Supermarket Special Offers - Never in Stock!

StoptheRipOff

Hi,
Could you answer a question for me please?

When a supermarket is advertising one of their mega special deals in the national press (in this particular instance ASDA - Gillette Fusion razors for £2 instead of the normal £7.48) and the offer is on for "4 days only" but they are totally out of stock after the first day, should they honour this with their "smiley vouchers"? Having asked for one of these I was told that as the advert stated "while stocks last" basically it was tough luck - really good customer service!

My point is that this happens with monotonous regularity - partly I assume because there is no limitation on the amount you can buy, enterprising boot salers and market traders buy up most of the available stock on day 1 of the offer to re-sell at a higher price. Surely this is some kind of false advertising if they hide behind the "while stocks last" statement - particularly as they give no indication of how much stock they are referring to, which in theory could be something ridiculous like 2 units per store!

Pink.

Hi StoptheRipOff,

Welcome to MSE

As your thread has dropped down the Old Style board I've moved it over to the Vent board to see if you can get some replies.

Pink

MrsBartolozzi

What I find annoying is when late one day supermarkets are out of stock of an offered product (usually ones with large discount or an expensive BOGOF) and staff assure you there is no stock "through the back", the next morning when the offer has expired the shelves are stuffed full of the product at opening time.
Cynical... moi?

nomoneytoday

In my experience Sainsburys usually give smiley vouchers, Tesco staff grunt at you instead and Asda Customer services give you a £1 voucher for your next shop

uktim29

StoptheRipOff wrote: »

Surely this is some kind of false advertising if they hide behind the "while stocks last" statement

You'd have to be pretty thick though not to understand the statement "while stocks last".

omen666

Stores only have to have a few items in stock for these offers.

Same as places like DFS that in one store a sofa is £2k for 28 days and then they can do the double savings to bring the £2k sofa down to say £899.99. Oldest trick in the book.

wotsthat

MrsBartolozzi wrote: »

What I find annoying is when late one day supermarkets are out of stock of an offered product (usually ones with large discount or an expensive BOGOF) and staff assure you there is no stock "through the back", the next morning when the offer has expired the shelves are stuffed full of the product at opening time.
Cynical... moi?

You are right to be cynical. Nearly all of the offers that run in supermarkets are paid for by the supplier. If you see a bogof what happens is that the supermarket will invoice the supplier for the value of the free item. Another way they run it is to arrange a buying in period for the promotion at a special price - supermarkets prefer this because they can buy in at the bogof price and then 'go out of stock' and sell discounted product at full price later.

Ginger_Nuts_2

I'm pretty sure that in Tesco, if the offer is not available on shelf, if you go to their customer services, they give you a voucher to allow you to get the same offer when stocks return, even if the offer has expired since. oh was a customer services staff for a while

juno

MrsBartolozzi wrote: »

What I find annoying is when late one day supermarkets are out of stock of an offered product (usually ones with large discount or an expensive BOGOF) and staff assure you there is no stock "through the back", the next morning when the offer has expired the shelves are stuffed full of the product at opening time.
Cynical... moi?

Deliveries come in the afternoon/evening, and are thus put out in the evening (or overnight).

uktim29

MrsBartolozzi wrote: »

What I find annoying is when late one day supermarkets are out of stock of an offered product (usually ones with large discount or an expensive BOGOF) and staff assure you there is no stock "through the back", the next morning when the offer has expired the shelves are stuffed full of the product at opening time.
Cynical... moi?

LOL you never thought that deliveries arrive in the evening and get put out overnight.

I can think of other words other than cynical!

pennyocs

in my local tesco they never have anything thats on offer they always have plenty of signs for them but never the products,and i have been in store just as it opens and at different times during the day.i think in the last 4 weeks the only offer ive had in tesco is half price celery.