I too have seen this similar situation with Dell. Often their "educator price" is more than their public price.
Chris On Tue, Oct 19, 2010 at 3:35 PM, Steele, Thomas C <tste...@manteno5.org>wrote: > Pretty much everyone does it - prime examples are Dell and HP. You can > almost always find better deals on the Small Business sites than you can on > the K12 sites. Usually if you can get a rep involved you can get custom > deals that are about the same or a little better. > > -TS > > -----Original Message----- > From: tech-geeks-boun...@tech-geeks.org [mailto: > tech-geeks-boun...@tech-geeks.org] On Behalf Of Dana Fellows > Sent: Tuesday, October 19, 2010 3:14 PM > To: 'Tech-Geeks Mailing List' > Subject: Re: [tech-geeks] OT - Staples: I smell a rat > > I wanted to buy some episodes of Forensic Files, mostly the ones that have > to do with Computer Forensics, for my classes to watch. The Forensic File > people quoted me a price of 39.99 per 20 minute episode but stated they had > "special educational pricing." I thought that 39.99 was high so I emailed > back for the special pricing. That price was 129.00 per episode. :( > > I notice that TigerDirect does the same thing. One price on their regular > price but sometimes exact same item is more on their biz.tigerdirect.com > page. > > Dana Fellows > Computer Technology Instructor / Network Administrator > Whiteside Area Career Center > 1608 Fifth Avenue > Sterling, IL 61081 > Email, dfell...@wacc.cc > Website, www.wacc.cc > Phone: 815-626-5810 ext. 206 > Available via phone between 2:30 and 3:30 PM Central Time > > MCP, MCSA, MCSE, A+, Network+, CIW > AAS - Network Administration > BA - Information Systems > MS - Instructional Technology > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: tech-geeks-boun...@tech-geeks.org > [mailto:tech-geeks-boun...@tech-geeks.org] On Behalf Of Mike Oliveri > Sent: Tuesday, October 19, 2010 2:11 PM > To: tech-geeks List > Subject: [tech-geeks] OT - Staples: I smell a rat > > Is anyone else using Staples for their office supply and toner orders? > We've > been using them for as long as I've been here, and we get free overnight > shipping and there's a Rewards program where they cut you a gift > certificate > based on spending. > > However, today I noticed a discrepancy of anywhere from $6-10 on some > products from their basic portal to when you log in to your account. > > For example, my principal sent me a screen grab of an electronic punch and > asked me to order it (I handle the account). It showed he found it for > $94.49 without logging in. > > When I pulled up the same item number, logged in to our account, it came up > at $103.99. Just for kicks, I opened a second browser, went to Staples.com > without logging in, and started comparing toner prices. I found similar > discrepancies. > > I accessed their Live Chat and asked what was up. She claimed it's based on > the zip code for your account, and pricing varies by regions. > > Now, I'm no marketing major, but does a 10% markup make sense? I asked her > what zip code they were assuming and all she would tell me is the price > varied by region. Given we're not all that far from Chicago, I don't see > why > there's a such a big difference. Maybe if we were in Hawaii and they had to > ship across the ocean, or in the middle of the desert states and not in a > Staples market. > > If anyone else is using Staples, I'd be curious as to whether you're seeing > the same thing. My concern is they're using a lower price on their main > site > to suck people in, say when they're comparison shopping with other vendors. > Then they hit account holders with the real price. > > Or, more nefariously, this is how they're making up for free shipping and > the Rewards program. > > Thanks, > Mike > | Subscription info at http://www.tech-geeks.org | > > | Subscription info at http://www.tech-geeks.org | > | Subscription info at http://www.tech-geeks.org | > -- Chris McMahon Director of Technology Belleville Public School District #118 105 West A St. Belleville, IL 62220 (618) 233-2830 cmcma...@belleville118.org
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