Did you ever purchase something, say something like a DVD player or television? Did you ever notice that same item on sale later, perhaps 5 months later? Do you write to the company and ask them to honor the discount because you paid full price almost half a year earlier? Just curious….
Do you get angry and demand a refund when you purchase a pattern leaflet from a company like say, Annie’s Attic, when you discover that they have cut the price in half and put the item up at a sale price 6 months later? Just curious….
Or, do you withhold your anger at such “atrocities” of offering sale prices only for the solely-owned, barely-making-it businesses, owned by single mothers who work 15-18 hours a day, 7 days a week?
I’m just curious.
February 28, 2010 at 2:33 pm
It seems that some people take advantage of the weak, and by weak I mean those who don’t have a corporation behind them. Those who are out there trying to make an honest days pay for an honest days work. I think I should amend that to say for an overworked honest day. Especially when they are all alone without a partner or spouse to get their back so to speak. It’s really a shame that our world has come to that and those type of people should be ashamed of themselves, but they won’t be.
February 28, 2010 at 2:52 pm
I wouldn’t explode at any of those. If it was the next day I might ask, but my philosophy is “it is what it is”. You deal with the hand you’re given.
February 28, 2010 at 2:53 pm
When I buy summer clothes, I am well aware that in a few weeks they will be half price!! Well, I can either wait for the sale or buy the clothes so I can wear them in the summer!! I DO NOT take the clothes back and ask for the sale price!! We all know that just about everything ‘goes on sale’ at some point. Don’t know if someone has asked for the sale price or wanted a refund because some patterns have gone on sale but like the old saying goes, ‘Consider the source and don’t worry about it’!! Love Ya Sweetie!!
February 28, 2010 at 3:26 pm
Takes all kinds, thats for sure. I am assuming someone has approached you for a refund. Its not that you are weak and they are trying to take advantage of you. The are BOLD, and probably obnoxious, and they probably don’t know manners or ettiquette.
In this day of big box stores that offer a refund of the difference if you find it on sale somewhere else or they put it on sale within two weeks, people expect more and more and some people just don’t know where to draw the line.
I have bought your patterns and I say to you, forget it.
I felt I received quality for the price I paid and that is all MOST of your customers expect.
Keep designing and keep selling. There’s one in every crowd, you know.
xx, Carol
February 28, 2010 at 3:51 pm
I agree with the other folks who commented; although I haven’t bought any of your patterns before, if I had paid your price then saw that the price was reduced, so what!! Big box stores, yarn companies, high priced clothing stores, electronics stores, etc. do it all the time. What’s the difference? Don’t let the folks who have made a fuss bother you, I’m sure they don’t do it at Wal Mart or Neiman Marcus, they shouldn’t do it to you, either.
February 28, 2010 at 4:45 pm
Whomever did that to you is just plain RUDE. I would tell them to nicely “Stuff it” and let them know that you would be fine with them not buying any other patterns from you going forward.
February 28, 2010 at 4:59 pm
Since my husband has his own web based business, I definitely know what you’re talking about. Somebody royally reamed him because they found the same thing they purchased from him, a month later, cheaper. The guy didn’t take into consideration that my hubby made sure it got there in time for his kid’s birthday. Or that my hubby paid more for it than what it was being sold for at that time.
I get annoyed at a store if they have a sale the next day or so. And some places do give 30 day price guarantee. But for patterns, etc, it’s your choice to pay whatever. If you “can’t afford it” then wait…
but that’s me…
March 1, 2010 at 1:37 am
I have asked for the sale price after I bought an item but only from large chain stores. I do like to shop in family owned businesses and I would pay the price because I want them to stay in business, I would never ask for a reduction in the price when it went on sale a month later. Our country needs family owned businesses and we need to support them.
March 1, 2010 at 8:26 am
Chin up Dolly! If the crochet/knit pattern consumer had any idea how long we toil on these patterns, how much of our life is consumed by trying to put the best possible product out there, how hurtful it is when someone comments negatively on our creativity, the majority would spend waaay more than the price of 2 lattes at a coffee joint! There is no way we can make everyone happy – make yourself happy and block that customer from anymore purchases of your brilliance.
I’m just sayin’…..
March 2, 2010 at 1:52 pm
Kim, it’s a shame that you have to deal with this kind of garbage. I have purchased your patterns, mostly at the pre-sale price, but I have and would consider it money well spent to buy them at full price. If I buy something and it goes on sale a month later, I usually just figure that’s the way things are. The only things that really get to me are big budget-type items. If I’m going to buy a pattern, it’s because I really want it right then either because I love it for myself or because I want to make it for someone. You are more than fair and reasonable in your pricing. Actually, if you charged for your time and expertise, you could (and should) be making a heck of a lot more than you do.
March 12, 2010 at 9:23 am
I think one reason fewer people seem to complain to the “big box” and other large companies, is because it’s soooo hard to find a real person, who really cares, to complain to! Sam Walton isn’t available to WalMart shoppers, Annie doesn’t fetch things from her attic, but small business owners are personally involved with their businesses and reachable by their customers.
March 19, 2010 at 12:55 pm
Well, a sale is a “sale”. It’s not a “suggested manufacturer’s retail price.” It’s a sale. From one day to the next, etc., not FOREVER! If you want to risk waiting for a “sale” on the product then you can certainly take that chance. What I think complaints of this nature do is make sure someone doesn’t offer “sales” anymore–and could you blame them.