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Moosejaw deceptive pricing (C4s 58% off???)

Original Post
jim.dangle · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jul 2011 · Points: 5,882

Has anyone else been bombarded by Moosejaw ads recently offering apparently huge discounts that once one actually goes to the website don't actually exist. On their website they claimed to have c4s for "up to 58% off", but I couldn't find any at that pricing. Someone at customer service told me they must have sold out of those that were on sale at that price.

Has anyone actually bought them at that price?

I'd be surprised if BD allowed them to be sold at that kind of discount (unless they were being discontinued because of the new x4s???).

moosejaw.com/moosejaw/shop/…

Same for a lot other things-- like static rope for instance. "Up to 80% off"-- I don't think so:

moosejaw.com/moosejaw/shop/…

Weird.

Jim

M L · · Sonora, CA · Joined Apr 2007 · Points: 165

I bought a set of C3s from EMS for $69. It said "you save $298" (paraphrasing the actual savings). Email next day: your #2 C3 has been shipped.

alpinejason · · Minneapolis · Joined Apr 2010 · Points: 176

Jim. I've seen things like that before on MJ. Here's how it works out...

Sale price of the cheapest C4 (#0.3) = $50.96
Regular price of the most expensive C4 (#6) = $119.95

58% off of $119.95 is approximately $50.96.

They're site isn't set up properly to handle different prices of the same item. Also, you'll notice they allow you to "select" a color for your C4 which obviously isn't the case. They're not purposely deceiving anyone just their website sucks.

Dan Allard · · West Chester, PA · Joined Mar 2011 · Points: 1,070
alpinejason wrote:Jim. I've seen things like that before on MJ. Here's how it works out... Sale price of the cheapest C4 (#0.3) = $50.96 Regular price of the most expensive C4 (#6) = $119.95 58% off of $119.95 is approximately $50.96. They're site isn't set up properly to handle different prices of the same item. Also, you'll notice they allow you to "select" a color for your C4 which obviously isn't the case. They're not purposely deceiving anyone just their website sucks.
What Jason said ^^^

I too have been caught offguard by a few sites like this lately. The quality control in the web department isn't there and their algorithms don't really work correctly.
Superclimber · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Mar 2009 · Points: 1,310

Maybe it's not exactly deceptive, but it's still a bait and switch scheme and it's annoying.

T340 · · Idaho · Joined Oct 2011 · Points: 5

I won't buy anything from Moosejaw after an experience I had years ago about some Western Mountaineering sleeping bags that were 'on sale'. Their pricing polices and 'sales' are deceptive, at best.

jim.dangle · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jul 2011 · Points: 5,882
alpinejason wrote:Jim. I've seen things like that before on MJ. Here's how it works out... Sale price of the cheapest C4 (#0.3) = $50.96 Regular price of the most expensive C4 (#6) = $119.95 58% off of $119.95 is approximately $50.96. They're site isn't set up properly to handle different prices of the same item. Also, you'll notice they allow you to "select" a color for your C4 which obviously isn't the case. They're not purposely deceiving anyone just their website sucks.
I thought the same thing too but the customer service told me that they were sold out of cams at this price. She was maybe wrong but that just makes you wonder what is going on behind the scenes there when even the employees can't figure this stuff out.

And it is deceptive in my mind. They are a growing company with an agressive advertising campaign. Even if they aren't deliberately reporting false prices, the are deliberately using sloppy algorithms, which increase web traffic to their site.

Not a company I wanna buy from.

Jim
Greg Pouliot · · Rumney NH · Joined Jul 2012 · Points: 90
jim.dangle wrote: I thought the same thing too but the customer service told me that they were sold out of cams at this price. She was maybe wrong but that just makes you wonder what is going on behind the scenes there when even the employees can't figure this stuff out. And it is deceptive in my mind. They are a growing company with an agressive advertising campaign. Even if they aren't deliberately reporting false prices, the are deliberately using sloppy algorithms, which increase web traffic to their site. Not a company I wanna buy from. Jim
They're a growing company that is maybe experiencing some growing pains. I've ordered from them several times and each time has been great. I found great prices on the climbing gear I ordered, the shipping was free and fast. Don't get too down because someone made a mistake. There are plenty of companies out there that legit try to screw their customers.Moosejaw doesn't appear to one of them.
Jonas Salk · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Apr 2008 · Points: 10
notmyname wrote:I bought a set of C3s from EMS for $69. It said "you save $298" (paraphrasing the actual savings). Email next day: your #2 C3 has been shipped.
I did the same thing with EMS. Apparently it was a mix up with Amazon. Contact them. They will let you return it, or they will honor the price quoted. The #2 C3 is right between Metolius #1&2 so I kept it. Sweet deal, even if it isn't for the whole set.
Don't get done dirty. EMS was totally cool about this, so get in touch with them.
EricSchmidt · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Feb 2013 · Points: 0
jim.dangle wrote: Not a company I wanna buy from. Jim
Soooo... dont? Its a free market, no one is making you buy from them so stop looking at their website since it obviously makes you upset.
Craig N · · Madison, WI · Joined Jun 2011 · Points: 15

I picked up 2 sets of wild country rocks online for $9 each. At first they only shipped me 2 rocks but I called them up, they sent me the rest and gave me a $25 gift card "for my trouble". I think whoever was maintaining the prices on their website was the one having trouble.

divnamite · · New York, NY · Joined Aug 2007 · Points: 90

I love moosejaw. They have great service and in general, excellent price.

M L · · Sonora, CA · Joined Apr 2007 · Points: 165
Jonas Salk wrote: I did the same thing with EMS. Apparently it was a mix up with Amazon. Contact them. They will let you return it, or they will honor the price quoted. The #2 C3 is right between Metolius #1&2 so I kept it. Sweet deal, even if it isn't for the whole set. Don't get done dirty. EMS was totally cool about this, so get in touch with them.
thanks. i just cancelled the order
TWK · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Sep 2012 · Points: 160

Thank you, EricSchmidt.

barnaclebob · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Oct 2012 · Points: 0
T340 wrote:I won't buy anything from Moosejaw after an experience I had years ago about some Western Mountaineering sleeping bags that were 'on sale'. Their pricing polices and 'sales' are deceptive, at best.
Western mountaineering sleeping bags plural? You weren't trying to cash in on a 5x points sale by turning the bags around for slight loss while picking up 50% in points were you?

In any case did moosejaw let you return them or are you upset that you didnt get the deal you wanted? I know they take items back in sellable condition and I have had stellar service from them. Their points system and price matching policy beats most other retailers hands down.
T340 · · Idaho · Joined Oct 2011 · Points: 5
barnaclebob wrote: Western mountaineering sleeping bags plural? You weren't trying to cash in on a 5x points sale by turning the bags around for slight loss while picking up 50% in points were you? In any case did moosejaw let you return them or are you upset that you didnt get the deal you wanted? I know they take items back in sellable condition and I have had stellar service from them. Their points system and price matching policy beats most other retailers hands down.
Back towards the end of 2007 Moosejaw had a sale on the Western Mountaineering sleeping bags, for, if memory serves, like 25% off? Well, obviously I jumped on that and ordered a(as in one) Puma. I placed the order, they said it was on back order,but that I would get the sale price when they received more stock.
I kept checking on the status, and finally, after 4 weeks or so, they said it was in stock and it would ship out the next day and yes, I would still get the the sale price.
When I got my card statement the next month, they charged me the full MSRP price, around 750 bucks at the time. So, I spent~200 bucks more than I thought I had. However, I kept the bag, and I love it. However, I don't like being lied to and I won't do business with Moosejaw again, ever.
YMMV.
Ian Stewart · · Unknown Hometown · Joined May 2010 · Points: 155
T340 wrote: Back towards the end of 2007 Moosejaw had a sale on the Western Mountaineering sleeping bags, for, if memory serves, like 25% off? Well, obviously I jumped on that and ordered a(as in one) Puma. I placed the order, they said it was on back order,but that I would get the sale price when they received more stock. I kept checking on the status, and finally, after 4 weeks or so, they said it was in stock and it would ship out the next day and yes, I would still get the the sale price. When I got my card statement the next month, they charged me the full MSRP price, around 750 bucks at the time. So, I spent~200 bucks more than I thought I had. However, I kept the bag, and I love it. However, I don't like being lied to and I won't do business with Moosejaw again, ever. YMMV.
I'm sure if you contacted them again they would have refunded the difference. Other than making a simple mistake, which would have been easily fixed, it doesn't sound like they did anything wrong. If anything, I'd give them a thumbs-up for extending the sale price to something that was no longer in stock.
T340 · · Idaho · Joined Oct 2011 · Points: 5
Ian Stewart wrote: I'm sure if you contacted them again they would have refunded the difference. Other than making a simple mistake, which would have been easily fixed, it doesn't sound like they did anything wrong. If anything, I'd give them a thumbs-up for extending the sale price to something that was no longer in stock.
Ian,
When I initially contacted Moosejaw, they stated that the bag was in stock. However, when I didn't see the bag for two weeks, I contacted them again(by phone) and they then stated that the bag was on back order.
Like I stated earlier, this went on for about a month-me calling them a couple of times a week to check on the order, them not always returning my calls promptly.
Of course, if they had simply emailed me stating that the bag was on back order, and that the sale price would no longer apply,I probably would have purchased the bag from them anyway- no hard feelings.
Instead, I got the run-around for a month, told I would receive the sale price, but didn't.
That was my first(and last) experience as a Moosejaw customer.

Also: on several occasions I have had Backcountry Gear and Backcountry.com honor sale prices on back ordered merchandise. They also return phone calls promptly and don't lie about things being in stock when they are not. Lesson there?
Mark Mueller · · Surprise, AZ · Joined Nov 2011 · Points: 185

Moosejaw is the best. That is all.

ADKMan · · Upstate New York · Joined Jun 2012 · Points: 0

I am sure there are stories that go both ways but my experience was not a good one. A couple of years ago I ordered a pair of Scarpa Inverno's from Moosejaw for a sale price and it took two weeks for the box to arrive and when I opened it there was a single boot in the box (not the size I ordered either). When I called customer service I was told that it was impossible that what I described could happen. After working my way up the customer service ladder I finally got someone who reacted to my situation. He said that he would send out another pair to me right away along with a return label to send the single boot back. Well when the new package arrived once again there was a single boot (at least this time it was the right size). So now I had two single boots (of different sizes) and I was charged for two pairs of boots. I sent them both back and after about two months I finally was credited for both pairs.

Mark V · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jul 2010 · Points: 105

I ordered a pair of La Sportiva Miura VS shoes on sale from Moosejaw back in October 2012. They sent me an email the shoes were on backorder and would ship in about four weeks. It was a good sale price and I didn't need the shoes right away, so I kept the order. Long story short, I received the shoes at the quoted sale price in February 2013 and they threw in a free T shirt as well. Worked out fine for me, woulda sucked if I needed the shoes right away.

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

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