To boycott or to not?

[thekathrynorchard]

I'd love to hear your opinions on this guys.

I shopped around for some pricing for my new irons and I thought I knew who I wanted to deal with from day 1. They have a well advertised price match guarantee. I found a price from a competitor just down the street from them and contacted the company I wished to deal with with the quote I received elsewhere. They verified the quote with the other retailer and told me they can't match it. He ended the email indicating they will in fact match any price. It doesn't appear that way to me and they've said in crystal clear language that they won't match the price I obtained.

I also made it clear I wanted to establish a relationship with them to do all my future business there and they don't seem to care.

I've heard great things about them but they won't match my price so I simply can't do business with them. They also slung some mud on the other retailer I obtained the price from indicating that they weren't authorized retailers and basically indicating I would receive a fake product. They are a reputable company and many people I know (and on this board) have dealt with them previously. I don't think that's any way to conduct business.

Would you be as frustrated with this company as I am? I'm trying to give them $1000+ for my set of irons and they won't budge enough to ensure they get all my future business and were quite rude in the process of putting down the other retailer to boost themselves up.

The most frustrating thing is immediately after telling me they won't match my price, he let me know they will match ANY of their competitors prices.:confused:

[Hork42]

Yeah, that's poor if they don't honour a price match policy. It's not really a policy, more of a false advert... borderline fraud.

[nearace]

contact the better business bureau angd lodge a complaint,these people need a wake up call,post the name of the business so we can all give them hell.

[MannyR]

Don't deal with them...point finale!

[esidirop]

Thats bad service... they telly ou they'll match and then they back out.. clowns..are the 2 retailers golftown and greenfield??? lol by from greenfield.... super nice guys trying to make an honest buck...

[Bellyhungry]

I don't quiet follow.....:confusen:

You asked them if they would match as per advertised, they said no, then in they next sentence, they said they would match?

Something is missing....

[vice]

I don't quiet follow.....:confusen:

You asked them if they would match as per advertised, they said no, then in they next sentence, they said they would match?

Something is missing....

The way I understand it, the retailer emailed saying that he won't match it but his email signature states that the company will match any price.

My two bits: If you live close to the company you wish to deal with, print out a copy of the email and go down to the store and show them the inconsistency. Also, point out every advertisement and poster in the store stating that they match prices. That'll either force them to match the price you want or take down their price match guarantee advertisements.

I can understand wanting to support one retailer over another, provided there is price matching. But it's downright bad business for ANY retailers not to match the verified prices of another retailer.

[nearace]

Thats bad service... they telly ou they'll match and then they back out.. clowns..are the 2 retailers golftown and greenfield??? lol by from greenfield.... super nice guys trying to make an honest buck...and tgn supporters:)

[iyell4]

first of all, if these are all just FACTS ... name the company you are dealing with.

secondly, the company can set their price-match policy anyway they want. don't assume they are all equal. .. they made a good point .. if you say that you saw the same looking set of irons on ebay with a buy-it-now price that is 60% lower ... don't expect them to match it.

... it must be frustrating for you particularly since at the beginning of this adventure you'd already decided you wanted to deal with them (not sure why?).

[JoeldMtl]

Just curious how much the difference was.

[Golden Bear]

I'd be interested in seeing the language that was used in talking about the other retailer. There must be some reason why they have questions about that retailer and the price being offered, and perhaps that was stated poorly by the guy who sent the e-mail.

Generally companies who have a "will match any price" policy will do just that unless it means selling a product for less than they bought it for. If they chose not to honour someone else's offer, it must have been suspiciously low ... or there was something that made them feel it was not legitimate.

I'm not trying to defend anyone ... I'm just thinking aloud here. False advertising can be a dangerous game for a retailer to play, so I'm inclined to think that they had better reasons than a simple desire to lie about a policy. So, I'm curious about the exact wording of their explanation.

[thekathrynorchard]

The price difference is about 100 bucks at the end of the day. And he did follow up telling me he wouldn't match my price with a statement saying he WOULD match ANY price. I think he was attempting to say because the other retailer is a non-authorized mizuno reseller, that he wont match the price...but in the event I find an authorized reseller, that he would...which is still BS on my end. The company who provided the best price is Puregolf and the other company (who shall remain nameless) will not match.

I certainly wouldn't go as far as to claim it is false advertising and regret my words if it was interpretted as such. I just think it's a crappy deal and it left a bad taste in my mouth. I want to trust these people and do business with them and if they're willing to back peddle on this price match guarantee, I'm quite frankly, concerned with what else they will backpeddle on.

[milhaus]

Thats bad service... they telly ou they'll match and then they back out.. clowns..are the 2 retailers golftown and greenfield??? lol by from greenfield.... super nice guys trying to make an honest buck...
I would guess Nevada Bobs and Greenfield, since I'd have a hard time seeinga GT manager slining mud about a small shop. Now, the downtown NB on the other hand, I could easily see having such an attitude.

[Gman]

The price difference is about 100 bucks at the end of the day. And he did follow up telling me he wouldn't match my price with a statement saying he WOULD match ANY price. I think he was attempting to say because the other retailer is a non-authorized mizuno reseller, that he wont match the price...but in the event I find an authorized reseller, that he would...which is still BS on my end. The company who provided the best price is Puregolf and the other company (who shall remain nameless) will not match.

I certainly wouldn't go as far as to claim it is false advertising and regret my words if it was interpretted as such. I just think it's a crappy deal and it left a bad taste in my mouth. I want to trust these people and do business with them and if they're willing to back peddle on this price match guarantee, I'm quite frankly, concerned with what else they will backpeddle on.

Why is the problem with telling us th eother company? i believe everything you said but then you won't name the other company. Nevada's or Golftown? Doesn't sound like it.

[Bellyhungry]

Here's another avenue:

Canadian Dollar is almost 1:1 with US now...Try buy them from US e-tailer.

Also, I actually have no problem that the shop in quesiton being steadfast on only price matching 'authorized' competitors.

Now you raised another interesting question. Why won't you want to deal with Puregolf?

[BeLikeBen]

Was the low price obtained from the one shop verbal? In other words, perhaps the price given wasn't an actual "sticker" price but a verbal deal for a certain amount. I wouldn't expect the preferred shop to match if that was the case.
I like a deal as much as anyone else but I think business owners realize that only a small percentage of customers really haggle a price, and those people are most likely to shop without loyalty in the future anyways. I'm not trying to accuse you of that, just pointing out what may be the shop's view (ps. I am not a small business owner either).

[thekathrynorchard]

The other store is in fact Greenfield. I have only heard tremendously positive things about them and they are a sponsor of this board so I wanted to give them my business which is why my mind was made up from the start and why I wanted to work with them. I have heard mixed things about puregolf and they aren't a sponsor. I love this board and want the sponsors of this board to get 100% of my golf money if possible. But if they won't live up to their word, then I'm hesitant to do so especially if it's at non-competitive price-points.

I also pseudo understand their concern with matching a non-authorized reseller's prices, but that certainly isn't clear in their policy. Like I said, I'm not claiming anything is false advertising or anything else like that, simply that I really had my mind made up I would be dealing with them, I have my money in hand, and I can't help but feel slighted a tad. More importantly, I don't know who I'm going to buy my clubs from now and I'm more disappointed than anything.

[milhaus]

I would have to side with Greenfield on this one. If they're not an authorized dealer, I wouldn't match the price either. Then again, I wouldn't buy sticks from a non-authorized dealer either, especially if you've heard mixed things about it.

[thekathrynorchard]

I understand what you're saying milhaus, but the other store isn't a van on the side of a road, it's a well established local competitor regardless of if they are authorized for that particular product or not.

At any rate, I suppose I understand their perspective and I hope they can understand my frustration/reluctance as well.

[Gman]

I would have to side with Greenfield on this one. If they're not an authorized dealer, I wouldn't match the price either. Then again, I wouldn't buy sticks from a non-authorized dealer either, especially if you've heard mixed things about it.

All the major manufacturers sell to non authorized dealers directly or through their affiliates I believe. I know a guy who has Ping among other stuff and he is not authorized. He sets his prices 10% or so below GT's prices. Once and awhile he gets an angry phone call from GT and yes Golftown will slight small shops even if they have been around for years and have 100's of customers belonging to top notch private clubs.

Even the company reps once in a while say something but they continue to sell to him.

[milhaus]

Walk into Golftown, try the same PM. If they give it to you, you've got your price from a legit company that will stand behind the clubs. Then, you can take that price over to Greenfield Golf and ask them to PM that, and then return the clubs to GT. Or not . . .

I know GT offers fittings for free if you buy from them; is Puregolf offering a similar service?

[discomonkey]

From Greenfield website:

"if you find a lower advertised price elsewhere we will match it and beat it. *This offer does not include Internet prices, clearance sales and on--course prices. The item must be in stock and we reserve the right to verify the price.*"

That's an awful lot of asterisks in those statements... I couldn't find any footnotes tied to those asterisks though. They may have themselves covered somewhere in their price match policy. Could be a clearance sale?

It is a funny thing though, since (on their website anyway), they seem to emphasize that they truly do offer the lowest price anywhere and will price match. It seems like a small price to pay for them to get great word-of-mouth advertising, especially when the customer is a member of a golf board... oh well... I would just buy from the other place, provided you know for sure they're real... although I've never heard of any fake Mizuno's.

[thekathrynorchard]

I've already been fitted elsewhere so I know exactly what I want so I can't utilize a fitting service to it's full potential.

At any rate, whatever...I'll figure something out. It looks like I'm getting fairly mixed responses to this which is what I expected. Like I said, I understand their perspective and hope they understand mine.

[Gman]

I understand what you're saying milhaus, but the other store isn't a van on the side of a road, it's a well established local competitor regardless of if they are authorized for that particular product or not.

At any rate, I suppose I understand their perspective and I hope they can understand my frustration/reluctance as well.

Unauthorized in no way means fake goods or bad service etc... For $100 on $1000 and the customer says they will be spending their money with you, make the deal. You are a longtime member here and they are a sponsor etc...

But I guess it depends on how much you want your business to grow and how you want to run it. i am lucky to have a successfull business I started a few years ago but i may run mine with a different mentallity then Greenfield.

I noticed on the Greenfield website a TaylorMade Daytona Sport on sale from $250 to $85 or so. I never saw a Sport Rossa retail at that price. Maybe $200 as a stated MSRP years ago. Unfortunately in my business, all my clients are well informed and I have to be straight forward or otherwise I will have to sell my cottage among other things.

Walk into Golftown, try the same PM. If they give it to you, you've got your price from a legit company that will stand behind the clubs. Then, you can take that price over to Greenfield Golf and ask them to PM that, and then return the clubs to GT. Or not . . .

I know GT offers fittings for free if you buy from them; is Puregolf offering a similar service?

Authorized dealer and Legit do not mean the samething. This is very important for you to understand so your comments can have some validity.

[hannah]

I understand what you're saying milhaus, but the other store isn't a van on the side of a road, it's a well established local competitor regardless of if they are authorized for that particular product or not.

At any rate, I suppose I understand their perspective and I hope they can understand my frustration/reluctance as well.

Hi, if puregolf are the ones in the Markham dome they deal with a pro shop connected to a golf course in the States in turn they supply Pure golf with Mizuno products, they order them right from the factory for Puregolf and send the product to the store at the dome, when I was looking for some MP60's they offered me a price no one would be able to match, was a few hundred $$ below anyone's price, Adin is a great guy at Green field and I sort of understand what he's doing, if you do go with Greenfield and pay more I'm sure he will make up the differance in other ways when you buy some other goods from him, It's tough sometimes to understand why one won't match a price but sometimes there is more to it than just matching someone else's price. I know $100 is not small peanuts but talk to Adin and I'm sure he will find some kind of common ground for you, Tom.

[thekathrynorchard]

To me there isn't anything else to it then matching someone else's price. If you say you'll do it...you should do it.

[Weirfan]

You need to decide what it is you want.

the lowest price you can get the clubs for

or a relationship with a company

personally I dont see what the idea of establishing a relationship with a retail operation is worth, as long as the product you buy is properly warrantied and they dont look after warranty anyways the manufacturer does.

In my opinion you have already wasted well more than $100 worth of time and effort in this by doing the price shopping and the time hear.

If you but retail and want the best prices. take a chance on ebay or shop the USA....you will always get a much better price , even with tax and duty.

if you are looking to forge a friendship with a retailer????? I would say dont, buy your clubs and find a good fitter and repair shop to do anything that is needed down the line

no store has to guarantee anything no matter what they advertise, although it is poor practice to say that they will then not....

I dont buy clubs retail ( components yes) so I maybe dont see the bifg deal here

[thekathrynorchard]

You need to decide what it is you want.

the lowest price you can get the clubs for

or a relationship with a company



When someone comes highly praised such as Greenfield and they have a pricematch guarantee I was hoping I could have both. Unfortunately that is not the case.

I'll just get my clubs elsewhere.

[hannah]

Unauthorized in no way means fake goods or bad service etc... For $100 on $1000 and the customer says they will be spending their money with you, make the deal. You are a longtime member here and they are a sponsor etc...

But I guess it depends on how much you want your business to grow and how you want to run it. i am lucky to have a successfull business I started a few years ago but i may run mine with a different mentallity then Greenfield.

I noticed on the Greenfield website a TaylorMade Daytona Sport on sale from $250 to $85 or so. I never saw a Sport Rossa retail at that price. Maybe $200 as a stated MSRP years ago. Unfortunately in my business, all my clients are well informed and I have to be straight forward or otherwise I will have to sell my cottage among other things.



Authorized dealer and Legit do not mean the samething. This is very important for you to understand so your comments can have some validity.

I also don't think that these subtle kind of comments againist another TGN'er when we don't know Adin's side of the story, sorry but I do not like to read comments like this because they have really not nice under tones to your message againist Adin and the boys at Greenfield golf, don't call them on something till and if Adin feels like giving his reasons, they have been around for many, many years and only becayse they have provided good honest service to ther clients, Tom.

[thekathrynorchard]

And I for one certainly don't want to imply they have been anything less than honest with me. They told me exactly that they couldn't match the price and that it was because it was below their cost. They were upfront and honest all the way. That isn't what I'm calling into question here. Honesty certainly isn't an issue for me with them.

I actually appreciate that he/they didn't beat around the bush at all and try to pull the wool over my eyes at all...they/he simply told me no. It's just frustrating to hear that sometimes :p.

[Weirfan]

And I for one certainly don't want to imply they have been anything less than honest with me. They told me exactly that they couldn't match the price and that it was because it was below their cost. They were upfront and honest all the way. That isn't what I'm calling into question here. Honesty certainly isn't an issue for me with them.

I actually appreciate that he/they didn't beat around the bush at all and try to pull the wool over my eyes at all...they/he simply told me no. It's just frustrating to hear that sometimes :p.


good for you for saying that.

This sort of thing happens all the time I am sure, with price guarantees and easy access to online pricing .....

there may be some companies would likely honour what they say even if it means thay take a loss.

[hannah]

And I for one certainly don't want to imply they have been anything less than honest with me. They told me exactly that they couldn't match the price and that it was because it was below their cost. They were upfront and honest all the way. That isn't what I'm calling into question here. Honesty certainly isn't an issue for me with them.

I actually appreciate that he/they didn't beat around the bush at all and try to pull the wool over my eyes at all...they/he simply told me no. It's just frustrating to hear that sometimes :p.

Understand completely, I just didn't like the way the last person wrote his or her comments towards the boys at Greenfield golf, I don't know of anyone that has not been properly informed when they shopped at Greenfields, I just think we can word our comments in a much better way when we talk about someone's interity. Tom.

[milhaus]

Authorized dealer and Legit do not mean the samething. This is very important for you to understand so your comments can have some validity.
Perhaps if you read my post, you'll see I was talking about Golftown's willingness to back up their products and provide warranty service, nothing else, not about legit clubs and authorized dealers. If you know Puregolf's history here, you'll know there are mixed reviews (or maybe if you read the original post), which is why I made the suggestion to get it at Golftown. This is also very important for you to understand so your comments can have some validity.

I'm actually surprised you run a successful business, given the pretentious, condescending tone on your posts. I see others agree.

[thekathrynorchard]

I don't want this to go any farther.

If someone can close this down it would be greatly appreciated.


Anyone wishing to inquire or put forth their thoughts any further can send me a PM.

[Bellyhungry]

I don't want this to go any farther.

If someone can close this down it would be greatly appreciated.


Anyone wishing to inquire or put forth their thoughts any further can send me a PM.

To make things better for you...I can still send you my Novell hat :rofl: if you want...

[Golden Bear]

I guess what it comes down to is if the Puregolf price fits into any of the categories excluded from Greenfield's offer:*This offer does not include Internet prices, clearance sales and on--course prices. The item must be in stock and we reserve the right to verify the price.*

I don't know Puregolf, I don't know the source of the advertised price, so I'm in no position to say either way, but if it was a clearance sale or an internet price, Greenfield should be cut some slack. If it was none of these things, well, they're in the wrong.

[thekathrynorchard]

I'm under the understanding the price at puregolf is an everyday price anyone walking in off the street would obtain and not a clearance or sale price.

To make things better for you...I can still send you my Novell hat :rofl: if you want...

Hahah then I'll have an Intel & a Novell hat...SWEEEEET!

If I could only get the HP hat for the trifecta.

[hoganapexplus]

[quote=Weirfan]You need to decide what it is you want.

the lowest price you can get the clubs for

or a relationship with a company

personally I dont see what the idea of establishing a relationship with a retail operation is worth, as long as the product you buy is properly warrantied and they dont look after warranty anyways the manufacturer does.

I agree with this point. GT or anyone else for that matter will take your business and probably be glad to have you as a repeat customer, but at the end of it all they are looking to make $$$, and if they can dodge a price match of 10% then they can.

[thekathrynorchard]

The difference is they may have dodged a 10% price match now but they won't receive any of my business down the road. This will add up to alot more than the 10% in the first place.

[guitarman]

You need to decide what it is you want.

the lowest price you can get the clubs for

or a relationship with a company

personally I dont see what the idea of establishing a relationship with a retail operation is worth, as long as the product you buy is properly warrantied and they dont look after warranty anyways the manufacturer does.

In my opinion you have already wasted well more than $100 worth of time and effort in this by doing the price shopping and the time hear.

If you but retail and want the best prices. take a chance on ebay or shop the USA....you will always get a much better price , even with tax and duty.

if you are looking to forge a friendship with a retailer????? I would say dont, buy your clubs and find a good fitter and repair shop to do anything that is needed down the line

no store has to guarantee anything no matter what they advertise, although it is poor practice to say that they will then not....

I dont buy clubs retail ( components yes) so I maybe dont see the bifg deal here

When it comes to buying products off the rack there is no loyalty. I go to where the cheapest price is offered. I don't buy from the Internet and not too much with low budget mom and pop shops either. I like to stick to authorized retailers. From those I go to where the cheapest price is offerred. I do have one retailer that I prefer and has accommadated me with price matching so far. If at any time they refused, I would lose no sleep over it and just go to where its cheaper. It doesn't mean I don't have a relationship with my preferred retailer.

[iverson589]

Perhaps if you read my post, you'll see I was talking about Golftown's willingness to back up their products and provide warranty service, nothing else, not about legit clubs and authorized dealers. If you know Puregolf's history here, you'll know there are mixed reviews (or maybe if you read the original post), which is why I made the suggestion to get it at Golftown. This is also very important for you to understand so your comments can have some validity.

I'm actually surprised you run a successful business, given the pretentious, condescending tone on your posts. I see others agree.

i agree...purchase them at golftown...they wouldn't give you a hassle if you mention that you can get them at a lower cost (at least my store won't)...we will beat it by another 5% also...