the sale price, but you can't take it with you. You'll have to drive back here again to pick it up. What????

We bought a new bed a few months ago. We'd been to look at them and they were on sale. We went back less than a week later and they weren't on sale. The sales associate was all over us to buy. I said "uh.... not paying full price since I know the sale price (50% off) so no thanks. So he said "well it's going to be on sale again.... sometime soon. You can pay full price today and if it goes on sale within 10 days, we'll adjust the price for you." No thanks. If it doesn't go on sale then I've paid full price for it. Seeing that he was going to lose the sale, he said "ok....ok.... we'll sell it to you today at the preview price (50% off- just like the sale that just went off) but you'll have to come back in and complete the sale and schedule delivery once it goes on sale." Uh... no again. We'll just go somewhere else or we'll come back on our own one day if we feel like it, but I'm not making two trips for this.

So, in the end, they gave us the sale price and scheduled the delivery right then. I think he realized that they were going to lose the sale. We were the only ones in the bedding dept. And he's right. They would have lost the sale.

So I went the next week to buy a blanket for the new bed. First, two sales associates in the bedding dept. didn't know what a blanket was which was worrisome. They kept saying "blanket????" But I digress. Anyway, I finally found one that I might have been interested in and once again, the associate said that it had been on sale, had just gone off sale and would be going on sale again. That I could buy the blanket and pay for it, but that I'd have to drive there again (30 miles round trip) to pick it up. I said no thanks. I'll just go down the street to Bed, Bath and Beyond and buy one and use my 20% off coupon and take it home with me today. And that's what I did. On this trip, I left the dept. and went to another and asked to speak with the store manager. I met with him- very nice guy and I told him that I didn't like their pricing games.

I was there on Saturday and bought something and while I was there I looked briefly at a pair of earrings. You know the drill- on sale, an extra % off, more off if it's a day ending in a "y" or if you're wearing blue or whatever. I didn't have them pull them out of the case. Just browsed. I had to go back this morning to return the item I bought Saturday. I decided to get the earrings.

So.... they were no longer on sale. BUT..... they will be on sale again...soon. And you can buy them today and pay for them and then you can drive back again and pick them up. I said "see ya". The associate tried to stop me from leaving and went (on her own- I didn't ask her to) to her manager and spent quite a bit of time with her. She came back and said they decided to sell them to me for 50% and whatever coupon I had. She said the manager wasn't pleased that she'd come and asked to sell them to me at sale price. I told the associate thanks, but no. I didn't want to get her in trouble and that I hadn't asked them to bend the rules. And I said that I was irritated with their preview pricing thing and just decided not to get them. So I left.

I don't know what the right answer is for retailers. The every day low pricing/no coupons/no sales thing didn't work for Penney's. But everyone and their brother knows that Macy's has stuff on sale just about all the time now. So, why would we ever pay full price for anything there? And now there's the see it today, pay for it today and schlep back over there another day to pick it up. No thanks. It's just a pair of earrings and I can live without them (I think- LOL).

Ok- rant over. Back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Why is it, when I have a 50/50 guess at something, I'm always 100% wrong?

Tinkrbl44 · ‎08-23-2010

I have a Macys down the street from me, but I don't pay much attention to pre sale days ..... I just go when the sale is on, no problem, ever.

Just curious .... why aren't you complaining to Macys, instead of here? ${#emotions_dlg.confused1}$

bikerbabe · ‎03-09-2010

I like Macy's. It's only about a mile from my house. I like the fact that the sales are frequent and if it's not on sale today I probably will be within the next week. And if something is cheaper after you buy they will do a price adjustment. When nordstroms has their big sales you can purchase in advance and they will hold it for you to pick up at the start of the sale. It's better than not getting a sale price at all, right? I don't think it's a bad policy it's just not convenient if you have a long drive. You could always buy it online at the sale price.

MaggieToo · ‎03-09-2010

"why aren't you complaining to Macys, instead of here?"

She did complain to the manager and she is just venting.!!! ${#emotions_dlg.rolleyes}$

occasionalrain · ‎03-10-2010

So, because you didn't go to the store when the item was on sale, you still expect to get the sale price. I'd call that unreasonable.

Do you expect to get the Today's Special tomorrow at the price it was today? It's not Macys' fault you arrived between sales.

RainyDayGal · ‎03-09-2010

She didn't say she expected the sale price. She was willing to leave but the sales associate gave her the sale price on the mattress. Then she left the store and went to Bed Bath & Beyond for the blanket. Then she walked out without the earrings.

KYToby · ‎02-19-2012

I rarely shop at Macy's in person, preferring to shop for most purchases, so I am not familiar with this policy. My guess would be, though, that it is a way to get customers into the store more often (once to purchase and once to pick up) on the likelihood that the more times a customer is in the store the more opportunities for purchases such as impulse buys.

tansy · ‎01-02-2011

So can I add something slightly different? I don't stop at BB&B sometimes because I don't have a coupon with me. I think Macy's is in financial trouble:/

Peaches McPhee · ‎04-19-2010

I dislike Macy's too, although I shop there alot (prices and selections are good).

I don't like how you don't know how much an item will cost until you check the price on one of those scanner things -- the true price is RARELY on the item itself. I used to hate them for those coupons (even though I used them), but now you just have to use your Macy's card to get the additional 20% off. Finally, my Macy's is always a mess -- they never seem to clean the place up. My local WalMart looks better than my local Macy's.

Rant over.

-- pro-aging --

Rochester, New York

gidgetgh · ‎03-09-2010

On 8/18/2014 occasional rain said:
So, because you didn't go to the store when the item was on sale, you still expect to get the sale price. I'd call that unreasonable.

Do you expect to get the Today's Special tomorrow at the price it was today? It's not Macys' fault you arrived between sales.

Of course I didn't expect to buy the earrings today if they weren't on sale. That's why I didn't buy them when the sales associate tried, on her own initiative, to get the sale price for me. I didn't feel comfortable doing that so I didn't buy them. Since they were on sale Saturday, I thought they might still be on sale today. But they weren't and that's ok. What's frustrating is that apparently they're going to be on sale again shortly. That's what I find frustrating with their pricing.

Of course it's not Macy's fault that I arrived between sales. My point is that they seem to be always having a sale. It's hard to keep up with when they have sales and when they don't. I just don't want to invest that much energy figuring out Macy's sales schedules.

Why is it, when I have a 50/50 guess at something, I'm always 100% wrong?