Ok, so I know this has turned into more like the Josh's Angry Rant blog lately. However I could just change the name of the blog or start a new one specifically for this since it seems like I could post multiple times a day on this topic if I wanted to. It helps living in Indiana though, endless amounts of material. Today's topic: Target
The bench you see above is one that we had been eyeing at Target for quite awhile. Most of last summer actually. We had the bikes stored on the balcony though so space was limited, and funds were more limited last year. It's not overly expensive ($89.99) for an ash bench, solid wood, and it folds, which was the key point for us since we don't have space for a big bench. So like I said, we liked it last year, but decided to wait. We also figured maybe it would go on sale at the end of the season. The end of the season came and all of the other outdoor items went on sale and eventually clearance out. But these benches (and the chairs and table to match) all hung around. No sale no clearance. Fine, Target, be that way.
As we were thinking about Aruba and the warm weather coming our way we also got to thinking about summer here. I am trying some new veggies and more flowers on the balcony and since I have an indoor rack for the bikes, we have room for a bench.
So there it still sits at Target. 89.99. Now they had 2 of them as well. So we said what the heck we'll get it when it is a little warmer.
After we get back I stop at Target one night for deli meat, swing by and see if the bench is on sale. Instead, the "regular" price has been upped to 129.99. Same bench, same spot it's been hanging, new price. So I go and find a target person and ask they what's up. $40 seems like a steep hike and they didn't really have an answer. I mention that it says $90 on the website and it says "in stores only" (since target.com has nothing to do with the stores, and is run by amazon, did you know that?). They said that if it was in store only then they should be able to match the price, if it was sold online too, it would be a no go.
Tonight I went back with my printout and the intention of buying the bench. I figured sooner was better then later in case they do want $40 more and change the website. I found one guy to talk to about it, then he called someone else over, and then eventually the store manager.
The discrepancy was that the bench on the website was made by "Smith and Hawkin" and so was the other in the store, and the price tag on the rack said it too. Until recently. Now the tags have been changed to Target Home tags and the rack was changed. Looks like Target bought them out or something. At first it looked like a no go because of this so then they started scanning them, and low and behold they have the same item number and in the system it still says Smith and Hawkin. In the end, the bench was mine.
So, yes this rant was long, but there were a lot of details. The main point of the story is though Target decided to buy something else, put their name on it and charge $40 more for it. As we browsed the store we saw something else too. The cute simply shabby chic furniture which is the same as christina's desk has been replaced with a look alike, much crappier and less style. Target home label on it, and so forth. Another one they are changing.
Another quick example while I'm at it. We were looking at liquor, and i saw something had a large "NEW PRICE" thing hanging off of it along with the new plastic price thing mounted on the old. So I flipped up the "new" price tag to see what the old one was. It was $2 cheaper before. Just as a note, please do not advertise a lower price when it costs more. Just do it quietly and scam us all secretly.
In conclusion, we have a really nice bench, Target is pissing me off (although regular things like pledge and stir fry sauce is getting cheaper there), and they are slowly scamming us all. Comcast is pissing me off too (along with the rest of the country), but I will leave that for another day
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