Shameful Practices of Toys R Us

[Paulbot]

Was at Toys R Us yesterday... the one in Frankston. I really like this TRU because when the classics were scarce it was the only place that stocked them... or the only place that hadn't been depleted totally of stock. It's the TRU that time forgot.
Yesterday I saw premium starscream and some of those bad repaints from the first movie. Never really see children there... just the occassional adult with a mobile stuck to their ear... no doubt getting updates on the hot toys out there.

Say hello next time, it might be me

But I agree whenever I visit the Frankston TRU (and this would only be on Saturday/Sundays after seeing a film) it always seems deserted compared to say the Knox or Chadstone TRU.

[blackie]

It's clear to informed, intelligent, thinking creatures such as you and I Jd but to the general idiot populace and all the (mainly) mums out there buying these toys for their kids it is not. They see an oversized ticket, they mentally and immediately equate that with being an item on special. It is a sneaky marketing ploy.

The "Hot Price" and "Great Value" and similar claims are not limited to TRU, but as DD alluded to, they're sneaky marketing ploys designed to fool the less savvy customer. They appeal to the desire to get a bargain while avoiding actually offering one.

and that is why when i print out price rise tickets at work they all go on the 'special' paper

[Gutsman Heavy]

Why does a 45gm bag of chips look the same and cost the same size as a 50gm bag of chips. Its things like these that seem under-handed IMO.

I was having a chat to the smiths rep at work the other day about this, he said its because super markets like set price points for popular snack items, so they can always put the big pack o chips on special at $1.99 to entice customers into the stores, so rather than put the price up, and piss off the big super market chains they will put the size down.

Its basically the same as walmart wanting deluxe TFs at a set price so the paint apps go down rather than price up.

I'd prefer a price hike over quality/size cut but that'd make the powers-that-be angry so that's the end result

[Borgeman]

dunno if anyone else has seen this, but on several occasions ive gone into Target and they have small discounts on random things throughout the store - like 13% off this 22%off that, 7% off here, they put this orange tag with the %off and new price over the top of the rrp tag - anywho, amoung all these i have come across the golden 0% off tag, where the orange tag actually says 0% off, now $19.99, and upon looking at the white tag underneath, the price on it also says $19.99

ive taken a 0% off tag once to show to ppl, but lost it....

George

[jaydisc]

And let us not forget Kmart's recent clearance pricing with a saving of..... $0:



* Universe Combiner - regular price $62.95 - clearance price... wait for it.... $62.95!!!!!
* Universe Ultra - regular price $59.95 - clearance price... wait for it.... $59.95!!!!!
* Movie Voyager - regular price $45.99 - clearance price... wait for it.... $45.99!!!!!

Hot diggity!!!!!

It's interesting the different things we as individuals value, and even how those things change over time.

I remember when Paulbot did the OTCA awards at the beginning of '80. For favorite retailer, I chose Myer (probably by myself). Back in those days, Myer also strictly priced their items at RRP. They also only had mediocre sales, but there were a few things that were important to me:

1. They made every effort to have stock for the items on sale. I remember getting there a day or two before a sale, finding empty shelves and asking a manager if there were any TFs. She said yes, but she had to wait to put them out to make sure they were available for the sale. Kmart either never intended on doing that, or didn't have staff consicous enough to know what day is was.

2. Myer was one of the only options that didn't accuse me of being a thief every time I left the shop by attempting to conduct a civilian search on me. Granted, I don't let any non-police office search me or my possessions, so it doesn't matter, but it at least saved me the angst of walking out of a store with my laptop bag around my back it didn't get stolen out of my car.

Unfortunately, Myer then introduced their Stupid Pricing (tm), and had almost as little stock as Target throughout 2008, so they lost their throne with me, and my loyalty had swung to Kmart. Why?

Besides Big W, Kmart had pretty low every day prices. They also had constant sales, sometimes even back-to-back. And, last, but definitely not least, there was the Lowest Price Guarantee! But alas, again, times changed.

When the wave of toys including the Universe Combiners, Special Editions and Animated Twins came out, Kmart had abandoned having every day low prices and instead was using their regular sales to drive traffic, and pricing their items so that they were overpriced pre-sale, but more inline with what used to be their standard pricing during the sale.

Universe Combiner
$63 Kmart Standard Price
$50 20% off Kmart Price
$50 Standard Toy Kingdom Price

Universe Special Edition and Animated Twins
$37 Kmart Standard Price
$30 20% off Kmart Price
$30 Standard Toy Kingdom Price

(seem like someone's planning a 20% sale? heh? Heh?)

This trend continue and now Kmart sells at RRP, or best, $1 below it (using ROTF as the example).

And, to anyone that tried to take advantage of the Lowest Price Guarantee, you know how akin it is to pulling teeth. The whole policy, JUST like TRU's Hot Price, is complete bullsh1t in order to get you to think that Kmart rules. Will they stand by it? Rarely at best.

And then, the final icing on the cake was when Kmart brought their return policy in line with Target, only offering a refund for 30 days from the date of purchase. So, more policy changes to get you in to the store, get you to pay more, prevent you from changing your mind, all while making you think you're paying less!

And, by the way, have I mentioned how I can't tolerate them accusing every patron with a bag of being a thief? I can't!

So now, fast foward to a couple months ago, and I have a new favorite. Can you guess who? Toys R What!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Why?

1. They don't accuse me of being a thief
2. They price match (even though they don't have a publicly documented or advertised policy like someone else!!!!)
3. There is no statute of limitations on getting a refund if the items is still sealed and you have a receipt!!!

Now, if I had to deal with the price gouging that TC has revealed is happening in WA, it might sway me, but probably not, because there's always point 2. And guess what, even if there wasn't, and I overpaid for a figure, only to fing it on at Kmart for 60% off clearance? I can return my old one back to TRU with a smile ;-)

TOYS R WHAT?!?!?!

TOYS R THE BEST!!! ;-)

[dirge]

So now, fast foward to a couple months ago, and I have a new favorite. Can you guess who? Toys R What!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Why?

1. They don't accuse me of being a thief

I'd recommend avoiding TRU Hurstville. On a few occasions I've been yelled at for walking out and _not_ waiting for the security guard to finish chatting to the manager (or whatever) so they can have their token peek into my backpack which they have no right to demand anyway.

[roller]

whaddya expect in Hurstville?!

[Paulbot]

And, by the way, have I mentioned how I can't tolerate them accusing every patron with a bag of being a thief?

I did notice in the US that no one ever asked to check my bags when leaving a store, and it felt odd. And maybe it's just me that I've been asked less and less lately for a bag check in our stores. I used to offer all the time but now just strut on out and haven't been challenged once.

[jaydisc]

I'm going to get a T-shirt made that says:

"It is a condition of my patronage that I be given $20"

So when I refuse to be searched and they tell me that it was a condition of entry, I'll just show them my T-shirt.

[griffin]

1. They don't accuse me of being a thief

Don't blame the stores, blame the theives. It's opportunistic crime, prevented only by catching people trying to sneak out with items. If they don't limit theft from bag checks that inconvenience people who choose to enter someone else's premises, we would end up paying more to compensate for it.
So which do you prefer - bag checks or higher prices. Prevent the crime or pay for it, there is no other alternative.