There is a certain online supplier that sent out an email to those subscribing to their newsletter and it said that since 2008 was so great, this week only they are offering their customers 25% off of EVERYTHING on the site. That's right, every item in stock is 25% off. That is amazing! Oh, yah... you guessed it... NOTHING is in stock. Ok, I can't say nothing, but all of the pans (you know, the expensive thing that you'd definitely want to buy while on sale) are out of stock, as well as the majority of other items I considered purchasing. Every time I clicked on something that looked interesting, guess what...? Now, this sale just started today, and it was only sent to their newsletter recipients, so you can't tell me that EVERYTHING in the store sold out that fast. Does anyone else feel this was perhaps slightly dishonest? Or am I completely overreacting? I don't mean to be cranky about it, but it just feels like the old bait and switch that "A certain electronics store" is famous for! You know, they advertise a really great laptop for $300 and it says "While supplies last". The ad comes out on Sunday morning, you could go there at noon on Sunday and guaranteed, "Oh, it just sold out! So sorry! But look, here's one that's half as good for $800!!"

Yeah this sounds like a bait to Me. If the sale started today then they should have stocked up for the sale right? I hate when that happens. Well, maybe if ppl speak up they'll run the sale again with the products!

That's my take on it... who has a sale on the four things left in the back room? You stock up and then have a sale so you can SELL SOME STUFF! Ergh.

They probably could have averted some of the frustration by a simple wordage change of "End of the year clearance .... 25% of everything in stock". But to say "everything on the site" is misleading, to be sure. With the first one, I'd kinda expect them to be out of stock on popular items ... and that they were having a sale to get rid of the stuff that didnt' move as well as they thought it would.

Simple word use could have kept this so simple.

Out the scamming b*#@ards!!!

In their defense, they just had a sale a few days ago - New Year's Day actually. They also sent out a coupon for that, so that could explain why their stock is low...I mean, it's only been 3 days.

Is it fair for me to ask who you are talking about, I would like to view what they have on sale (or not).

You should ask for a rain check.

okay, I'm a bit stubborn and have my moments... but i filled a huge 'cart' their once and I had put in my GENDER in order to check out. How in the world does my gender pertain to my need for fondant and petal dust? So, I stopped shopping there all together. I sent them an email about it too...

....or placing a large order...everything in stock when you placed the order...charged for the entire order...package arrives and the items that you REALLY NEEDED weren't in there...have to wait darn(should read damn in a big way too) near a week for them to credit your account ...don't get a notice that they were out of stock and your account will be credited...nooooooooooooo....that doesn't happen until AFTER you contact them that items were not in your package and "THANKS A WHOLE HELLOFALOT...!" what happened to those 'out of stock' buttons on their site? I mean other items stated out of stock.... I understand that there may have been a RUSH on puke pink petal dust and the system just didn't have time to keep up with the update in stock...anyway, that was almost a year ago and I haven't ordered from them since...Gee whiz, if you're riding tight with the finances and they take a week to credit your account...that's more than a week you lost on getting supplies 'cause you don't find out until the &^%$ ain't in your box!

Oh, good grief! Did I just vent???? Sorry Mel, that one place just annoys me!

Which company are you all talking about?

Paul & Peter

Almost sounds like the company that sent me an email invitation to buy at their Day After Christmas sale...use the code "christmas" and get 25% off...Good only for Dec. 26th.

Guess what? I ordered on Dec 26th and put in the code "christmas" and was told that it had expired. Called the company and a recorded message told me to go to the internet to leave my message as that was the fastest way to get a response. So I did...put in order number and the time and date that was ordered and told them that I did not get the discount and wanted to know why and that I expected my account to be credited since I had ordered on that date.

No answer to my email and no credit to my account!!! So I will not be ordering from this company again!

Mac, I know the feeling - I placed an order inmmediately with them and had the same results. Emailed them immediately, too, stating I would like to order, and have YET to receive a response. Now, this has been a great company to deal with in the past, and I can't imagine why they would pull such nonsense. It sure is disappointing.

For those who have asked, I am not going to publicly state the name of the company at this point. I'm sorry, but I don't want to stir up trouble for this company if this is a legit 'oops' on their part. That is the precise reason that I didn't use any real company names in this post. I don't want to be attacked as a 'store basher' ya know?

Gender? Really? That is unacceptable. There is no reason on God's earth that it could make a darn bit of difference in you getting your order. I mean, if they are keeping demographic records, that's fine, but they should explain that and offer the 'prefer not to answer' option.

But I didn't say any names... therefore I feel that I haven't crossed a line. Does that make sense? Anyone who gets the newsletter will possibly notice this trend on their own even if they don't read this post. I just want to find out if I am overreacting to a few items being out, or if it really does seem that a large portion of stock is not available. I'm looking for a little perspective before I go off getting all bent, ya know? Trying to be reasonable instead of menstrual. That's not always easy!

I'm a little offended( not with the company). They did have a problem with the day after Christmas code which may have been why they offered this . They made up for the last they had a problem with the servers and I'm we all understand about the problems that sites have had with servers right?! Many of us got $ to spend for Christmas and gift certificates so keep that in mind. I have been bummed when stuff is out of stocked but when everyone got wind of the reasonable shipping and great prices you's expect that. I have them notify me when something I want is back in stock or try and find it somewhere else plain and simple . All companies these days can't afford to have excessive inventory sitting on their shelves hoping to be bought while the trend is consumers are cutting back. I've said my peace and stand by this outstanding company!

Kelley

it's pretty irritating to not know who you're talking about. if you want to complain or warn people or whatever, just put it all out in the open.

nothing about the ad bothers me.. 25% off your order. they put a shiney happy spin on it because they're not going to say all they have left is the stuff no one wanted. if you find something you want, then you get 25% off, if you don't then don't buy.

No problem Mel but the sales are intended for those who are members and we aren't suppose to give out codes. They had a problem with code with the sale they just had the code wasn't taking and they have made it up to us in the past they increased the %. The company has been know to give incentives for making suggestions. I felt like a big sis protecting her younger sibling . I shouldn't have jumped right in~ so shake hands?!

You didn't but someone else did give out the code. I can completely understand the frustration (as a member myself, it can be frustrating at times) but I can attest to the fact that they do give back to their members frequently, have awesome prices and are great people. The forums are small group of wonderful, helpful and encouraging ladies and gents too so I can also understand the defense. I just take the sales as "if I find something, I get a % off - great!" If they mess up or run into problems, they always make it up.

Nothing wrong with venting, threads like these are just known to take on a life of their own and I know that's not what you were going for. I hope you do find something later.

I wouldn't consider this post bashing the online store. Anyone who goes to the site would run into the same issue of no inventory, regardless of whether they had the coupon code or not.

If anything you would be advertising for this online store (if you give out the name). Anyone who does not know what store you are talking about would want to go and check it out (hence, the requests for the name of the store). They may even find something instock that they wanted to purchase.

As far as giving out the code, I am not sure if this is a problem either. The code was just sent to those on the mailing list. I bet that the site would want to have new customers, and they would be adding those new customers to their mailing lists for future orders.

Mailing list = free advertising

Anyway, that is just my two cents.

It was another poster that gave away the codes, by copying verbiage from the letter.

Anyway, Melvira, I feel you were more than discreet and just venting the situation without going over the line. I have felt horrible since that post on Cakes by Sam, where Sam finally came on here and cleared things up. You never know who from the company is a member of the site, you never know if it is a genuine problem (like server issue) and your experience may be entirely unique, though some other posts make it seem like it's not.

Too the PP who wanted to know the company to take advantage of the sale, the sale wasn't for all of us, sadly, so knowing that won't help. And to the PP who wanted to be forewarned...maybe we should ride this out and see if Melvira receives a response to the issue and if the company shows good customer service, since some people have obviously had good experiences with the company.

I rarely post here anymore because of the mob mentality that seems to exist from time to time, but I'm going to jump in on this one.

The owners of that site have repeatedly asked people not to post sale codes publicly, yet it continues to happen. No wonder they're running low on stock. I'll fault the owners for being too trusting (they certainly could've put safeguards in place to avoid a mass rush by people who never frequent the forum), but I won't fault them for not loading the shelves when the code gets abused.



It's a trustworthy, reliable site. It's not baiting of any kind and it's not misleading. They're having a sale. If they have something you want, you get a discount. If they don't, they don't.

Everyone knows the site we're talking about and I think it's a shame to trash a trustworthy store just because an item you want to buy is out of stock.