Marked up prices . . .

Tarolisol · #1 12-28-2005, 05:38 AM

I feel that if it was Big Als doing this everyone of you would be fuming, why should we not judge JL with the same critizism we hold for others. Its wrong for any company to do what they did regardless of there everyday low prices.

AndyL · #2 12-28-2005, 05:51 AM

Big als had done the same thing - though less conspicuously... Several people noted livestock which was 5-10$ above the "normal" price (the price we regularly see them at, and bought them the week before at). Of course last year when this topic came up (not sure if it was here or on AA), it was said there were above average deaths, transportation costs were higher than expected yadda yadda yadda. So I'd expect that would be the same answer this time around.

Andy

Mike Olson · #3 12-28-2005, 06:10 AM

Not to mention that Big Als is ALWAYS 30% or more above JL's regular pricing...Even though there might of been some discrepancies, I found no discrpancies in the inverts and livestock pricing...I saved between 15-20% on a little over $200...Big Als I would have spent over $300 to get what I did.

reeferaddict · #4 12-28-2005, 07:00 AM

I would like to know where people get off saying this is "illegal".... Let's clear this up once and for all... as a retailer, (not at all related to the aquarium industry), I advertise that I have product "A" on sale for $199.99... the only thing "illegal" I could do would be to sell that product for more than advertised on the date of the "sale"... I can limit quantities... ie, "4 only, first come first served - no phone orders" or something like that... but that's it. When it comes to this Boxing Day sale... there were no advanced advertising of specific pricing as far as I know... correct me please if I am wrong. For a retailer to have a price increase THEN a discount advertised is not in any way, shape or form "illegal"... call it what you want, but it is definitely legal.

Veng68 · #5 12-28-2005, 07:48 AM

Another thing about retailing......... if an item is priced lower by accident.......... they don't have to honor that price by law (although most do to please the customer, then quickly change the price back to the correct price).

not really on topic but I remember when I used to work retail...... many people would get upset about that.

Cheers,
Vic[veng68]

naesco · #6 12-28-2005, 04:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reeferaddict

I would like to know where people get off saying this is "illegal".... Let's clear this up once and for all... as a retailer, (not at all related to the aquarium industry), I advertise that I have product "A" on sale for $199.99... the only thing "illegal" I could do would be to sell that product for more than advertised on the date of the "sale"... I can limit quantities... ie, "4 only, first come first served - no phone orders" or something like that... but that's it. When it comes to this Boxing Day sale... there were no advanced advertising of specific pricing as far as I know... correct me please if I am wrong. For a retailer to have a price increase THEN a discount advertised is not in any way, shape or form "illegal"... call it what you want, but it is definitely legal.

What do you call it, Reeferaddict?

Dolf · #7 12-28-2005, 04:15 PM

I am not certain if it is an Alberta law or if it is the same around all of Canada. Here in Alberta (for sure) a retailer must have sold the item at what they advertise as their “regular price” in the last month. I have seen companies charged (I specifically remember a store that is a member of the Forzani group.) I am not suggesting that they charge J&L- if their prices are good I guess no reason not to buy from them, but it is misleading.

Chin_Lee · #8 12-28-2005, 04:33 PM

Just got the following Newsletter from JL's explaning their price fluctuations. Hopefully the explanation suffices to make everybody enjoy the holiday season a little more.

Quote:

New Pricing Structure:

As most of you should be aware, we implemented a new computer system in-store and online about four months ago. This enables us to
link pricing and inventory with our retail and online location. It also allows us to change prices/discounts very rapidly with no
wasted time. What took days before, now only takes a matter of minutes.

What our in store customers know that was not posted online was that we took our base retail price and lowered it by 5% across the
board for all dry goods bought in US dollars. This was (and is) due to the fact of the highly volatile Canadian Dollar. By setting a
base retail price, we can adjust our pricing level accordingly to what the dollar does without actually doing a “store-wide price
change” which will still take MANY hours (days).

We did not post this online as we didn’t want to make a big deal of it in case the dollar drops/rises or whatever the case. The base
retail price will remain, and what will be displayed online is our adjusted retail price (the price you pay). All sale
prices/discounts will be calculated on our set retail price until there is some stability in the Canadian Dollar. We will continue
to operate in this manner for the foreseeable future as we feel it gives our customers the best service and most up-to-date,
competitive pricing available anywhere.

We hope that this clears the air on some issues some of you may have had, and explains why and what we did.

reeferaddict · #9 12-28-2005, 05:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by naesco

What do you call it, Reeferaddict?

I call it staying in business... remember, retailers reserve the right to provide goods/services to anyone. period. Consumers also have the right to choose where they shop.

I see no problem with this... tell me where they promised ANY discount off a previously advertised price and I will have a problem with it...