I like looking good. In a professional environment, that mean wearing a tie. Some men hate em', I love wearing ties. I have a pretty good collection and am always looking for new additions.
So when I saw a Facebook ad that read "Four quality ties for a buck! No hidden fees" I clicked.
Ten minutes from that click, they would lose me as a customer forever.
The next page is laid out well. There is a photo at the top, a selection of 18 ties that you can choose from, instructions for ordering on the bottom left and testimonials from past customers on the bottom right of the screen. The bottom of the page even has a guarantee and trust-type seals.
Nowhere on the page is there anything about shipping charges, or any other obligations. At first glance it appears that the site is merely a way for potential customers to sample a company's product at a low price, with hopes of making future customers.
I should have known better.
As I was about to make my four selections, I realized that I had to check a box that stated that I had read the terms and conditions...uh oh.
I don't see any terms and conditions. So I wonder if this company would sink so low as to not include the terms and conditions until after you check the box. Turns out they were. As I checked that I had read them, a new box appears on the page that explains all the terms and conditions.
I finally got it. This wasn't a company looking to supply customers with new ties. It was another scam that insulted my intelligence by actually thinking that I would fall for it.First off, they want $14.95 for shipping and handling. I actually might be able to accept this, even though real shipping is only a fraction of that, because I'm only paying a buck for the ties. Its still less than in a store.
But then I get into the fine print. By buying I'm automatically enrolling in a Wholesale Discount Club for "just $7.49 per month, billed annually." So if I don't tell them within 14 days from my signup date (note, if shipping takes a week, it's only 7 days from receipt,) they're hitting my card for $89.88. For that I get nothing other than the right to buy more ties for $19.99 each (probably plus $14.95 s&h, so they're probably $35 ties.)
Interesting deal - I've gone from an expectation of spending a buck plus some probably outrageous shipping costs to forking over $90 to have the privilege of overpaying for ties for a year. (I'm assuming these ties are of the quality that you would pick up at a Wal*Mart, not a fine men's store - admittedly, I could be wrong.)
But more importantly, they promised me "No hidden fees!" and a relationship I could trust. What I got was clearly not what I had expected.
I'm sure their refund and chargeback rate is astronomical.Lessons to be learned:
1. Don't lie. Lying is bad.
2. If you want to build an offer for something that will be in addition to your advertised offer, don't slide it in on the sly, tell your customers about it, and sell them on the benefits of your offer. Be explicit, and sell it, don't do the bare minimum to pass a legal challenge.
3. Recognize that in today's world the consumer has a voice and that voice can be VERY effective in driving people away from you. Do you want people talking about how horrible you are to deal with, and how you ripped them off, or singing your praises. It's up to you!Needless to say, I didn't buy any ties from this company. I wouldn't recommend that you do so either.
5 comments:
Sadly, I know many who have fallen to the same fate. I do not know how someone can run a scam like that and hope to be successful. Absolutely unethical.
Jackson,
When I was reading this post I knew that it came from you before I even got to the bottom. There just has to be some sort of predetermined skepticism that accompanies "too good to be true" Web purchases. If everyone just followed that mantra, ads like that wouldn't have any effect at all.
Oddly enough, this was probably just a prospecting marketing technique to get you to visit the site and build traffic. It most likely had nothing to do with selling ties.
Hidden fees and shipping and handling are by biggest pet pevee!! I love to go to concerts, and usually the best way to get tickets is from Ticketmaster online. However, by the time you get to typing in your credit card number, you ticket price has gone from $40 for ticket, plus a $6.50 handling charge, $4.oo convenience fee, and my favorite part...if you want to print it out instantly on your computer, another $2.00 charge. Now my $40 ticket is $52.50,and I'm irritated. No one likes to feel like they are being scammed, and had Ticketmaster just announced the actual price in the beginning, I probably still would have purchases the ticket, however my opinion on the company would not be so negative.
word to the wise: hidden fees are not the way to make customers think they are paying cheaper prices, its a way to get them to never use your service again.
I have been running into these sites with hidden fees and excessive shipping and handling charges with online christmas shopping. Many of the websites I have come across list items under "free shipping" so I place many items with that tag in my cart and go to check out when suddenly their shipping was not free!
I think the "fine print" of these websites needs to be more explicit. Not only are they being unethical, they are ruining relationships with customers who become overly frustrated by the run-arounds they receive from these stores.
This is crazy...and I bet many people fall for it. I mean, when I think about it, I rarely read terms and conditions when buying something online. Which is so bad. I could have fallen victim to this kind of stuff too!
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