Smyths Discount Weekend

TheDriver

Caovyn Lineah wrote: »

Sorry, of course I shouldn't have said everything. The vast majority of stock was no doubt put up in price though. I am speaking from experience here.

Vast majority means 100s of stuff. From experience means a few items you spotted? Anything I got was same price for last few weeks except little tikes things that were on sale and were obvious that sale on them would be over by the 20% off weekend.

ThisRegard

Caovyn Lineah wrote: »

Sorry, of course I shouldn't have said everything. The vast majority of stock was no doubt put up in price though. I am speaking from experience here.

But it just so happens that all of us here looking at items before the sale happened to be looking at those items that weren't increased?

Caovyn Lineah

TheDriver wrote: »

Vast majority means 100s of stuff. From experience means a few items you spotted? Anything I got was same price for last few weeks except little tikes things that were on sale and were obvious that sale on them would be over by the 20% off weekend.

From experience is 3 years of employment in Smyths.

Caovyn Lineah

ThisRegard wrote: »

But it just so happens that all of us here looking at items before the sale happened to be looking at those items that weren't increased?

Feel free to go through their Facebook page and look at the comments of people who weren't as lucky.

johnf26

Caovyn Lineah wrote: »

I'll make it even simpler for you.

An item was on sale for months for €80, Smyths decide yesterday to put it up to €96 and then put it on "sale" at 20% off, that price is then €80. Where is the saving for the customer?

It's a simple ploy to get people into the shop that unfortunately, many people fall for every year.

Have to agree with you there,as i used to work for them myself,its just all a marketing scam with them.
Dont get me wrong they do have stuff that would be a decent price but 90percent of there stuff is exactly how you described it putting the price up right before there sale etc.

NinjaTruncs

I really don't see the issue. They have targeted price reductions which they remove as they are doing store wide reductions. You still get the item for the same price. What will be next people giving out that they won't give stock away for free.

It really is a case that you just can't please some people.

Caovyn Lineah

NinjaTruncs wrote: »

I really don't see the issue. They have targeted price reductions which they remove as they are doing store wide reductions. You still get the item for the same price. What will be next people giving out that they won't give stock away for free.

It really is a case that you just can't please some people.

You get the item for the same price while they are advertising a 20% off sale this weekend when in reality you could have gone in last Tuesday and got the same items for the same price.

Rael

Caovyn Lineah wrote: »

You get the item for the same price while they are advertising a 20% off sale this weekend when in reality you could have gone in last Tuesday and got the same items for the same price.

Or in the case of Lego as one example, all the items for 20% off the price they've always been. Surely with the popularity of Lego and the new Star Wars toy range, they would have been obvious ones to manipulate re: a fake discounting practice as you've alleged.

JDxtra

I got a 2015 Lego set that always was €99.99 or dearer in Smyths and elsewhere, including online. That was 20% off - so a good deal in my opinion.

ThisRegard

Caovyn Lineah wrote: »

Feel free to go through their Facebook page and look at the comments of people who weren't as lucky.

Look at the 2 Facebook links in this thread. Lookat the normal price in the pics, then work out the price they would get them for this weekend.

Caovyn Lineah wrote: »

You get the item for the same price while they are advertising a 20% off sale this weekend when in reality you could have gone in last Tuesday and got the same items for the same price.

Because they're already on offer, the 20% discount doesn't apply to existing offers.

Caovyn Lineah

I cannot believe I need to try and explain this further for you to understand what they do.

There is no discount today on the majority of items because you could buy them for the "discounted" price for months.

If I have something for sale for €500 for a month then put the price up to €1000 tomorrow morning and offer it to you for half price tomorrow evening,would you feel it was a good deal?

ThisRegard

You can try explain it all you want. I know, and others here do too, the price of stuff earlier this week and the past few, and the price they paid yesterday or today.

I bought €300 worth of items, all cheaper than what they were previously. I must just be lucky that I happened to need the few items that were really reduced.

Caovyn Lineah

ThisRegard wrote: »

You can try explain it all you want. I know, and others here do too, the price of stuff earlier this week and the past few, and the price they paid yesterday or today.

I bought €300 worth of items, all cheaper than what they were previously. I must just be lucky that I happened to need the few items that were really reduced.

Ahhh, you are one of the people who fell for their scam. Sorry for making you feel bad.

dudara

@Caovyn Lineah - you've made your point. No need to labour it.

dudara

clerk

I was there last night and it was packed.

The lego for example was the same price it has been for ages and it was 20% off at the till.

A genuine sale in my opinion.

L1011

Bought something today that has been 59.99 since it was released, still 59.99 on the sticker and 47.99 changed hands

Anyone who thinks they ramped the price on a few thousand lines - including the fact that Smyths put stickers *on* most items - for a three day period to then reverse it has clearly never worked in retail. The labour involved in changing a few thousand SELs, restickering tens of thousands of items, and then reversing it would cost insane amounts.

Caovyn Lineah

L1011 wrote: »

Bought something today that has been 59.99 since it was released, still 59.99 on the sticker and 47.99 changed hands

Anyone who thinks they ramped the price on a few thousand lines - including the fact that Smyths put stickers *on* most items - for a three day period to then reverse it has clearly never worked in retail. The labour involved in changing a few thousand SELs, restickering tens of thousands of items, and then reversing it would cost insane amounts.

I've worked in retail for 10+ years including 3 in Smyths.

NinjaTruncs

But it comes across that you have something against Smyths. Countless people have claimed in their opinion its a real sale and you keep harping back to your experience without any proof. Off all the items I bought none were marked up for this event, all were their rrp with the 20% taken off.

NinjaTruncs

NinjaTruncs wrote: »

But it comes across that you have something against Smyths. Countless people have claimed in their opinion its a real sale and you keep harping back to your experience without any proof. Off all the items I bought none were marked up for this event, all were their rrp with the 20% taken off.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10207594224231711&set=p.10207594224231711&type=1&theater

There's one example and plenty more of them on their Facebook page and various other forums.

Was originally priced @ €66.49 (not an offer), then went up to €88.99 just in time for the sale, 20% off at the till and you pay €71.19, an increase of €4.70.

And another example:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10207792530280588&set=p.10207792530280588&type=1&theater

Caovyn Lineah

NinjaTruncs wrote: »

But it comes across that you have something against Smyths. Countless people have claimed in their opinion its a real sale and you keep harping back to your experience without any proof. Off all the items I bought none were marked up for this event, all were their rrp with the 20% taken off.

Were you tracking their price during the week?

ThisRegard

Time to give it rest and stop implying we're all idiots.

Caovyn Lineah

ThisRegard wrote: »

Time to give it rest and stop implying we're all idiots.

I have no intention of implying that. I am merely stating FACTS about this sale. I don't know why people are finding it so hard to believe.

dudara

@Caovyn Lineah - that's enough. Please do not post in this thread again.

dudara

eeguy

I don't know why people are so surprised. Price fixing is a major feature of all Irish retailers.

I've worked in various irish owned and international shops and they've ALL done similar tricks when it comes to sales, especially when it comes to seasonal products.

ted1

Price fixing is different.

durtybit

Smyths are simply ending quite a few offers and starting new offers the very day the 20% discount weekend kicks in which is nothing new. From observations I believe the RRP does not appear to change but the "discounted price" changes (hence the new offer)

The 20% off is a separate offer which has nothing to do with the individual stock offers.

A lot of people unfortunately assumed incorrectly that the offers that ended on Thursday night would still be valid on the Friday when the weekend 20% kicked in!

GerardKeating

Caovyn Lineah wrote: »

I have no intention of implying that. I am merely stating FACTS about this sale. I don't know why people are finding it so hard to believe.

Maybe because (for me anyway) all the items I am interested in, and tracking the price are actually cheaper this weekend.

Reminds me of an old (and not funny) joke. Store has a sign up "Sale must end this weekend". When asked why MUST the sales end, replied "so that the next sale can start"...

GerardKeating

Caovyn Lineah wrote: »

From experience is 3 years of employment in Smyths.

Was it a bad experience? You seem not to like them..

lau1247

Just a general note, there may be price difference depending on the store. Don't know if it was a mistake or not.

When i bought my lego in smyth naas on my way home, i was also looking at other toys. There happen to have a ken black store by my house (didn't know they are linked and doing discount also at the time). I went to the ken black store and noted the item was cheaper in ken black store before the 20% when compared to the one in smyth naas.

casio4

GerardKeating wrote: »

Maybe because (for me anyway) all the items I am interested in, and tracking the price are actually cheaper this weekend.

Reminds me of an old (and not funny) joke. Store has a sign up "Sale must end this weekend". When asked why MUST the sales end, replied "so that the next sale can start"...

will there be another sale this side of Christmas or should I be buying this weekend?

Burning Eclipse

I can only post personal experience here. I was quite skeptical about the sale, but went along anyway as nothing ventured, nothing gained.

My son loves Lego, I'm sure many others are in a similar situation. We bought 7 Lego items yesterday, all of which were marked at the same price as Lego.com, then minus 20%. We have his birthday and Christmas sorted from us and his sister, and for 20% less than it normally would have been. I checked the prices of these things regularly so I know that genuine savings were had.

If you go into this knowing a fair price for what you planned on buying you're not going to get burned, simple as.

uck51js9zml2yt

casio4 wrote: »

will there be another sale this side of Christmas or should I be buying this weekend?

Argos with have their 3 for 2 soon.

GerardKeating

casio4 wrote: »

will there be another sale this side of Christmas or should I be buying this weekend?

Depends on how well Christmas goes, if the stuff is flying out the door, they won't bother with a sale.

5uspect

Discounts have to be representative to the price for a recommended 28 days:
http://www.consumerhelp.ie/price-promotions

GerardKeating

5uspect wrote: »

Discounts have to be representative to the price for a recommended 28 days:
http://www.consumerhelp.ie/price-promotions

But it's "28 consecutive days in the 3 months before the price was reduced", so the lower price could have been July...

Royal Legend

You can tell me to stop posting as well, my wife has been tracking prices of a number of things for Christmas and she has just come back from Smyths giving out that the sale is a rip off. (in relation to the items she is looking for)

Wii u console, controller and mario game bundle was €199 last week, €299 this week. Not only that but she spoke to an assistant manager last week about what was in the bundle. If she had the money last week she would have bought it.

Electronic items not in the sale this weekend, but its disgraceful to think that they can put up a console price by €100 (50%) within a few days.

brightkane

Folks can we leave this to the bargains and if people want to start a further discussion do it in consumer issues ?

Dozen Wicked Words

Royal Legend wrote: »

You can tell me to stop posting as well, my wife has been tracking prices of a number of things for Christmas and she has just come back from Smyths giving out that the sale is a rip off. (in relation to the items she is looking for)

Wii u console, controller and mario game bundle was €199 last week, €299 this week. Not only that but she spoke to an assistant manager last week about what was in the bundle. If she had the money last week she would have bought it.

Electronic items not in the sale this weekend, but its disgraceful to think that they can put up a console price by €100 (50%) within a few days.

So now the price of the Wii U is 100 more expensive than other retailers? No, of course it isn't. It's now in line with other retailers prices for the Wii U.

So Smyths offered an excellent, heavily discounted price (locally presumably because this deal was never online) and you didn't get it. Nothing to do with the sale, since as you say yourself the Wii U was never going to be in the sale anyway.

So really my question is what does your example have to do with the sale? What is disgraceful about deciding they will stop selling at a heavily discounted rate and charge what is pretty well what everyone else does?

soc

Look... prices are different because the new catalogue has come out for Christmas.
With each new edition of toy catalogue, prices can go up & down. To mark occasion of the new catalog Smyths are having a sale of 20% off. They say this themselves on their FB page: "Don't forget our new catalogue is now available free in-store and to celebrate we're offering 20% off ALL toys, bikes, outdoor and baby in-store until close of business on Monday, September 21st!"

Argos do the same thing when new catalogue comes out: something may be a 'cheap' price, and as soon as new catalog is released, the price may have gone up. Prices are seasonal - they can go up or down when a new catalog comes out. It's different if this was mid-season (i.e. no new catalog), and last week a toy was €80, but this week they mark it up to €100, and then offer "a sale" of 20% off - that's illegal.

What Smyths are doing is perfectly legal. They have a new catalogue, which means new prices, and they're just giving 20% off (current catalog prices) to celebrate the publication of the new catalogue.

iatethepies

Just went to have a look if I could pick something up for my 1 year old god-daughter or my new nephew. I hope they like lego because I just spent about €100 on technic. I should never be allowed shop in a toy store. Thanks OP, I think.

WildCardDoW

People complaining about the prices have to realise as well that Smyths aren't advertising "WAS" and "NOW" they are advertising 20% off the catalogue price.

beardybrewer

Did we save 20% over Amazon or Argos prices? No.

Did it offer a competitive price and now I don't have to hear about what xmas presents to get for the next 3 months?

Bingo.

Mush_Flanagan

Is it on during Monday or stopped on Sunday ?

rusty_ie2004

Mush_Flanagan wrote: »

Is it on during Monday or stopped on Sunday ?

It finished on Monday st 6 when they close

durtybit

Royal Legend wrote: »

Electronic items not in the sale this weekend, but its disgraceful to think that they can put up a console price by €100 (50%) within a few days.

Offers end unfortunately and your wife missed out. I don't understand how this is the shops fault

beauf

I've been watching tablet prices and there was a discount on the tab 4 for example that ended when the 20% sale started. There's probably a bunch of other things the same. The 20% though is a genuine discount on other items like Lego that I've been watching.

durtybit

beauf wrote: »

I've been watching tablet prices and there was a discount on the tab 4 for example that ended when the 20% sale started. There's probably a bunch of other things the same. The 20% though is a genuine discount on other items like Lego that I've been watching.

I think a lot of people were caught out price watching, lot have came to the conclusion that the offers would continue through the 20% off weekend.

Prices / Terms and conditions on the day were clearly advertised in store and online so there was no ambiguity about the sale.

kitten_k

We went in with a big list yesterday, everything was the price it should have been and then discounted by the 20% at the til.

ted1

durtybit wrote: »

I think a lot of people were caught out price watching, lot have came to the conclusion that the offers would continue through the 20% off weekend.

Prices / Terms and conditions on the day were clearly advertised in store and online so there was no ambiguity about the sale.

But the point is that they were not offers before , they were simply the price

JB81

Have been waiting weeks for this and tracking prices and comparing prices and went in yesterday and loaded my trolley with about €430 worth of stuff and handed over around €360.00. All prices on the receipt were same as what i had been tracking and all above board from what i could see. Few things I knew were not available for discount as advertised. So overall happy and money saved as far as i am concerned