tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21166579.post8937493169970904689..comments2024-02-19T08:12:53.815-05:00Comments on The Right Thing: THE RIGHT THING: NO HAPPY RETURNSJeffrey L. Seglinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15648051034425906705noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21166579.post-15422060694633000672007-06-12T20:12:00.000-04:002007-06-12T20:12:00.000-04:00Although many western sellers set fixed prices on ...Although many western sellers set fixed prices on goods, they are not required to and a sale is just as valid if, as in this case, the sale price was reached through negotiation. <BR/><BR/>A store is not required to take returns and it sounds as if this store did everything reasonable to notify the customer of its policy not to. The store's offer of exchanging for store credit is more than generous. The customer is completely offbase in what she believes she is ethically entitled to.Bill Jacobsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05109292381489849674noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21166579.post-68566842752976829672007-06-12T11:37:00.000-04:002007-06-12T11:37:00.000-04:00Dear Mr. Seglin, This comment is in response to yo...Dear Mr. Seglin,<BR/> <BR/>This comment is in response to your column that appeared in the OC Register on June 11.<BR/> <BR/>Untagged merchandise and slippery pricing are standard business practices with recent immigrants from what used to be called "Third World Countries." It is simply how they do business in their country of origin. Like it or not, people who walk into their stores are evaluated for the ability/ willingness to pay a higher price. Customers are expected to bargain so the initial price is considered only the starting point. We have encountered this practice at all levels of business - from sidewalk fruit stands to expensive Persian rug stores in elegant neighborhoods. It is not uncommon to be given a lower price after you reject the first price and to have an even lower price shouted out as you leave the store. No, it is not like shopping at Macy's.<BR/> <BR/>I would never dream of arguing with this system. If you are uncomfortable with haggling or do not like being "sucker scanned" the solution is easy: take your dollars elsewhere. We should just be cognizant that we are not more insulated from being ripped-off in the fixed-price stores we are so comfortable in.<BR/> <BR/>Teri Klima<BR/>Orange, CAAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21166579.post-160536836319439512007-06-11T13:54:00.000-04:002007-06-11T13:54:00.000-04:00I agree with you, Jeffrey, depending, however, on ...I agree with you, Jeffrey, depending, however, on the size, number, and placement of the signs in the store. Perhaps they were almost too obscure to notice, in which case the customer has a valid complaint. The statement on the receipt wouldn’t have been helpful, because the customer doesn’t get a receipt until after she has bought the product.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21166579.post-16572036247796798802007-06-10T18:51:00.000-04:002007-06-10T18:51:00.000-04:00First off, she has no right to return it because s...First off, she has no right to return it because she is functioning here within the western world and its rules of conscience. But it also proves why other world economies with this kind of bargaining price policy are in trouble long term. (How can you predict profit this way from cost of goods vs sales?) If you don't post prices and then you bargain, how solid is the store policy anyway? Can you expect store policy to be as flexible as the pricing? Who set the expectations here?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com