Because of the $50, in a word, disappointing.
Written: Jan 03 '05
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On Dec.30th,2004, I placed an order for a Harman/Kardon AVR630 A/V receiver from J & R, as $699.00 was ( according to this website )
" The Best Price from a Trusted Merchant .
Indeed, at that point in time it was the best price ( incl. shipping and handling ).
Though I HAD seen it for less prior to Christmas( $600, S&H incl. ), this model IS discontinued, they had sold out, and being such, the bar ( at Shoping.com ) had been raised to the $699 price point.
Now, I had made one other purchase from J&R in August of`03, for a Harman/Kardon DVD-101 DVD player for $229.00, S & H included. This was, at the time, a VERY competitive price ( most were $349.00 ), they delivered it promptly, and on that transaction would have given them a merchant rating of 5 stars ( though the same unit is NOW on clearance at Circuit City for $141.00 ).
My problem with J&R arose yesterday, when ( as I do EVERY day until I take delivery ) I checked Shopping.com for the best price. I do this because, like most reputable dealers in this industry, they ( J&R ) offer a price matching gaurantee. There, to my suprise was a " best price " of $649.00, incl. S&H, from 1 of 8 merchants. So I naturally wanted to find who the price was from for price matching purposes, and it turned out to be J&R! Now this is a Sunday evening, and J&R doesn't have 24 hour phone lines, but I DID go to their web page, and there it was - $649. It was at this point that I made my first ( and prayerfully only ) mistake - I didn't put the page into memory!
Not thinking that when I checked their price again today ( Monday, January 3rd ), it would be back to $699! When I phoned " customer service " at 9:00 AM , first she said she had never heard of Shopping.com! I found this interesting, as I was under the impression that the merchants paid a fee to use your service - perhaps not?
Regardless, she pulled up you site and page - and sure enough, there it is for $649, as it was yesterday. Having already checked J&R's price of $699, she asked if she could be excused for a moment ( to check with a supervisor ). When she came back on, I was told " they have never had it priced at $649. When I inquired as to the posibility of a " 2 day sale ", or a " New Year's Sale ", she replied that it had NEVER been on sale for that price, and what a good buy it is at $699, because the shipping cost on a 40 lb. package UPS ground is around $60.
It was at that point she asked if I had a copy of the Web page ( what a time not to have pressed " SAVE "! ), and, of course I didn't. All I have is a WebTV browser with no printer ( My " mad money " typically goes to the Home Theater, as I have been on Disability for almost 10 years ).
I guess my question is two-fold. If J&R NEVER had it at the $649 price, how would I have posssibly have had a copy? And if J&R never advertised it on the Web for that price, where did you good people at Shopping.com get the price from? I'm fairly certain that you don't randomly pull prices out of the digital domain!
I pray the rest of the transaction goes smoothly. I have no reason to believe that it won't. But as much as I use the receiver in my Home Theater, I would not want the taste of " sour grapes " to linger every time I look at it
( the H/K receiver, that is ). It's one sexy piece of electronics!
Recommended:
No
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? Harman/Kardon AVR630 A/V receiver
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Epinions.com ID:
hometheaterdr
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Reviews written: 1
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