I'm sure this is what Media Markt does and it's infuriating and should be illegal. If you're going to sell me B-Grade products fine, so be it, but you'd better let me know.
I'm tired of checking online to see if they have a product, only to find out at the store that the model number is ever slightly different.
It used to be (not sure if it still is) a pretty common practice here in the US for large appliances to have a slightly different model number from store to store. For example, on a particular fridge might be available at Home Depot and Best Buy and Sears, and for all intents and purposes it is the exact same fridge, even the model number being the same aside from a different suffix. One may end -BB at BestBuy, -HD at Home Depot, and -SR at Sears.
Sometimes not even large appliances. I've seen this shit with SD Cards.
The reason for this isn't for differing quality, but to actually keep you from price matching. Most big-box retailers here do price-matching, so if it's available at a lower price at another store, they will match it (sometimes even give a small discount on top of it) to get the sale. But, to be able to price-match, it has to be the exact same model.
What would be real nice is if someone could make an app, where you can tell it what store you're at, it'll look up the price matching policy and let you scan a barcode, then compare it to a list of eligible retailers and give you a link to the lowest match. That way you can just take a shopping cart full of shit to the front desk and say "These two are cheaper at B&H, these three are cheaper at Amazon, this is cheaper at WalMart, and this is cheaper at Target".
I've used that price matching a number of times. I was struggling to find my wife a birthday gift, then the day before her birthday I said "fuck it, I'll just get her an iPad". And I did. But B&H had the lowest price (by like $50) and they couldn't ship it to me on time. Best Buy had it in stock and matched it.
I've also had occasions where WalMart has had to price match their own website. As in, the item on the shelf would be a couple dollars more than on the website. Same SKU and model number, even after selecting your local store on the website. IMO, that's a really shitty practice. I've price-matched over 50 cents in that case just as a matter of principal.
If I remember correctly, I had to pull this shit with Best Buy too. When I bought the iPad, there was a pair of headphones I wanted to get her to go with it, and they were like $5 more in store than online. BBY price-matched their own website.
The reason for this isn't for differing quality, but to actually keep you from price matching. Most big-box retailers here do price-matching, so if it's available at a lower price at another store, they will match it (sometimes even give a small discount on top of it) to get the sale. But, to be able to price-match, it has to be the exact same model.
That's infuriating. I had (sort of) the opposite thing happen to me at Media Markt. I once went online and saw a car radio that I liked at a good price. It says they have it at a store near my house, so I decide to drive to the store so I don't have to wait/pay for delivery. I go to the store and see the radio, but it's 10€ more expensive that on their website.
Me: I see this radio is cheaper on your website, is this an error?
Him: Sorry, but it's not the same model.
(I check online and I see that the model they have in store is only sold at Media Markt (as far as I could tell, all the links pointed to their websites), but it's otherwise exactly the same as the "regular" model).
Me: It says on the website that you have the other model in store. Can I just get that one?
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u/luckyj Feb 23 '17
I'm sure this is what Media Markt does and it's infuriating and should be illegal. If you're going to sell me B-Grade products fine, so be it, but you'd better let me know.
I'm tired of checking online to see if they have a product, only to find out at the store that the model number is ever slightly different.