Marks and Spencer.....never again!!

jimbo24168

lauraandclive wrote: »

The most interesting point the OP makes is that his local store didn't have the coat, jacket or pyjamas in stock at the sale price. So, if he hadn't have bought them at the full price, he wouldn't have got them at the sale price either. Do you want the items or not...? Why am I wasting my time replying to this thread anyway, that's what happens at Christmas!! You buy and receive full-priced items as gifts, then you go sale shopping after Christmas and get everything you wanted but didn't get, at a cheaper price.

They did have them in stock, but not by the time I could get there to buy them otherwise I would have done so and returned the originals for a refund of the full price.
Sorry if you feel you are wasting your time...whose decision was that?
Geez...my first post and I get replies like that.

SaraSeahorse

this is a silly vent

You had a choice.
buy full price and get the size and colour you want or wait until the sales and risk not getting the item you wanted at all.

lauraaurora

They did have them in stock, but not by the time I could get there to buy them otherwise I would have done so and returned the originals for a refund of the full price.
Sorry if you feel you are wasting your time...whose decision was that?
Geez...my first post and I get replies like that.

I'll be a bit more gentle this time then...

My point is that you were able to purchase the items before Christmas as there were lots in stock. After Christmas there are far fewer items in stock. You weren't able to get there before the other bargains, and that's the point of a sale. It's pot luck as to what's available at those bargain prices.

The other issue is that I presume you bought these items as gifts? You wrapped them up and put them under the Christmas tree. On Christmas day, your wife opened these gifts and was hopefully very happy.

Had you not have purchased these items prior to Christmas, you would have a) either bought her something else at full-price or b) not given her any presents and taken her sale shopping on Boxing Day instead...

No-one is being harsh on here, we're just pointing out that you're describing a sale, and blaming Marks and Spencers specifically for something that pretty much all of the retailers do. Yes it's annoying, but the only way round it is to do what Clive and I did, and that's not give each other presents on Christmas Day, but wait for the January sales and spend our money a bit more wisely.

Happy New Year anyway:beer:

Sooler

jimbo24168 wrote: »

They did have them in stock, but not by the time I could get there to buy them otherwise I would have done so and returned the originals for a refund of the full price.

Just convince yourself that they never had any of the right size at the sale price and shops put the biggest discounts on items they don't have stock of.

viktory

I bought a coat from Next about a month before Christmas. My daughter, who works in Next, told me that this coat was going into the sale at half price. I was not in the least bit bothered because:

1) There is no guarantee that I would have got the coat in the sales
2) There was no guarantee that they would have had my size
3) I didn't fancy getting up at 3am to queue to get in the shop, endure hideous crowds of people and queue for another 3 hours just to pay for the damn thing. All that made it worthwhile paying full price.

Sometimes it is worth paying full price for something to ensure you get what you want.

IvanOpinion

it sort of reminds me of the old joke about a chap who goes into a shop and asks for a particular product. The shop keeper says 'that will be £75 sir' .. the customer is outraged and says 'but it is only £60 down the road'. The shop keeper asks 'then why did you not buy it down the road' to which the customer replies 'because they are out of stock'.

the shopkeeper then says 'well when we are out of stock it is only £55 therefore we are actually cheaper'.

ivan

gardner1

jimbo24168 wrote: »

Just before Christmas I bought my wife a coat priced at £99 and a jacket at £59. My daughter bought her a pyjama set at £36.

Imagine my anger when the same coat was then put in their sale for £29, the jacket for £19 and the pyjama set at £8. Unfortunately our nearest store had sold out of these before we got there otherwise I would have returned the original items for a refund at the full price and then purchased them at the sale price.

I should have known better because this has happened countless times with purchases from M & S but we have now vowed never again to buy anything from there at the full price as it will invariably be on sale at a fraction of that price within a couple of weeks.

Your loss M & S, not mine in future!!!!!

why not try and buy online or find a shop further away to save £138
you had the option to get full refund but didnt. stop moaning

DrFluffy

Get over it. It's hardly news that M&S have good sales, and it's not your God given right to purchase everything you want on the cheap.

As you already pointed out, you couldn't get the things you wanted in your local branches sale anyway. Either youwant a product (at what ever cost), or you don't.

Two years ago, I was after a specific coat from M&S - retailing at £110. I tried to get hold of one for most of December. On Christmas eve, M&S Marble Arch had one in my size. I wanted it regardless, as it was a nice coat, so I bought it. Didn't do anything with it (in case it was in the sale - which of course it was.)

I took the one back I bought to my local store, who knew that I'd been after one for ages as I had been in numberous occasions. I said I'd got one on Christmas Eve, and I knew it was a cheek, but could I return it and buy a sale one as, as a student the extra money would come in handy. They refunded me and sold it me back at the sale price of £49. If they refused, it wouldn't have been the end of the world, as the coat was to die for. Two years on, it still gets comments. My fave was going in to Reiss, and two of the SA's coming over to "admire it". The look on their faces when I told them it was Marks!

The one thing you generally can't fault with M&S is their customer service. But as a customer, if you buy something immediately before a well advertised, annual sale, you have to accept that the product might be heavily reduced in the not to distant future...

As someone else pointed out - gift vouchers are often the way to go, unless it is a "must have" item.

Pollycat

I think lauraandclive & viktory have got this bang on.

Either you pay the full price or wait until the sale and hope to get it at a reduced price (and maybe luck out).
Not to mention seriously hacking your wife off because you haven't bought her a present.
Your choice to make.

Personally, I've often seen something in M&S that I like but didn't want to pay full price.
I wait until the sale and, if they have it in my size, I buy it and am happy. :j
If they don't have it, I shrug and say 'Well, I didn't really want it that badly anyway, otherwise I'd have bought it at full price'.

I don't think you can expect to post on here and have everyone agreeing with your points every time.
If you review how many posters agree with your viewpoint specifically on this 'vent' and how many don't, it might give you a pointer to whether you were really hard done to.

Polly

uktim29

What have M & done here that doesn't happen with other retailers?

Could this not happen in any sale with any other shop? You say "M & S never again" but if you dislike the concept that when sales occur items are cheaper than they were previously then you'll have to say "shopping, never again" won't you?

I know some may say thats not the point etc, etc but have you then never heard of the January sales? Would you prefer if we got rid of them just in case they upset some people.