Disappointed In Sears

Here's how I read this:

She bought a $1000 TV from Sears. Sears charged some amount fo S&H
(let's say it was $100). So, the Sears TOTAL price is $1100.

She then saw the same TV on another web site for less (let's say it
was $900 plus $200 S&H). So, the competitor TOTAL price was $1100.

In other words, they TOTAL price (including S&H) was the same.

What Shelli wants is to have the price match based on the price,
excluding S&H. Meaning that Sears owes her $100 plus 10%.

This seems standard to me. I've never heard of a price match taking
S&H into consideration.

I checked the sears.com web site to see what the stated policy is. It
says "If you find a lower price (including shipping, handling and
delivery) on an identical branded item with the same features
currently available for sale and delivery in your area from a local
retail store's online site, Sears will match that total price Plus,
give you 10% of the difference. Just print the ordering page,
including shipping, handling and delivery, and bring it to your Sears
store at the time of, or within 30 days after, your purchase. If you
are purchasing the item from sears.com, email the information to
order@customerservice.sears.com."

Weird or not, the policy is stated. Which brings me to Shelli's
statement "Treat all your customers the same." She apparently feels
that she should not be treated the same as others, since she wants an
exception from the policy.

She also says "It doesn't matter if the consumer is spending thousands
of dollars or just buying a pair of slippers." But, then, she makes
several statements about how much the TV was and how much she'll buy
from Sears. As if the fact that she's a big spender does earn her the
right to have special treatment.

Even though, I agree, the S&H policy is wacky (of course, it's
relatively rare for a store to offer Internet price matches), the
policy is right there and I fail to see why Shelli deserves to break
the policy.

I had to re-read it a few times myself. It sounded to me like they did
the price match. HOWEVER, they included the S&H to the price that the
letter writer was paying in the match. He says "Sears matched the
price of the television INCLUDING the shipping and handling. My
concern is the television was the sale item NOT the shipping and
handling".

Phew, I thought I was the only one that was confused!

The first paragraph of your letter needs to be written so it makes
sense. First you say they matched the price, then you say they
didn't. And I have no idea what you are trying to say about the
shipping and handling.

Maybe it's just because it's been a long day, but I'm confused. If
their stated policy is to match the price and give an additional 10%
off, why did they just match and not go 10% lower? Is that your
complaint...that they didn't give the extra 10% off? How does the
shipping and handling price for sears.com compare with that of the
competitor where you found the lower TV price? What is their normal
policy about matching S&H? If they're giving you a deal on S&H when
they don't have to, then as long as it is equal to or better than the
amount you would have gotten for the extra 10% discount, you really
can't complain. If it's not equal to what you would get with the extra
10% discount, then I can definitely see your point, because they're
not sticking to the stated policy and they're not doing anything equal
or better.

I hope that makes sense. Good luck to you!

Are you kidding me? Sears MATCHED THE PRICE THAT YOU WOULD BE PAYING.
You will usually pay less online, it's the S&H that gets you every
time. If Sears didn't include that in their price match, they'd have a
LOT of matching to do, and it would end up being very costly for
them.

But, I'm assuming that since you cancelled your purchase, that you
found a place that sold the TV for the online price, less the S&H.
Otherwise, you'd be cutting off your nose to spite your face. Right?