Disappointing experience at CampSaver

tl;dr: Tried to price match something at CampSaver and was rejected because the price was from a foreign website then got the run-around when I said that wasn't part of their written policy.

Edit to add 5:30 p: the items were for myself and my family, not for resale and the site with the good price was on GriGris was backpacking-united.com. They still have orange for $64 + $14 shipping and great deals on Djinn draws (~$11 per draw).

I filled out the form on their website (with screenshot and all) to open a ticket and got an email back later saying I would need to call in. Called in when they opened the next morning and the person didn't have the screenshot or the prices but happily looked up the website and told me she would price match it. All I had to do was place an order and call back in. I then placed my $500 (before price adjustment) order and when I called in, the person I talked to said she wouldn't be able to price match because it wasn't a US website.

The real slap in the face was when the CS agent (Megan, who happens to be the supervisor) told me several conflicting things about their price match policy. First she told me CampSaver only price matches as a courtesy and it is not one of their written policies. According to their policies page (and the price match button they have on every item page) this isn't true. The next argument was that the site had to be an authorized retailer (it is). She then said that REI or Backcountry would never price match a non-US retailer's site (which is true). When I pointed out that REI doesn't price match and BC's stated policy is that they only price match US retailers, she said that was "just another reason to buy from CampSaver." Maybe when they start offering free 2-day shipping and/or a 10% dividend with a 1-year no questions asked return policy (even on climbing gear!) I'll start shopping at CampSaver again.

Throughout the call she kept asking if I needed her to explain the policy to me. In addition to not honoring the price match, having a CS agent tell you you're misinterpreting a one-sentence policy really adds insult to injury. I didn't feel I needed it explained since it's written unambiguously.

If you find an item from another authorized dealer at a lower "as shipped" price than at CampSaver, please contact one of our experienced CampSaver representatives with a price listed from an authorized dealer and we will do all we can to match."

I have gotten a lot of great deals and have received good customer service from CampSaver in the past but some things have changed that make them much less competitive:

1: They started charging tax on orders shipped to CA--completely fair but this used to make them considerably cheaper than Backcountry (and BC has free 2-day shipping)
2: It feels like nothing is ever in stock in the right quantities. For example, I was looking at some dogbones and they have had 1 in stock in each size for several weeks. Ditto some QDs I wanted.
3: Backordering products is a nightmare. I placed an order for something last year when it said the estimate was 2-3 weeks and after several calls in and continued delays, they called me 5 months later saying they had gotten it in stock and it was shipping.
4: My Backcountry Gearhead has started occasionally offering me additional discounts on things I've expressed interest in.

I'm sure someone will tell me to stop whining because nobody price matches foreign retailers or because they're a company and have to make money somehow but if they really only price match domestic competitors, all they had to say was, "Sorry, we can't do that but we see why you thought this and we will make a note to update our policy immediately." That's costs them nothing and leaves the customer without such a bitter taste in their mouth. Save your money with ActiveJunky, get faster shipping, get a better return policy and a 10% dividend--just don't shop at CampSaver.

Man....Being an off-price website is a bitch. How the hell can you make any money?

Sounds like she did all she could to match, within her constraints. Price matching sounds exhausting, taking calls from customers who want to price match is even more exhausting.

My favorite line:
"Is shipping Free?"
Fuck no, somebody has to pay for it, somehow.

Ha, with all the fraud sites how could they be expected to price match them all? If they did I would make a crappy 90s era site with everything being 1$. 

The tire place I've been using for many years tried the same BS recently on me, "sorry but we dont do free alignments" when it said they did on the website and the folder in my glove box. The folder in my glove box was removed while my car was in their shop to top off the BS

I don't think the customer should be expected to know the policy means something it doesn't say.

Whether or not she actually matched the price, lying (or being misinformed) about policies and putting it on the customer is never the right move.

And @ F Loyd: You wouldn't be an authorized retailer. It isn't like I was trying to match from 123deals.scam.cn--it was a legit website.

What was the site you tried to price match from? Odd that you didn't list it. You make it sound legit so just name it.

It is common sense and doesn't need to be listed that companies that offer price match will only do so against relevant, legitimate competitors. More companies don't offer price matching because it's an easily abusable policy. A different country might have a better price but you're paying international shipping and waiting; that's not a fair apples to apples comparison. 

I'm not saying you were abusing it but you should list the website you tried to price match.

Jeffrey Kessenich wrote: What was the site you tried to price match from? Odd that you didn't list it. You make it sound legit so just name it.

***These are not the relevant details you're looking for***

Jeffrey Kessenich wrote: What was the site you tried to price match from? Odd that you didn't list it. You make it sound legit so just name it.

It is common sense and doesn't need to be listed that companies that offer price match will only do so against relevant, legitimate competitors. More companies don't offer price matching because it's an easily abusable policy. A different country might have a better price but you're paying international shipping and waiting; that's not a fair apples to apples comparison.

For the sake of my argument, which is that I had a bad CS experience and that the policy is misleading, this doesn't matter--but I'll bite.

Backpacking-United is the site. It's an authorized retailer of the GriGri I was trying to buy and they will ship it to the US (for $14). According to the CampSaver policy, it doesn't matter how "legit" the company sounds or whether you, Jeffrey: arbiter of internet minutiae, have heard of them, only that they are an authorized retailer--which they are.

It is not incumbent on the customer to know the common practices of price matching and interpret a poorly-written policy through that lens.

Granted, shipping costs money and takes more time coming from them, but according to the CampSaver price match policy, they only match the "as shipped" price of the item so they are taking at least that cost into account. 

Aidan Raviv wrote:

For the sake of my argument, which is that I had a bad CS experience and that the policy is misleading, this doesn't matter--but I'll bite.

Backpacking-United is the site. It's an authorized retailer of the GriGri I was trying to buy and they will ship it to the US (for $14). According to the CampSaver policy, it doesn't matter how "legit" the company sounds or whether you, Jeffrey: arbiter of internet minutiae, have heard of them, only that they are an authorized retailer--which they are.

It is not incumbent on the customer to know the common practices of price matching and interpret a poorly-written policy through that lens.

Granted, shipping costs money and takes more time coming from them, but according to the CampSaver price match policy, they only match the "as shipped" price of the item so they are taking at least that cost into account. 

I'll bet you were an absolute joy to deal with on the phone.

Yeah, treating sales staff like that is a guarantee that you aren't going to get what you want.

I found a better deal in south China peeps...

 I then placed my $500 (before price adjustment) order

They didn't let you exploit price matching to resell a stack of grigris for profit? Rude, lets all boycott.

Obsessed with saying MILLENNIAL wrote:

I'll bet you were an absolute joy to deal with on the phone.

  I was in a much better mood before I went through the whole ordeal but I was nothing but polite if a bit incredulous on the phone. I actually called back in later in the day and talked to the person again. She said she had talked to someone above her elsewhere in the company who told her the price match policy is outdated and they plan to update it to match the industry standard and that it was intentionally vague to avoid matching prices in certain situations they hadn't thought of. Seems a bit like their CS reps were set up to fail here but either way they didn't do a great job--both in giving inaccurate info originally: "We will match this price, just place your order" and later in not owning up to it/being condescending: "Price matching is not written policy, it's a courtesy to our customers." "I can explain the policy to you."

James P wrote: 
They didn't let you exploit price matching to resell a stack of grigris for profit? Rude, lets all boycott.

Actually it was one each for me and my siblings and one for my parents. You know what they say about assuming!

Grigri death machines should be banned, they are unsafe and promote bad habits. Dogs at the crag shouldn't even happen. Who stole my draws?

caughtinside wrote: Why not just buy from backpacking United if the other place won’t match the price? Weird thing to rant about... they didn’t let you abuse them, good for them. 

If someone in another area was selling something you wanted but I lived next door and said, "I checked that price and I'll match it," then I said "never mind" after you sent me your order, would you be psyched about my customer service? I don't think it's unfair to be disappointed.

Aidan-- I clicked on your link for backpacking united.

The website thinks I am "Vladimir Myachin" and that I have shoes and trekking poles in my shopping cart.

Don't think I'm gonna use this website...

How much money would you have saved if Campsaver agreed to the price match? 2 Gri Gris, right?

So then I get my Ugandan DVDs in the mail and they won’t even play in my player. Fuckin’ campmor right?

caughtinside wrote:

Man, there is no pleasing some people... so why try. 

Indeed.

@Mpech, that's super weird. Not only because of how websites work but also because they are legit afaik. Paid with paypal so I'm not too worried.

@Frank, it was about 59% off I think. Almost $40 cheaper than Al's Sporting Goods, which is the next cheapest at ~$82.

You’re mad because CampSaver didn’t want to sell you a GriGri for $40? That’s probably less than wholesale cost for them.