*HOT* Amazon will still do post-sale-price-matching

[moviedude1]

I picked up the s350 on 9/14/08 for 339.00. I received it on 9/17/08. On 9/19/08 a couple days after i received it they dropped the price to $295.00.

I went to my account and processed it to return since there wasn’t a post-purchase price guarantee. It then gave me a shipping label. I packed up the player, put the label on the box and let it set over the weekend until Monday so I could ship it.

After thinking on it a couple days I wrote customer service and told them that I seen no sense in shipping the package back to them just to make the purchase again to get the better price. I also told them that I did have the box packed (gave them the tracking number that was on the label) and I was getting ready to put on truck but I would like to keep it and not have to go to the trouble just to get a the best price. Remember this was only about 5 days after I made the purchase. Needless to say the approved the price adjustment on the SONY s350 down to $295.00. Please see their official letters below..

Hello from Amazon.com.

Thank you for contacting us to take advantage of our Post-Order Price Guarantee. I've confirmed that we now offer a greater discount on "Sony BDP-S350 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player" than at the time you placed your order.

As you may know that only orders placed before September 1, 2008 are eligible for a price difference refund under the Post-Order Price Guarantee policy. As of September 1, 2008 we are no longer offering discounts if prices change on our website after you make a purchase.

I've reviewed your order and see that the price change was significant and you just received this item from us. Under the circumstances, I'll make a one-time exception for you and issue a refund for the price difference in the amount of $44.98.

Please understand that I'm issuing this refund because of the exceptional circumstances, and I'm doing this for you against our standard policy.

WHY DON'T YOU HAVE A PRICE GUARANTEE?
While we don't always beat the best available price on every product, we do offer deep discounts on many thousands of items. From time to time, prices on some items will change due to special offers from suppliers and manufacturers or our inventory and sales volumes. When we can offer a lower price for new purchases we will, but we cannot extend these discounts to completed orders.

Regarding the order #xxx-xxxxxxx-xxxxxxx:

I'm sorry that our promotional offer was not applied to your order.

To correct this error, I've completely waived once of the items cost.

You can view your account, check your order status, and cancel or
modify unshipped orders quickly and conveniently at any time by
clicking the "Your Account" link at the top of our web site, or by
visiting this page:

amazon.com/your-account

I hope this solution is satisfactory and apologize once again for this inconvenience.

Thank you for shopping at Amazon.com.

Please let us know if this e-mail resolved your question:

If yes, click here:
amazon.com/rsvp-y?c=xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
If not, click here:
amazon.com/rsvp-n?c=xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Please note: this e-mail was sent from an address that cannot accept incoming e-mail.

To contact us about an unrelated issue, please visit the Help section of our web site.

Best regards,

*their name was here*
Amazon.com Customer Service
==============================
Check your order and more: amazon.com/your-account

Letter # 2

Hello from Amazon.com.

We're writing to confirm that we have processed your refund for USD
44.98 for the above-referenced order.

For more information on how we calculate refunds, please visit our
web site at amazon.com/refunds

We hope this is a satisfactory resolution for you. However, if you
have any questions or concerns, please use this link to contact
Customer Service:

amazon.com/gp/help/contact-us/returns-and-refunds.html

Thank you for shopping at Amazon.com.

-------------------------------------------------------------
Amazon.com
Earth's Biggest Selection
amazon.com
-------------------------------------------------------------

[Wingman1977]

I wouldn't get too excited. From reading that letter it seems that it's going to be on a case to case basis.

[jurassic_pork]

Originally Posted by Wingman1977

I wouldn't get too excited. From reading that letter it seems that it's going to be on a case to case basis.

Case by case basis for sure....probably depends on the mood of the care agent as well. In the grand scheme of things its great as I think most of us were worried about this exact issue with big electronic items like players and especially TV's. They should and I applaud them for stepping up here. Theres a big difference between covering a huge price drop for a 2K or 3K tv than a dollar or two on blu-rays. Hopefully stories like this will continue to take place.

[moviedude1]

Originally Posted by Wingman1977

I wouldn't get too excited. From reading that letter it seems that it's going to be on a case to case basis.

yes I know but if one processes a refund and gets a shipping label and provides them with the tracking number with the statement that they are only returning just to repurchase I think it will pass for everyone. Why would a company have such a policy. It will only eat them up in shipping charges and payroll... The post-sale-price-matching should be done untill the return period has expired.

[HeavyHitter]

Threatening to return a product might be the only way to get price matching.
Given Amazon's hour-by-hour fluctuating pricing game as well as the "standard" practice not to price match, they are opening themselves to potentially more problems rather than just keeping it the way it was.

[moviedude1]

Originally Posted by HeavyHitter

Threatening to return a product might be the only way to get price matching.
Given Amazon's hour-by-hour fluctuating pricing game as well as the "standard" practice not to price match, they are opening themselves to potentially more problems rather than just keeping it the way it was.

It was not a threat. Rather a last minute plea. The thing was packed and was going on the truck that day. It only made sense as I was going to reorder at the lower price just for the hell of it even though Best Buy will have it for $299.00 this coming week and I already knew that too.

It all worked out for the good for both parties.

[fatediesel]

I'm currently in the same situation with amazon. I ordered the s350 this morning when it was $239 and literally 2 minutes later learned about the Warner $50 off 3 movie with player purchase deal. I immediately went to my amazon account to try to cancel but it already said it was processing and couldn't be canceled. I emailed them saying I'd return the product if I didn't get the Warner deal. Haven't heard back yet but in the past I did the same thing and it worked.

[quirkmanly]

Originally Posted by fatediesel

I'm currently in the same situation with amazon. I ordered the s350 this morning when it was $239 and literally 2 minutes later learned about the Warner $50 off 3 movie with player purchase deal. I immediately went to my amazon account to try to cancel but it already said it was processing and couldn't be canceled. I emailed them saying I'd return the product if I didn't get the Warner deal. Haven't heard back yet but in the past I did the same thing and it worked.

I've caught quite a few orders in the "processing" stage and changed them by calling up and speaking to a CSR. I find that type of situation is easier to deal with actually speaking to a live bod.

[alexakajeff]

Originally Posted by Wingman1977

I wouldn't get too excited. From reading that letter it seems that it's going to be on a case to case basis.

doubt that it will turn out how everyone wants it to.

[Marine Mike]

Originally Posted by jurassic_pork

Case by case basis for sure....probably depends on the mood of the care agent as well. In the grand scheme of things its great as I think most of us were worried about this exact issue with big electronic items like players and especially TV's. They should and I applaud them for stepping up here. Theres a big difference between covering a huge price drop for a 2K or 3K tv than a dollar or two on blu-rays. Hopefully stories like this will continue to take place.

I agree completely. I can see them losing a lot of money by issuing refunds of a dollar or two left and right compared to these very large refund exceptions, but in limited quanity. Also, thats all I really care about are the big ones that are over a $10 difference and this one was over $40. I applaud Amazon on this and haven't seen a report of them not issuing a refund of that significance.

[Tok]

I basically got the same form letter response. Its not our policy but we'll give you a one time correction. So I got a $4.96 refund for NBC. I just got it yesterday and today it is on sale.

I also mentioned in my initial email that I have ordered over $400 in BDs in the last year and I currently have another $200 in preorders.

[Blu Titan]

In the OP's case it worked because he still had the unopened item, and onl 5 days had elapsed from the purchase date. The strategy is way too much hassle to work for movies, music, ect.

[moviedude1]

it just goes to show you that stupid policy is NOT carved into stone and I expect it to go back to the way it use to be once the guy that thought of it gets the AX after the other retailers kick Amazons ass this holiday season...

[jw]

Originally Posted by moviedude1

I picked up the s350 on 9/14/08 for 239.00. I received it on 9/17/08. On 9/19/08 a couple days after i received it they dropped the price to $295.00.

I went to my account and processed it to return since there wasn’t a post-purchase price guarantee. It then gave me a shipping label. I packed up the player, put the label on the box and let it set over the weekend until Monday so I could ship it.

After thinking on it a couple days I wrote customer service and told them that I seen no sense in shipping the package back to them just to make the purchase again to get the better price. I also told them that I did have the box packed (gave them the tracking number that was on the label) and I was getting ready to put on truck but I would like to keep it and not have to go to the trouble just to get a the best price. Remember this was only about 5 days after I made the purchase. Needless to say the approved the price adjustment on the SONY s350 down to $295.00. Please see their official letters below..



Letter # 2

why would you pay more? What you wrote makes no sense.

This is a lil different scenario, you are returning something just to rebuy it, They were money ahead to do that in this case.

[moviedude1]

Originally Posted by jwbbud

why would you pay more? What you wrote makes no sense.

This is a lil different scenario, you are returning something just to rebuy it, They were money ahead to do that in this case.

It made sense to everyone but you
anywho I made a mistake and put 239 instead of 339. Any clown could have figured that out. Or maybe you are just that nitpicky. Hey anywho isn't really a word is it? Are you going to pick that out too?

Peace

[1Fish2FishRedFishBlu]

Well hopefully Amazon will get their heads out of the sand and wake up!

I purchased I, Robot, Patton and Kingdom of Heaven in the buy 2 get 1 free for $27.95 each... 2 days later the SAME promotion listed them at $24.95 each. I got the September 1st blah blah price reduction crap speech as well when I contacted them.

So I went through the return to them at their expense with a nice bold lower price from amazon.com in the notes section and how it was a huge waste of my time and their money to not simply refund me the difference instead of paying to reship the items both ways on their dime.

When they run an "offer" and change the terms mid offer I lose respect for them and am questioning my future purchases with this company. They can eat the shipping and I have little sypathy for them.

[kaliraver]

I just got a $5 refund for the nightmare before Christmas that I got shipped two days ago for $27.95 and now it is $22.95 as of yesterday. I told them I didn't know about their policy and they gave me the $5 off as one time accommodation I wrote Amazon an email about this stupid new policy and told them if they plan to keep this new policy in place I will be taking me business elsewhere. They aren't the only place I can buy blu-rays from.

[quirkmanly]

Originally Posted by 1Fish2FishRedFishBlu

Well hopefully Amazon will get their heads out of the sand and wake up!

I purchased I, Robot, Patton and Kingdom of Heaven in the buy 2 get 1 free for $27.95 each... 2 days later the SAME promotion listed them at $24.95 each. I got the September 1st blah blah price reduction crap speech as well when I contacted them.

So I went through the return to them at their expense with a nice bold lower price from amazon.com in the notes section and how it was a huge waste of my time and their money to not simply refund me the difference instead of paying to reship the items both ways on their dime.

When they run an "offer" and change the terms mid offer I lose respect for them and am questioning my future purchases with this company. They can eat the shipping and I have little sypathy for them.

Did you initiate a return on their website? If so what reason did you choose?

[fatediesel]

As I mentioned earlier, I purchased the s350 yesterday when the price was $258. Minutes later I learned of a deal that when you buy a player you can get $50 off 3 Warner blu-rays. I emailed them and they said they couldn't apply the current discount to past purchases, as the sale wasn't going on when I ordered it. I wrote back that the sale was going on when I placed my order and if they didn't give me the deal I would refuse shipment and not buy the order again as the price has since risen to $295. Here is their response:

Please accept our apologies for the difficulty you experienced with this promotion.

Due to the circumstances surrounding your order, I have made a one-time exception to our standard policy.

I'd request you to place an order now for the 3 Warner blu-rays directly from Amazon and write to us with your order number so that we'll honor the promotion (50% off of the purchase price) for you.

I see they put 50% when it should be $50, hope that won't be an issue. Regardless, I've looked through the list and there really aren't any blu-rays I really want and don't own, but I suppose I'll pick up The Perfect Storm, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and Bonnie and Clyde, which I've never seen but heard good things about.

[moviedude1]

WHY MOVE THREAD??? SONY s350 for 295.00 not a good deal? Didn't mak any sense to me....