Frustration with Sears online-only item (allegedly 20% off) out of stock

Has anyone else experienced this issue? I have been looking for a new bench planer (3 blade) for a while. After reading the glowing FWW review of the Craftsman Professional 3-blade, it jumped to the top of the list with the Dewalt (DW735).

So this week Sears is running an online special where you receive a

20% discount on items over $350. Beautiful I think, I'll order the planer (normally $529 - a savings of $106!) and pick it up at my local store. Problem is, the item is currently out of stock. No problem I think to myself. I'll just order it and get the lower price and pick it up whenever it comes in. I'm a patient guy after all.

But the web site doesn't allow me to place the order since it's out of stock! I call customer service and voice my desire to order this item, but they clearly are not set up to help someone in this situation and can only repeat to me over and over, "I'm sorry sir for your frustration, blah, blah, blah..." And my favorite, "sir, when we get it back in stock you can order it then for the higher price." Kind of defeats the point of the sale, doesn't it?

Anybody else experience this? Any good solutions? I could order the DW735 (it is my #1 choice after all), but it's an extra $130 I didn't want to spend.

Thanks, Jeff

Reply to
JJ
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Ask for a raincheck. After that call your state consumer protection agency, or Attorney General.

Reply to
salty

JJ wrote: ...

Call the local store and get a raincheck or have them place the order instead...

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Reply to
dpb

Solid suggestions from everyone and I may give it a whirl. But I suspect I will get a shrug as this is an item carried ONLY online and not available in stores. But you are correct....can't hurt to try.

Thanks, Jeff

Reply to
JJ

If they have a store or even a warehouse in your state, they may have to comply with state consumer protection law, whether they like it or not. They do in my state.

Reply to
salty

JJ wrote: ...

Not sure on web-only offerings; can't say as I've ever used Sears' web presence at all; certainly for nothing other than perhaps an appliance repair part.

I'd guess if the offer is still being made and didn't have the limitations of "while stock on hand lasts" or somesuch legal mumble there _might_ be something about consumer protection law but I'd suspect getting something accomplished that way would take quite a lot of effort if even so...

There's reason why bricks 'n mortar have advantages despite costs and why cheapest isn't always as cheap as it might seem...

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Reply to
dpb

You might try going into their store with a printout of the web special, cash in hand and see if they will accommodate you. A "no" from a salesman might get an approval from a manager. Can't hurt to try.

Reply to
Upscale

I have found similar results in dealing with Sears/Craftsman/K-Mart (Whomever)....

You are correct that the website shows the planer as Out-of-Stock.

It is interesting though, that a combination package ( planer, plastic eyeglasses, dubiously worthy golves and a set of replacement knives ) is in stock. Of course at a significant higher price.

YMMV

Planes True

Reply to
Planes True

I went to that website, found the $529 planer, it showed out of stock online and at the 3 closest stores, but - i was able to put it in the cart and check out. They'll ship when it does come back in stock. Thanks for the tip on the planer - sorry I jumped in front of you though when they do start filling back orders.

Reply to
Dave

Excellent advice. About 8-10 years ago I went to Home Depot to get a PC biscuit machine. I was unaware that they had different pricing on the web than they did in the store on certain items. I was sure they were trying to put one over me when it was about $35 higher in the store than it was online.

I asked the young man at the tool stall about price matching, and he said (very patiently) that they did indeed price match, and that they gave an additional 10% of the difference of the price as incentive to buy from them.

Then he rolled his eyes a bit and told me that of course, it had to be a real store, with real telephones, someone they could contact. Some one of repute that they could verify that it was the exact model, not a sales item, and not a promo deal.

I verified: "So it has to be a legit retailer that has the same product?"

"Exactly", he said smugly.

I pulled out the freshly printed product page with the HD logo and the date on it, and smoothed out the folds in front of him.

"I don't know how much you can trust these guys, or how legit they are, but they do brag about those things quite a bit".

He was pissed. He went to the assistant manager who was clueless as to what to do. They literally had to get the store manager for an OK to sell their product at the advertised HD price (not a sale or promotion).

They left nimrod there after all the yakking, in charge of implementing the store price matching. Someway junior came up with the lower price, AND he gave me 10% of the full store price of the machine (another $15 or so) instead of 10% of the difference.

It wound up cheaper than the online price.

But... I also reminded him that the online tool came with some of the PC biscuits in the new clear bottle packaging. They simply handed me a couple of bottles of #20s to me since they couldn't figure how to put them in the computer.

So, in agreement with Upscale, it is always worth a try.

Robert

Reply to
nailshooter41

RE: Subject

This happened more than 30 years ago.

Needed an 80T, carbide tipped, 10" saw blade.

Store was selling them for about $50.

Catalog had a special on saw blades.

Buy one blade at regular price and get a 2nd blade for $0.01 more.

Bought several blades thru the catalog.

Returned a bunch of blades to the store.

My Sears credit card had a negative balance for a long time that year.

Lew

Reply to
Lew Hodgett

wrote

LOL. A similar situation when I bought my Ridgid planer from Home Depot. It's been a few years, but I thought it was fair dinkum neener at time when I posted this:

formatting link
time flies ... going on 7 years ago.

Reply to
Swingman

Time flies like an arrow Fruit flies like a banana

Reply to
Robatoy

Who the hell do you think you are .. joh4n??

:)

... going back to digging now!

Reply to
Swingman

No, he cribbed off Groucho w/o attribution...

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Reply to
dpb

A) I will never be another jo4hn, but thanks for the compliment.

B) Was that a Groucho, dbp? I didn't know. My sincerest apologies if I offended you and Groucho.

C) WTF is 'cribbed'?

Reply to
Robatoy

Copied, borrowed, usually in an underhand fashioned.

In an examination a candidate trying to see the answers on another's paper would be guilty of cribbing. Same for copying someone else's homework with or without their permission.

Crib sheet - a piece of paper with some brief notes on. You might try to conceal and take one of these into an exam with you, perhaps with some formula written on it you have trouble remembering, or the term can be extended to a reference sheet you use in your workshop. You might refer to a table of tapping drills or cutting speeds as a "crib sheet".

Reply to
Stuart

I had the same thing happen recently at HD. I looked at some windows online, and then got to the store to find it 10$ higher. The kid I spoke to had all kinds of BS reasons why, but the manager ok'd the lower price.

Didn't try for the price protection!

shelly

Reply to
sheldon.mandel

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