T.K.Maxx's inconsistent price structure policy

BartyBoy

Just thought it's worth to bring this up here to share...

I went to a T.K.Maxx store in Warrington on Saturday (24 Mar) to look for some travelling accessories. I found two Samsonite luggage straps in this store being sold at £4.99 (RRP £9.99). I thought that was a very good price (50% off from the RRP), so I bought them then.

I went to a different T.K.Maxx store on Tuesday (27 Mar) to look for a suitcase padlock which I couldn't find at the Warrington store. At this other store, I discovered the same Samsonite luggage straps which I bought 3 days ago were being sold at £3.99. I immediately got very annoyed. In the end, I couldn't stop myself to write to T.K.Maxx's customer service to ask a question.

I questioned T.K.Maxx how they could sell the same Samsonite luggage strap with two different prices at two different stores. A person called Kasia replied with below:

"At TK Maxx our promise is to bring our customers the best quality and brands, with savings of up to 60% off the recommended retail price and the majority of our products are offered at a discount of 50-60%. Due to various factors, some items have less of a discount, however, this should never be less than 20% and sometimes the discount can be considerably more than 60%.

We have an opportunistic buying process and the savings we make are passed directly on to our customers. On this occasion we have not matched luggage strap’s price. This could be due to a number of factors including the cost price to us and if the item has exactly the same product design, manufacturer and country of origin.

Regrettably, I am unable to compensate you for the price difference as we do not offer a ‘price match promise’ to our customers."

I just find the response is a pile of rubbish! I can understand T.K.Maxx don't do price match with other competitors (such as Primark, Wilkinsons, etc.), but what about their own stores? It sounds like I will need to visit different T.K.Maxx stores now before I buy something?

It is not about the £2 that I have overpaid here but the principle.

Another prime example, I saw a Samsonite padlock cost £1.99 at one T.K.Maxx but £9.99 at another one. The locks are identical. So when do we know we are paying a REAL good price at T.K.Maxx?

The_BAMFster

I actually don't believe you've overpaid.

If you felt you were getting a bargain when you saw them at £4.99 (£9.99 RRP) then what's the problem? That you later saw them for a whole £1 less at a later date and felt sufficiently aggrieved to email them (Potentially to be compensated for your trauma?), then I would suggest some kind of relaxation techniques, as the world is a very strange place where bthings like this tend to happen to us. It's not worth getting worried over luggage straps I can assure you.

To reiterate, if you were happy enough to pay your initial price, feel good that you got a bargain on that day and remember to shop around. You may spend more than £2 on fuel or fares though. Be aware of that. :money:

pulliptears

Their pricing is off the wall. I was at Uni in Wolverhampton and had a wander into their Wolves store where I fell in love with a Toki Doki handbag at £29.99. I debated and decided to leave it, then got home to Stoke and regretted it.
Went into my local store the next day and there was the bag I coveted....£49.99! I took it to the till and explained that it was £29.99 in Wolves and could they check the price and was told that prices differed store to store.

Needless to say i bought the bag in Wolverhampton the next day lol

Azari

pulliptears wrote: »

Needless to say i bought the bag in Wolverhampton the next day lol

Glad you found it still there the next day. I was half expecting you to say you went back and it had gone.

TKMaxx are pretty inconsistent. You can get some amazing bargains there but some things are not really much of a reduction at all.

I'd guess that they reduce prices further if things haven't sold and they need the shelf space which might explain the difference between shops.

John_Jizzle

thats because its a crap shop

BartyBoy

The_BAMFster wrote: »

Potentially to be compensated for your trauma?

I did not ask T.K.Maxx to give me £2 but an answer to my question.

Just like my second example I mentioned at the bottom of my post. If I went ahead to buy a padlock for £9.99 at the first store, and then discovered the same lock cost £1.99 at the second store. There is £8 different on one item between two stores, how does that work??

If a small (low cost) item like my luggage straps and a padlock can be £1-£8 difference in price between two stores, how much of the difference should I expect for something more expensive?

Like I said, my point is not about the £2 that I have overpaid or paid extra (whatever you called it), but the principle. All stores should sell the same item at the same price. And if the store manager decided to reduce the price further at his/her store, perhaps the price tag should show what it was before.

BartyBoy

pulliptears wrote: »

...I took it to the till and explained that it was £29.99 in Wolves and could they check the price and was told that prices differed store to store.

Needless to say i bought the bag in Wolverhampton the next day lol

Lucky you and so glad that I am not the only one having issues with their prices... :P

POPPYOSCAR

I have bought two of the same thing from the same store with different prices on.

When I queried it, it was explained to me that they could not do them both for the same price as the stock comes in at different times and is priced accordingly. So it depends on how much they had to pay for it, which dictates how much it is priced up for.

I wanted two so I bought them both, they were still a bargain.

I love TKmaxx, they are not always cheaper, but more often than not they are.It is up to the customer to decide if they want to pay the price asked.

Andy_L

TK Maxx get their stock as end-of-line clearances from manufacturers/wholesalers/large retailers, bankrupt sales & they like. Thus its quite possible that they paid a different price for the straps in the 1st place which would be reflected on the ticket price they decide to put on it.

Depending on how far apart the 2 stores are & TK organisation they may be in different regions & get differing deliveries of stock

pulliptears

Azari wrote: »

Glad you found it still there the next day. I was half expecting you to say you went back and it had gone.

TKMaxx are pretty inconsistent. You can get some amazing bargains there but some things are not really much of a reduction at all.

I'd guess that they reduce prices further if things haven't sold and they need the shelf space which might explain the difference between shops.

I was panicing lol. Missed half of my first lecture as well to grab it but it was worth it

Ironically, for those unfamiliar with Toki Doki bags (probably most of you hehe) they come with a hanging keychain which is invariably stolen. The one in my local store had the chain stolen yet the bag was more expensive than the one in the Wolves store which still had the keychain!

I always think back though to the incidents of them slapping price stickers on lost property a few years ago though, seems like their whole attitude to pricing is very slap dash.

BartyBoy

POPPYOSCAR wrote: »

It is up to the customer to decide if they want to pay the price asked.

I think your experience is different to mine, as you found two same/similar items had two different prices at the same store. If that happened to my two straps then I would totally agree with you that it is up to me to decide whether to pay the extra to buy the items or not. I obviously did not know the same straps cost cheaper at another T.K.Maxx store, so...

Anyway, their price structure is a mystery, whatever they claim (the stock comes in at different times and is priced accordingly) is just an excuse...