PMT Online vs Instore prices

[tauzero]

4 minutes ago, Dad3353 said:

 

It sounds simple, indeed, but I'm afraid that I'm even more 'simple'. I don't use/understand 'smartphones' (Too old..? Too dumb..? Too lazy..? Whatever...), so I'd be the one walking out if the ticket price didn't fit my budget. I don't 'haggle', nor price compare. Two questions are all I have, for myself. Do I want it..? If 'Yes': Can I afford it..? If 'Yes', buy. That's it. Simple..? Yup, that's me. 

 

There wouldn't be a ticket price. If you can't/won't scan a QR code, you just ask an assistant who will be glad to, er, assist. Or, given the levels of service nowadays, be just as likely to say "f*ck off grandpa".

[Dad3353]

2 hours ago, tauzero said:

There wouldn't be a ticket price. If you can't/won't scan a QR code, you just ask an assistant who will be glad to, er, assist. Or, given the levels of service nowadays, be just as likely to say "f*ck off grandpa".

 

Hmm... If that's what the 21st century has become, you are welcome to keep it. I'll stay in my World, thanks all the same. Good day to you. 

[Downunderwonder]

At the end of the day a sticker is only an invitation to make an offer.

[Lfalex v1.1]

I'm not entirely sure that it's legal to charge X  online and X+300 instore.

 

If PMT only have one of a given item, they'd be charging more for the very same unit.

That said a brief check online at point of purchase would reveal the truth. 

Then hit them with a low-ball offer! 🤪

[BigRedX]

Looking at the OP the the bass is 25% less on-line. That's a big difference and more than the typical customer would expect to get off the price by haggling. Plus the two prices are either side of the magical £1k mark. I suspect that anyone looking for a bass under £1k would immediately dismiss it at the price shown in the store and not even bother to ask if there was a deal to be done.

[tauzero]

16 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

Looking at the OP the the bass is 25% less on-line. That's a big difference and more than the typical customer would expect to get off the price by haggling. Plus the two prices are either side of the magical £1k mark. I suspect that anyone looking for a bass under £1k would immediately dismiss it at the price shown in the store and not even bother to ask if there was a deal to be done.

 

Or go there, having found it online and decided to check it out in person, and thought "kinell, that's gone up a lot since I looked at the website".

[Minininjarob]

Of course they shouldn’t charge more in person as a shop and staff don’t cost any money at all. /sarcasm

 

Have a chat with them, that’s the best policy. They may explain why it’s different, they might realise it’s a mistake either way and correct it and they might sell it to you at the online price. I’ve done this with a few shops and speaking nicely to an actual human often makes the situation resolve itself. 

 

[Tim2291]

14 hours ago, Minininjarob said:

Of course they shouldn’t charge more in person as a shop and staff don’t cost any money at all. /sarcasm

 

Have a chat with them, that’s the best policy. They may explain why it’s different, they might realise it’s a mistake either way and correct it and they might sell it to you at the online price. I’ve done this with a few shops and speaking nicely to an actual human often makes the situation resolve itself. 

 

Unfortunately if the cost of having a shop and staff means they have to put the instore price up, this actually reinforces my thoughts that PMT are probably trying to put their own stores out of business! To be fair, if you can charge the same for a guitar online with very few overheads, and the same in store with staff, business rates, rent, energy bills, insurances etc... you'd want the shop gone! 

Those looking at instruments of a certain quality/price will of course do the research and probably go in knowing the price range of it, but as others have said, if a bass is labelled at 25% more than it should be, this is usually beyond the realms of haggling and we would all potentially just turn and walk away thus killing the store. Those who do not know, parents of beginners etc. are likely to be overcharged in store!

[Dad3353]

1 hour ago, Tim2291 said:

... online with very few overheads, and the same in store with staff, business rates, rent, energy bills, insurances etc... 

 

To be fair, 'online' stores have staff, premises, business rates, energy bills... too, plus the extra hassle (and cost...) of delivery transport, and handling of the inevitable 'returns'. Maybe not comparable to having a chain of shops nationally, but certainly similar, if not more, to a solo retail outlet, plus the cost of the web site itself. Just sayin'. 

[nekomatic]

I’m sensing that this issue fundamentally divides people into two camps: those who can’t understand why someone wouldn’t just ask about the price, and those who can’t understand why the shop wouldn’t just  make up their mind about the price and put that on the label. You can probably infer a lot else about someone’s personality from which one they are. 

[neepheid]

10 minutes ago, nekomatic said:

I’m sensing that this issue fundamentally divides people into two camps: those who can’t understand why someone wouldn’t just ask about the price, and those who can’t understand why the shop wouldn’t just  make up their mind about the price and put that on the label. You can probably infer a lot else about someone’s personality from which one they are. 

 

I don't like haggling/pussyfooting around/foreplay when it comes to buying stuff.  Go on then, infer away...

[Dad3353]

58 minutes ago, nekomatic said:

I’m sensing that this issue fundamentally divides people into two camps: those who can’t understand why someone wouldn’t just ask about the price, and those who can’t understand why the shop wouldn’t just  make up their mind about the price and put that on the label. You can probably infer a lot else about someone’s personality from which one they are. 

 

Yes, infer away. I just pay for stuff that I want, if I can. I do that at the butchers, the bakers, the candlestick makers etc. So..? 

[Burns-bass]

On every single item in the store…

[tauzero]

2 hours ago, Burns-bass said:

On every single item in the store…

 

I'm glad they listened to my advice.

[Minininjarob]

On 29/11/2023 at 11:22, Dad3353 said:

 

To be fair, 'online' stores have staff, premises, business rates, energy bills... too, plus the extra hassle (and cost...) of delivery transport, and handling of the inevitable 'returns'. Maybe not comparable to having a chain of shops nationally, but certainly similar, if not more, to a solo retail outlet, plus the cost of the web site itself. Just sayin'. 

An online store has minuscule running costs compared to a retail store. 
In every single way, building/staff/energy/rates/equipment/security a retail store has multiple times the costs. 
I used to be a retail operations manager and the costs are astronomical. 

Edited December 2, 2023 by Minininjarob

[Woodinblack]

I presume that PMT bristol moved for costs, they used to be near the town centre, but now they are by the train station. Don't know what the new place is like, its not an area I go so I can't really pop in anymore like I used to when it was down town.

[Dan Dare]

On 27/11/2023 at 22:40, tauzero said:

 

There wouldn't be a ticket price. If you can't/won't scan a QR code, you just ask an assistant who will be glad to, er, assist. Or, given the levels of service nowadays, be just as likely to say "f*ck off grandpa".

 

I should imagine that, at somewhere named PMT, you'd be very likely to be told to eff orf because they were having a bad day...

[Burns-bass]

55 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

I presume that PMT bristol moved for costs, they used to be near the town centre, but now they are by the train station. Don't know what the new place is like, its not an area I go so I can't really pop in anymore like I used to when it was down town.

It’s good. The staff are (by and large) positive and friendly and the store is well managed. They were helping a young woman select a parlour guitar when I was there. They also have used guitars too (including a couple of lovely Stingrays!)

[Old Horse Murphy]

1 hour ago, Woodinblack said:

I presume that PMT bristol moved for costs, they used to be near the town centre, but now they are by the train station. Don't know what the new place is like, its not an area I go so I can't really pop in anymore like I used to when it was down town.

They actually moved because the building they were in was condemned due to concrete degradation. The new store is fine (parking round the back if needed) but it doesn't have all the nooks and crannies of the old store which I really liked. 
 

Joe (the bass specialist) left a short while ago but it's still a nice enough store to have a browse. 

[gafbass02]

I used to work for a well known uk hi fi retailer where this was standard practice. It was as simple as having to offer the best prices online for browsers online to be competitive, then having an in store price related to the higher high street overheads. We would basically sell stuff and then hope they didn’t go home and look at the website. If (usually when)  they did, we would offer them a refund for the difference and had usually succeeded in antagonising them. This was some years back now and the present situation with everyone having the Internet in their pocket all the time may have changed things. But that’s what the deal was. It was chancing a profit 

[Burns-bass]

17 minutes ago, gafbass02 said:

I used to work for a well known uk hi fi retailer where this was standard practice. It was as simple as having to offer the best prices online for browsers online to be competitive, then having an in store price related to the higher high street overheads. We would basically sell stuff and then hope they didn’t go home and look at the website. If (usually when)  they did, we would offer them a refund for the difference and had usually succeeded in antagonising them. This was some years back now and the present situation with everyone having the Internet in their pocket all the time may have changed things. But that’s what the deal was. It was chancing a profit 

This isn’t the case here.

 

The price you pay at the till is the online price. I have no shares in PMT but the label makes it clear this is what happens.

[Woodinblack]

22 hours ago, Old Horse Murphy said:

They actually moved because the building they were in was condemned due to concrete degradation.

 

Can't say I am surprised - it was one of those sort of buildings that looked put up in a hurry.

 

22 hours ago, Old Horse Murphy said:

The new store is fine (parking round the back if needed) but it doesn't have all the nooks and crannies of the old store which I really liked. 
 

Joe (the bass specialist) left a short while ago but it's still a nice enough store to have a browse. 

 

I used to like the browse and occasional buy - it was convenient in that when shopping in bristol, my wife could go to the other shops so i got a time for a proper look.  There is nothing else where they are so she would be with me and bored.

[Stub Mandrel]

Not read all the posts.

 

PMT  had an annoying and trading standards worrying policy of not displaying prices and looking things up online if you enquired.

 

I think they have been 'encouraged' to price their instruments but still do an online check before selling so you should get the website price.

 

It's worth doing an online check if you know what you're interested in. When I wanted an AVII it was hard to find places with stock, but the best price I could find in the UK was actually a fairly nearby store in the valleys (A Strings) who are brilliant at customer service so big win!

[Phil Starr]

You have to say this is a failure of government. There should be laws to prevent the unwary being exploited and moral hazard for all those who mis-sell or mis-price goods. It is everywhere from the pricing of train tickets to the sale of insurance. Even the removal of VAT on women’s sanitary products was taken by companies as a dividend and no reduction at all was passed back to the customer. When regulation is seen as ‘red tape gone mad’ or the ‘nanny state’ then you can only expect to be exploited. I would love to live in @Dad3353 world but sadly increasing parts of the economy ae controlled by corporations where the shareholder is king and the customer is only there to be exploited. 
 

Mind you we choose the government.