Bad Shopping Experience

riz_aaroni

riz_aaroni

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I could use a bit of advice on this one. I went to a local knife shop yesterday to see what they had since I never went there before. Everything was MSRP, though they had nearly every brand and model there. After looking at a bunch of knives and feeling somewhat pressured into it, I bought a Benchmade Rift.

Now I really like the knife, no question about it. The thing is, the MSRP is waaaaay above what I can get it online. Now comes for the hard part. I don't feel like I was treated all that great at the store and feel weird about the purchase, should I return the knife only to get it again online? That or just buy something else, somewhere else? For the price difference, I could get a Leatherman Wave which I also want.

Not sure if I should just take my loses and never go back to the store or return it on principle.

-Aaron
 
MSRP covers keeping a lot of SKU's on hand, the store front, operating costs, the people who work there, cleaning, upkeep, etc. A lot of things that an online dealer doesn't even think about.

If I bought a knife from a storefront, knowing full well I could find it cheaper online, I wouldn't return it just to save $60. (Judging from the lowest price I say of $120, and a MSRP of $180).
 
Josh K said:
MSRP covers keeping a lot of SKU's on hand, the store front, operating costs, the people who work there, cleaning, upkeep, etc. A lot of things that an online dealer doesn't even think about.

If I bought a knife from a storefront, knowing full well I could find it cheaper online, I wouldn't return it just to save $60. (Judging from the lowest price I say of $120, and a MSRP of $180).
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I do realize this, very well in fact. Just sucks knowing you could get it cheaper and not have to deal with people who don't really want to help you.
 
Id return it in a heartbeat. Im guessing you worked pretty hard for your money and if you got treated bad AND got pressured into buying something then you shouldnt feel bad about returning it.
 
I would take it back. Competition is competition -if they cant keep prices under full MSRP then they should figure out a better business plan. I am prety sure that yourcornerstore.com also has a phisical store in California complete with overhead -and their prices are the best around. Plus if you did not like the service I dont see why you would want to support bad business. Also paying top price for something raises the bar on what stores will get away charging its customers. I am prety ruthless when it comes to this stuff -no mercy.

Take it back.
 
Friend, you paid your money....it is yours.

And the next time you feel pressured.....walk away.
 
Unless you feel that you can afford to throw away 60 dollars, return it. I've done this once before with an 'impulse' buy. I ended up getting the knife online and saved myself 30 bucks. Granted, I hadn't originally bought it from a Mom and Pop shop. It had been purchased at a 'nationwide' establishment, so I didn't feel bad about it.
 
If it's local enough not to cost you mad gas $ to return the knife then return it and buy it online. At least you got to handle the knife so you know if it fits you.

If a store is a good distance away from me and its prices are close to the average online price then I'd buy a knife there. If it's approaching MSRP then forget it. I'd buy online, but at least I got to handle the knife to know if it's for me. I don't care about salespeople if I'm traveling to get or handle a knife. I'm the customer with the money. It's my decision to buy or not no matter what they say or do.
 
riz_aaroni said:
I could use a bit of advice on this one. I went to a local knife shop yesterday to see what they had since I never went there before. Everything was MSRP, though they had nearly every brand and model there. After looking at a bunch of knives and feeling somewhat pressured into it, I bought a Benchmade Rift.

Now I really like the knife, no question about it. The thing is, the MSRP is waaaaay above what I can get it online. Now comes for the hard part. I don't feel like I was treated all that great at the store and feel weird about the purchase, should I return the knife only to get it again online? That or just buy something else, somewhere else? For the price difference, I could get a Leatherman Wave which I also want.

Not sure if I should just take my loses and never go back to the store or return it on principle.

-Aaron
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Return it on principle? What principle would that be?

Did they hold a gun to your head or threaten to kidnap your children? I doubt it. You made a choice about how to spend your money and now you're regretting it. That's normal human nature, but it doesn't make them at fault in any way. You always had the option of saying "thanks, but no thanks" and walking out the door.

If you felt guilty about using up too much of the salesperson's time then you could have bought an Opinel or maybe a new sharpening stone. You didn't have to buy an expensive Benchmade.

Do you know they will even accept a return? Unless there is something actually wrong with the knife they may not want to give your money back. I would imagine they get a little tired of being the physical showroom where people go to handle the merchandise before buying it online.
 
Go ahead and return it. Then, after they've gone out of business, start a new thread complaining about the lack of brick and mortar stores where you can actually see and handle the knives in person.
 
If you don't want to pay the price a brick & mortar store charges, then don't waste their time. Check out the prices and leave if you find them too high.

If you felt that the people at the store weren't being helpful, why did you purchase from them? Can't you say no thanks to sales pressure?
 
Cut your losses and chalk it up as a learning experience. There is also a total MSRP shop near me. I go there every month, usually a Sunday when the person working there is super knowledgeable. They know about the online prices and also know that most people have no clues about knives. They don't rip people off because they explain exactly what the quality of the knives are. People usually go with the lower cost. I go there to handle knives and then buy them online for half or less. Since I am well known there they always let me know about great deals when they have them.
 
I don't normally deal with Brick & Mortar stores because I've found they're often either rude, or have a "buy something or get out" attitude.

If I'm going to pay MSRP, which in a lot of cases is more than double the cost online, I expect to be treated like a customer looking for a knife, and not some jerk kid reading all the magazines at the news stand.

The point of a store is that you can go in and try before you buy, exactly because you're paying them more for providing the service, and yet the staff always seems have some sort of attitude with you when you try to do just that.


And judging by some of the responses above, that kind of attitude, exactly, is what the OP is referring to as "pressured to buy [or GTFO]"

As if every customer who walks through the doors of a brick & mortar knife shop is there to serve the owners and keep them happy, based on the fact that they own a knife shop alone.
 
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When you buy any product from a specialty store you will pay more. What you do get for your money though is the ability to actually see, hold/feel (balance, matching scales, blems if any etc.) inspect, and compare different models in your price range first hand. More of your senses are involved than buying a pic.

This service costs money by way of inventory, wages, rent, utilities, insurance etc. Plus you are keeping your money in your community/state.

I frequent a fishing store and pay their higher than web prices because I feel they are a service to the community. If enough people didn't do this I would not be able to get that, for ex. reel part without having to wait for it in the mail. Convenience should be a consideration. Just my .02
 
enderwiggin said:
The point of a store is that you can go in and try before you buy, exactly because you're paying them more for providing the service
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Exactly. You are paying more for the knife because you are receiving the service of seeing and handling it in person. And you can buy it and walk out the door instead of waiting for it to be delivered. If someone doesn't think that those services are worth the higher price, he shouldn't shop there.

And if a salesclerk's attitude is buy something or GTFO, I know exactly how to punish the store. I leave and never go back. And those stores always go out of business in my experience.

What I don't understand is how the OP knew the price was high, knew the service was poor, but somehow felt "pressured" to buy.
 
enderwiggin said:
The point of a store is that you can go in and try before you buy, exactly because you're paying them more for providing the service, and yet the staff always seems have some sort of attitude with you when you try to do just that.
Click to expand...

I don't know what stores you've been shopping at, but I have never been to a knife store where I have been treated like that. If I had been treated in that manner I would have walked out and not given them a dime of my money. There is no pressure that a salesperson could put on me that would make me do anything except leave faster.

Anyway riz_aaroni, do whatever you think is right. It's your money and your decision to make.
 
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