Dodgy Officework price-match dodges

So I'll refrain from naming merchandise/shops involved so it doesn't sound like I'm advertising for anyone but just thought I'd share some pretty ridiculous experiences I've had with Officework pricematches recently.

It seems they have tightened up their policy especially with regards to matching online stores as the first thing they said when i asked for a pricematch was "our policy has changed". Now I've had to call them 3 times (I tried to get it matched on the phone as I wanted to save myself a trip to the stores)
and each time I've been given an excuse which got progressively more ridiculous. I actually had an operator make up terms and conditions and gave me a fake phone number when I prompted her how she found out about it!

The first excuse was that they now have to call them up - which is ok, i heard that one before, but still unreasonable as most online stores don't have a phone number. after all, it's buyable online then there's no reason to refuse matching on grounds of questionable stock.

The second operator I rang blatantly lied to me that the return policy was different and they couldn't match because "they had a 20% restocking fee." Nowhere did it say so in the returns policy section and when I asked her where she found it she told me she rang them up. I then asked for the phone number, which after hanging up (i've decided to buy from the online shop at that point and just wanted to ask about tax invoice), i called the number and it was some random company she probably just pulled off google.

At this stage I was pretty peeved off and I called again just to even the score and the excuse offered this time was the deal isn't "exactly" the same because their shipping takes 1 day and the shipping time quoted on the online site was 5-7 days to metro areas. When I asked her what would happen if I chose to pickup in store instead and how that can be the case if they advertised matching online stores in actual stores she started stuttering and as her english wasn't great I asked for the manager then - three times - before she tried to talk me around the issue. I was then put on hold for half an hour and then told they were all busy and she will get back to me later today after emailing someone higher up.

it seems to be hit and miss depending on the stores and workers at each store but i haven't heard about the head office being this difficult. have anyone else had dodgy experiences with OW trying to get out of pricematches?

Related Stores

Officeworks
Officeworks

Comments

  • +7

    it's not worth the stress. if one doesn't match, find another that does. keep going in a cycle until you find an employee that just doesn't give a toss and will price match no questions asked.

    always threaten to report to <insert relevant government body here> for deliberately ambiguous policy to make them sweat a little before moving on to the next store.

    • -3

      threaten never work. i work many company before dick smith and office works threaten only made me not want to price match.

      • -3

        yes or no go on how nice u are went u ask?

      • I guess you worked that many company due to being fired from each one…

  • +2

    i have never done price-match over the phone. always walked into the store and talked to one of the staff there.

    as far as i know, they have price-match policy, but they are not obliged to sell you at that price, they are allowed to refuse to sell with that price with a valid reason : out of stock, price + shipping, model number is not an exact match. etc.

    would you mind if i ask, how much savings may you receive? 3 phone calls just for price match, i would not do it.

    • +1

      not obliged the sell at that price? maybe not, but advertising a price matching policy or any other offer and not honouring when possible to do so it is in fact illegal.

      they will definitely try and get out of it if they are losing money, and as they do not have specific terms and conditions listed anywhere on their website, it's subject to their interpretation of the deliberately ambiguous policy.

      it's definitely wrong, but as i said, it's not worth the bother fighting them about it, just go to another store.

      it is worth making them sweat a little quoting the law, asking to speak to manager etc. ;)

      and yes, pricematch over the phone? you're kidding right?

      • well it was worth a try, nothing to lose right? a lot of people ring up the head office to pull store managers into line too so they must have been ok with it before

        i agree it's not worth it and i only persisted as i needed the item urgently but i'm just surprised at the length at which they go to avoid a pricematch when it's a well-publicised store policy.

        • +1

          Can you please explain the following statement?

          "a lot of people ring up the head office to pull store managers into line too so they must have been ok with it before"

          Who are these lot of people and how do you know they call and how do you know that any calls manage to pull anyone into line?

          Just curious. It is a powerful statement you've made.

        • i've heard lots of people recount their experiences about price-matching on ozb as well as whirlpool. obviously experience differs across different stores with different managers/employees and when they flat out refuse to pricematch when criterias are met then ringing up the head office is an avenue you could pursue to get them to change their mind. common sense really

    • like i said i persisted only to catch them out on lying to me. i'm not sure about you but i don't appreciate shady tactics like that from a well known, large chain store.

      and FYI if it's advertised, it's part of the sales condition and they cannot refuse or they would be breaking australian consumer law

      • +1

        Lodge a complaint with Consumer Affairs. At the very least it will go against their record.

      • FYI if it's advertised, it's part of the sales condition and they cannot refuse or they would be breaking australian consumer law

        Oh what rubbish. What law are you talking about?

        • +4

          i don't think i'll even waste time explaining seeing you clearly don't have understandings of commercial law

        • Try me.

        • +10

          What is misleading or deceptive conduct?

          Conduct includes actions and statements, such as:

          •advertisements
          •promotions
          •quotations
          •statements
          •any representation made by a person.
          Business conduct is likely to break the law if it creates a misleading overall impression among the intended audience about the price, value or quality of consumer goods or services.

          Whether a business intended to mislead or deceive is irrelevant; what matters is how their statements and actions, the business conduct, could affect the thoughts and beliefs of a consumer.

          http://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/Consumers/Advertising_and_…

          items sold at OW are effectively sold with the advertised "lowest price guarantee" which claims to PM any identical product sold in australia, subject to exclusions. to refuse when the criterias listed are satisfied is in breach of TPA

        • LOL .. well if you could prove the following (all of the followings), then you can go and tell them "mate you breached the law .." ..

          What items does the 5% reduction apply to?
          All identical products and services with identical terms and conditions that are stocked at Officeworks and in stock at our competitor.

          What items are excluded from the LPG?
          Non identical products and services (inclusive of non identical warranties)
          Package deals i.e. printer and computer bundles
          Cash back offers
          Resellers
          Customer special orders
          Contract Pricing

        • +4

          if the item could be sold. every product in the store is not "an offer" but "an invitation" ..

          so when you make "an offer" (when you say you wanna buy this), and negotiate the price (an counter offer), they can refuse/reject/revoke your offer.

          basic consumer law.

        • +4

          it's not an offer, it's a policy. they are get brownies points (and customer flow, i.e. profit)for advertising "lowest prices" and the trade-off is offering PMs.

          it's akin to advertising a 50% storewide sale but only to refuse when you are at the counter claiming we refuse your offer at this price.

          i really don't see why people don't get something this simple

        • +9

          Isn't it an invitation to treat?

          dusts off useless law degree

        • -1

          Xbai has absolutely no idea.
          Your homework tonight is to read the competition and consumer act.

        • +2

          Damn it, didn't come here to be reminded about those law lectures so many years ago T.T

        • +12

          I'm with you on this.

          Australian consumer law is VERY good compared to other countries.

          His 50% sale analogy is correct. They lure you into their shop under the impression that you can purchase an item for a specific price - they guarantee it. They don't honour that. That breaks consumer law. The law he quoted above for the simple fact that it is a means to get you into that store and see all their shiny products you can buy (at a heavily inflated rate).

          This is different from haggling - this is them putting in black and white "Yes, we do this" and then saying "No we don't, here's the product at full price."

          You guys are arguing "Nah, I know the law like a boss" yet he's the only one who has quoted it and it backs up what he is saying.

          Quote law which backs up what you're claiming guys or just accept you lost.

        • +1

          Xbai- it's not an offer, it's a policy. they are get brownies points (and customer flow, i.e. profit)for advertising "lowest prices" and the trade-off is offering PMs.

          it's akin to advertising a 50% storewide sale but only to refuse when you are at the counter claiming we refuse your offer at this price.

          i really don't see why people don't get something this simple

          Xbai…. there's "store policy" and there's "law".
          you seem to be valuing the two as equally as important, and when it comes to consumer rights "law" wins every time. price matching is a store policy, not a customer right.

          going by your example above, if you get to the counter and the retailer refuses to sell you something… thats THEIR RIGHT.

          they arent under any obligation to sell you anything, just like you arent under any obligation to buy just because you put it in your shopping trolley.

          until you hand over your cash (the offer), and the retailer takes it and gives you a receipt (acceptance), there isnt any binding obligation to any party.

          you may have recourse under misleading advertising, but thats an issue that must be raised with Fair Trading separately. but at the register? nup… they dont have to sell you anything, as they arent obligated to.

        • +2

          google bait and switch. that's illegal

        • +4

          It's not the selling/ not selling of the items that is the problem.

          It's the guarantee that you can get something (written in black and white) for a certain price under certain conditions and, even when those conditions are met, they choose not to stick to what they advertised as a guarantee.

          It's not the transaction that's illegal; it's the advertising of something which either doesn't exist, isn't adhered to and/or is misleading…bringing me full circle back to the LAW which xbai quoted - as you said: law always over-rides anything else, so what's the issue?

          To address what you said above - yes, they can refuse to price match - they don't have to match any prices…unless they advertise that price-matching is a guaranteed outcome, which they do.

        • -5

          I have a high disdain for self-proclaimed internet lawyers who post crap saying it is the law. I'm not going to lecture on the law. Google it like the rest of us, or undertake a law degree like some of us.

          I am by no means defending Officeworks. They are hardly the ideal organisation. BUT You can't just post crap saying "it's the law, OMG I'm going to today tonight, ACA trollololol" when things aren't going your way. UFO is the only one to post legitimate information.

          Ignorance of the actual law is not an excuse.

          • Bait and switch is a COMPLETELY different scenario. How you can confuse an advertisement of a price match policy as a 'bait and switch' is ludicrous. Bait and switch refers to an individual advertised product, not an advertised policy. You fail at google.

          • The Lowest Price Guarantee has many EXCLUSIONS. It is NOT a GUARANTEED outcome. OW can use any of those exclusions as the reason to refuse the offer.

          • Contract Law is completely independent of advertising. If you have a problem with an advertisement you can go through the regular channels to complain.

          • I don't think the actual product xbai seeked to price match was ever posted? No doubt if it was, there would be an apparent reason it is excluded from OW policy.

          Ozbargain is fantastic, but seriously the amount of idiots posting crap ruins it for everyone.

        • +3

          you are the one who needs to read between the lines mate. the whole idea of the thread is to criticize OW on their highly publicized lowest price guarantee when the legal red-tape put up in the terms and conditions leaves so much grey area it is impossible for the consumer to take them up on their offer if they decide to be difficult.

          bait and switch is used as an example of obviously unacceptable marketing behaviour and an analogy to illustrate the problem in this situation. you can google 'analogy' if you are not sure what i'm talking about. there are codes for advertising in australia, which i quoted and if you think it's ok make ungrounded advertising claims like "lowest prices guarantee" then i would have serious concerns for that law degree of yours.

          now no one is saying OW is breaking any code or law here and no one is saying all pricematches must be given. there are legitimate grounds for refusal in most cases. however the deal prompting this rant has nothing to do with the issue at hand and you'd see that if you actually read the thread and your judgment wasn't clouded by your poorly justified ego inflated by an alleged law degree.

          issues at hand
          1) if all terms and conditions are satisfied, as according to OW, they must honour an advertised policy
          2) problems lies in the fact that the terms are so ambiguous it has no legal standing whatsoever
          3) this is ridiculous and it shouldn't be

          for the tl;dr crowd
          http://us11.memecdn.com/keyboard-warrior_o_351212.jpg

        • +2

          Apparently, you proclaim yourself a lawyer if you know the law and directly quote it.

          Anyway, I have actually contacted the authority on this - the ACA, so within 28 days, we shall see who's right.

          The message:

          "Hi,

          I was just wondering, I have heard many people claim that when dealing with the company, Office Works, trying to take advantage of their price match policy, many have been refused on what they believe to be unfair terms - same item model, legitimate price etc.

          I was wondering what the legislation is for their "Price-match guarantee" policy. It is legally enforceable, isn't it? - assuming the criteria are met.

          If they advertise to beat any price by 5% if it falls within their terms, then they have to do that legally - am I correct in thinking that? - Could you quote me or direct me to the relevant paragraphs in the ACL by any chance, please?

          I was personally turned away for the reason that my deal was from the website, Amazon, but in their terms and conditions, they say internet sites are fine, just bear in mind stock availability and postage cost - both were well within their policy.

          Thank you for taking the time to get back to me!

          • Andy Laa"
        • -5

          xbai:

          "when the legal red-tape put up in the terms and conditions leaves so much grey area it is impossible for the consumer to take them up on their offer if they decide to be difficult."

          Not really. Their exclusions are clearly stated and only fit on a page or 2. You should see some other company's "price beat" offers that are dozens of pages long in small text (harvey norman for example :) ). Once again, how about posting up the item you were trying to price beat so we can all see for ourselves??

          "an analogy to illustrate the problem in this situation"

          Haha, so your response to being told you are wrong is to state it's an "analogy" and you didn't mean it. I'm starting to think your posts are crap. Not literally 'crap' but an "analogy" as in that your posts stink.

          "now no one is saying OW is breaking any code or law here and no one is saying all pricematches must be given. "

          xbai on 12/11/2012 - 17:51: and FYI if it's advertised, it's part of the sales condition and they cannot refuse or they would be breaking australian consumer law

          So now you disagree with what you've previously posted?

          Stop posting crap mate, lol. You're embarrassing yourself. Go and complain to the relevant ombudsman and let us know how it goes :)

        • trololol

        • Did anyone notice that by excluding "Resellers", OW is potentially excluding all retailers? All retailers are resellers but they could be differed by authorised and unauthorised resellers, however, OW doesn't make any reference to this in their conditions so they have basically voided the whole policy with this condition.

        • +2

          Aaaaand to update, they told me they don't know - apparently that's not what they're there for…

          "Dear Mr Laa

          Thank you for your email of 19 November 2012 to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) about price match guarantees. Your reference number for this matter is 385159

          The ACCC cannot provide legal advice so we can’t say whether a price match guarantee is legally enforceable. But businesses who don’t honour a guarantee can breach the Australian Consumer Law (ACL). The ACL prohibits businesses from misleading consumers. You can find more information about misleading conduct on the ACCC website.

          Please see the ‘what we do section’ of our website for more information about the ACCC.

          I hope the above information is helpful.

          Yours sincerely

          Billy"

          He outright says that if they are misleading, then that does break the law which is exactly what we're arguing, right?

          So you lose, right?

        • Great. This is guaranteed to make businesses stop any price matching.

  • +7

    I wouldn't bother ringing up - just go into a store. I know in my store we are quite OK with price matching, and rarely (if ever) have any issues with staff not honouring the policy. Usually it's customers trying to be dodgy by getting us to price match non-identical items. I can confirm our policy hasn't changed, contrary to what you have been told.

    • -2

      Thats the problem, the stores are not consistent, For example, my father wanted to buy the Galaxy tab at JB (had a $50.00 voucher he wanted to use), by price matching OW's $344.00 price from http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/82270. The guy there just said no, price too low, however, a friend of ours did get another JB to price match!

      • +2

        I work at an Officeworks store, not JB (just making that clear!)

      • +1

        OW has a price match policy, not JB. JB is completely and utterly up to the staff member.

  • +3

    why not reward the little store for having a better price instead of price matching??

    • +8

      because we're cheap and couldn't care less if it hurts the little guy as long as we get our minuscule savings.

    • +1

      Often it's stores just as big as Officeworks/JB/Harvey Norman that compete on price. Rarely will you have small retailers able to match the big guys on price.

      • +3

        my experience is quite the opposite

        • like Msy for example shitty service , good prices

  • +3

    Officeworks stores are mostly fine - online callcentre is a joke - and I just don't bother with them.

    Advertised price matching policy online is a lie pure and simple.

    When they talk about terms and conditions the online officeworks just makes stuff up - and most of it is at management direction. in Australian trading law there are requirements - officeworks reckons because it goes beyond these in some claimed manner unless its competitor also meets those it doesn't match any price at David jones, dick smith etc etc so its price match policy is deliberate fraudulent advertising because its nothing to do with price. Presumably they hired someone who wants to kill their business, and I reckon they're doing a great job.

    of course if you want to waste your life with your state consumer affairs department then feel free to ponder why an advertised price match policy has nothing to with price, and has been this way for at least 6 months, because no-one in government gives a stuff for consumer law or any written law, and that includes the biggest waste of tax dollars the accc.Save 10's of millions if we got rid of that waste of space.

  • +1

    I never really got the idea of price matching from a consumer standpoint, unless the other store was inconvenient to get to or you object to their company.
    Price matching policies are designed to be anticompetitive.
    The idea is that if you claim to match promotional deals and people take them up, other stores won't bother to have promotions as much (as their efforts are frustrated by price matching) so higher prices/margins prevail.
    Why not reward whoever comes up with the lowest price? The larger (otherwise price matching) store can only compete by lowering their prices - and so on and so forth = consumer win.

    • I agree with direct price matching. However this thread is about Officeworks who have a "beat it by 10%" policy.

      • +4

        It's 5%

        • Oops! Bit of a derp on my part haha. Thanks, a a a :)

  • pretty sure, that the item has to be instock, and 2, cant be online, and when it is , they can include the shipping fee in the match..

    where did u get the idea that they can match an online deal?

    cheers

      • +1

        so that right.. you have to add on shipping, then they can price match it…

        What about online stores?
        Identical products are price matched against online stores but as with any other kind of store, the item must be currently in stock. When price matching online stores we also take into account the added cost of delivery. If the identical product can be purchased and delivered via an online store for a total price lower than the one we are offering, we will beat that total price by 5%.

  • U reckon its possible getting OW to pricematch an offer requiring purchase of multiple units of an item? Or would they claim that that is a package deal or even non-identical (quantities)?

    • highly doubt it,judging by how the policy written the terms of sale has to be 'exactly the same' including warranty (and how it's provided) as well as return policy. but like said before experiences will vary and some employees will price-match anything

  • -1

    I had alot of issues with OW pricematch.

    They always find a way to get out of it, if the markdown is really low..

    I think they have a really ambiguous policy and they are really misleading with their advertising.

    Everyone should complain to the Government agency or some TV shows like ACA,today tonight, mediawatch etc..

    • +3

      mediawatch

      What has Officeworks got to do with the media?

  • +1

    When looking for the WD My Passport 2TB last week, I found that OW and Good Guys both had them for the same price. I thought I'd double check with JB and HN and both shops said they would match but not go under.
    So I just shrugged and told them it's their loss and left.

    OW was sold out, but Good Guys didn't know this and still gave me the drive for the OW price plus the 5% lowest price discount.

    When looking for a TV, I found it cheapest at JB Hifi and it was 500 bucks dearer at the Good Guys. They were really good about it though. They not only matched JB's price, but gave me an additional $50,- off as well.

    So OW isn't the only one who does a "real" lowest price guaranty. Good Guys have always been happy to match and even beat the price of OW and other shops, for me.
    The Good Guys are also a whole lot easier to deal with. I show the other shops website on my tablet, or give them the paper catalogue, they check the make and model and straightaway make a better offer.

    I think the only time where they price match, but wont go under, is if a product would end up being below cost price for them.

    I think I am going to boycot OW until they make their terms and conditions clearer. The only way you might be able to force them to do this, is by lodging a complaint with consumer affairs/fair trading.

    • +1

      Well you'd get into the argument that it's their policy to do what they like with though - there's nothing that legally forces them to price match any more than there's anything to stop them severely overpricing their stock.

      Big companies have excellent lawyers that would leave enough legal grey-area for them to claim anything they wanted with their policies.

      I'm boycotting because their customer service is horrific and their prices extortionate.

    • +1

      Also Love Good guys because for warranty issues you don't need the receipt, if you go to the same store they can just pull up the receipt under your name.

      All stores should do that ! where customers agree for it to be recorded.

      • +1

        My GF used to work for Good Guys and I believe they are now charging for an "invoice retreival" if you don't have your copy. Can't remember, but think it was $15…maybe???.

        • OMG, that's crazy man,,,

          I thought it was a good service but 15 $ , that is ridiculous, In that case I'd rather they didn't store my purchase information

          You sure about that.

  • A few months ago I wanted to pricematch a Netgear router with an online shop (I thing Mwave). The staff at the Officeworks store I was at were hesitant in giving me the discount since it would take over 50% off the price off, but after I loaded this page (http://www.officeworks.com.au/retail/content/Lowest-price-gu…) on my phone and showed it to them they put it through anyway.

    • +4

      I hope you used their free in store wifi to download the page!

      • LOL! I did not know about this, but next time I will be!!!

      • i've never understood why they offer free wifi in store other than for people to do this. If anything it'd cost them money to offer the wifi and cost them money in price matching haha

        • their photo printing service allows you to transfer photos to their machine via wifi… Not sure how it works yet (haven't tested it out yet), but I think that's what it's for.

    • (http://www.officeworks.com.au/retail/content/Lowest-price-gu…) on my phone and showed it to them they put it through anyway.

      ha ha that link now says :
      Sorry!
      An error occurred loading the page you requested.

      Please go back or use the back button on your browser if you wish to re-try your request.

      Alternatively you may return to our home page by clicking on the link below.
      www.officeworks.com.au

    • I also bought a router Netgear N900. I pricematched from MSY. I saved around 50%. They matched it no questions asked.

  • -5

    I don't see what all the fuss is about, if they won't price match why don't you just buy it at the place which you found the cheaper price?

    • +5

      Because they advertise that they will beat (any) advertised price. That is a binding legal offer. They must be held accountable for their advertising. Therefore the "fuss".

      • -4

        It is not a legally binding offer, lol.
        Don't quote law if you have no idea what you're talking about.

        • +3

          So it is legal to make false claims in advertisements !
          Wow, I wish I had you as a lawyer.

        • Of course it's not bloody legal to make false claims in advertisements. Poor attempt at twisting my words around.

          You stated: "they advertise that they will beat (any) advertised price. That is a binding legal offer." Which is more wrong than wearing socks with sandals.

          An internet legal keyboard warrior such as yourself should know than an offer is different than an enforceable contract. Stay in school.

    • +6

      Your not getting it..

      The fuss is that

      They advertise this on TV.
      On the outside of their store there is a big banner "lowest price guaranteed" etc…

      And their core marketing is this Lowest Price Guarantee.

      It is a big misleading advertisement…

      It waste many people's time when they travel to OW to get a pricematch, only to be given a dodgy excuse of why they can't do it.

      Also one store might price match, and then another won't.

      There is no consistency in their policy…if they even have one.

      There business is a big con job.

  • I suggest if any of us who are unhappy about this..
    Who felt that they been mislead..
    Who wasted their time trying to get a legitimate pricematch, but then only to be denied by some dodgy excuse..

    Plz…

    We all contact ACA, today tonight and some government agency like the ACCC.

    Channel 9 phone number = 02 9439 4577
    Channel 7 = 02 9877 7777

    If we all contact them, there will be enough people to warrant an investigation.

    Let's show them our people power and get this thing fixed, so that they can stop this misleading advertising

    • +4

      as much as i despise OW's unscrupulous tactics the thought of being victimised on ACA is just too much to handle

      • victimised?

        And how about when alot of us wasted time trying to get a legitimate deal price match only to get some dodge excuse not to.
        How many times have we felt disappointed and angry, when we got denied a legitimate price match.

        There advertising is very misleading and they should take it off

        • +2

          the comment is more on how pathetic ACA and TT is..

    • +5

      Is it just a few isolated stores that are being dodgy with price matches? I know in the two stores I've worked at there has never been any hesitation in matching & beating the price - we do it every day! Probably poorly trained team members unaware of what our policy actually is. Of course if their non-compliance is backed up by management there is a problem, and you should report it to the head office.

      The cost of refusing to match and beat the price would be a lot less than the bad word of mouth that would result!

      • Not the stores in my experience - its the online call centre - head office if you like. They do not price match virtually anything anymore because of their manufacture of issues related to ordinary terms and conditions of trading.Sometimes shipping is unavoidable but they are now so abusive about matching any competitors price I have stopped using them completely. Get more sense from an overseas call centre…. so the idea that head office doesn't know whats going on is a joke. sad thing is the stores are now clearly joining in this fraud so just goes to show talking about what really goes on just encourages more creeps to mess more customers around - maybe head office is discouraging stores from complying because of their success doing it online. My money now goes elsewhere
        ps the idea that aca would do anything is hilarious.

        • You never know what could happen.

          This is issue has been a thorn for many people and has been hidden under the rug for a long time now.

          Getting them TV exposure will definitely make them sweat.

          Just some bad publicity can be enough to warrant an investigation.

          They need to fix this issue, else don't market their business with the Lowest price guarantee misleading ad.

      • From my experience

        The sales people always go and ask the manager if the deal can be price matched.
        And when the markdown is too low, the manager would tell them it can't, even though it is legitimate.

        They would find some dodgy excuse not to price match

      • do u mind telling us which stores are you working mate? We love to visit your store in the near future (christmas time)

    • Does anyone know how much Coles Myer spend on advertising during ACA / TT?? ;)
      You might not get far….

      • I don't think Coles Myer spends anything on advertising, since they haven't existed since 2006…
        Wesfarmers probably spends a bit, though :P

  • -1

    Never buying anything from there again - well that's a lie - I do online surveys for $20 Coles vouchers (also valid in OW). I'm saving up a butt-load of them and going to get a printer from them for free.

    As for spending money there? No way. They were horrific to me about price-matching a My Passport 2TB Hard drive for the Amazon price (incl delivery) coming to $150…they were having a "sale" where it was an embarrassingly profiteering $255 in-store pick-up (normally $285).

    I complained about it via their website, they fobbed me off with some BS canned statement and that was that.

    Why would I bother to be insulted and robbed when I can click a few buttons and not even have to leave my house for ~40% less?

    • Where's this online survey for $20 coles vouchers?

      • PM'd you, dude.

        • pm me too plz

        • If you wouldn't mind…. ;)

        • Can I get a pm as well thanks :)

        • PM me if anyone else wants a PM! haha

      • One for me too xD please thanks :)

        • That's a new one on me. You have experience with them?

        • Pm me too please

        • No i don't bother with online surveys but my brother does and has gotten a lot of vouchers from them.

  • -2

    A dodgeish trick I had pulled up on me was the "this is not the Australian model" one. I asked them to beat $185 (with free shipping) at ValueBasket on a Sony Xperia U ($289 at the store), only to be told the models were not exactly the same (ST25i x ST25a). Not outside policy, I guess, but a technicality to be aware of before making the trip to the store.

    • The fb headline post made me come back to this…

      It occurred me to go back to the OW website and check if it specifies the model number:
      http://www.officeworks.com.au/retail/products/Technology/Pho…

      It doesn't! So if anyone wants a Sony Xperia U for $185 from the nearest OW, here's the link:
      http://www.valuebasket.com.au/en_AU/Sony-Xperia-U-SIM-Free-/-Unlocked-(Black)/mainproduct/view/10585-AA-BK

      I've already bought another phone.

      • -1

        The policy does state the product has to be identical. A single character difference in the model number makes all the difference.

  • I had no problem price matching brick and mortar pricing at OW.

    Don't be too hasty with boycotting. If you had a bad experience don't shop there, and take you money to places you see fit.

    I wonder if they ever say its been sold out as an excuse??? For example laptops which are kepts in the back. Maybe don't start lowering the price till you've secured the goods.

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