Trade-In Price Matching/Price Matching In General

R0B75

R0B75

R0B75

Soldato
Joined
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Location
Burton-upon-Trent
I got a flyer sent to me by Blockbuster saying "Trade In Price Match Guaranteed" so I thought I test it out.

I went into the shop with a load of DVDs (I'm replacing most of these with Blu Ray) to trade in. It seems they won't price match CEX in any way shape or form as they, and I quote "can't compete" with them.

Now, when a shop says price match guarantee and doesn't specifically state in any literature who they will not match I see this as false advertising. I spoke the manager of the store and she was very cagey when I was asking for proof or the terms and conditions of their offer and just maintained we don't price match with them. Quite unbelievable really since their shop front is plastered with the offer and all that's underneath it is some small print saying "Standard trade-in terms and conditions apply, ask staff for further details". Standard T&Cs are just that you must be a member of Blockbuster etc etc.

I called consumer direct and said I felt this was flase advertising etc. All they could say was that they would log the details and that they (Blockbuster) could pick and chose who they price matched with and as there has been no contract entered into they have done nothing wrong.

Contract part aside I don't think that sounds right.

Anyone have an opinion or similar experience?
 
I know they are much better for trading stuff but I just tested their so called guarantee. for example. CEX would have given me £17 CASH for my handful of Dvds. Blockbuster offered me £7 store credit. Pretty poor offering a price match guarantee if they can't do it properly.
 
I agree with what you are saying, but I don't think that there is a lot you can do, personally.

Half of all the 'guaranteed' stuff you see printed all over the place isn't. Businesses will find a way to worm out of it. False advertising? Yes. But that's no surprise.
 
I'll guarantee you that wherever you've seen this Trade Match Guarantee advertised it'll say something about Terms And Conditions apply, which will basically let them get away with whatever they like, as their terms probably say they aren't obliged to match anything if they don't feel like it.
 
I hear what you're saying. My problem is that they couldn't show me their so called terms and conditions. The only ones I've seen are on their website. Can't blame them for trying to worm their way out of it, but it is wrong. I'm going to attck customer services tomorrow for a laugh :D
 
usually if people have price match opffers they will stipulate who they will and who they wont price match to.

yes it does sound very misleading.

contact advertising standards agency
 
This is why you should goto gamestation, you will get the price match on each trade in and an extra £1 for each that is matched. win win
 
tbh the blockbuster policy is not explained very well to staff. They should be matching any major chain within either 3 or 5 miles (depends on store location). Stores with lots of local competition from independant stores may also have authorisation to price match against them.

CEX sort of fall in a grey area though. They don't have a huge amount of stores, but are a national company.

Best advise would be to drop customer services an email (link here)

Chances are they will get your store to start price matching CEX if there is one close by.

Probably either send you some money off or free rental vouchers through the post too
 
yeah, but not all the stores sell games (there is one near me that only does mobile phones) & compared to blockbusters (627 stores I think) its a smaller company.

Think its mainly due to CEX being based around larger towns & cities, where as a majority of blockbusters are more on the outskirts/more residential areas, so there tends to be a bit of distance between them
 
Just an update :D

Dear Mr xxxxxxxx

Thank you for your e-mail dated 18th March. I wish to confirm I left a message on your mobile on the 30th March.

Please accept my apologies on behalf of Blockbuster for any inconvenience caused by the level of service you recently received from our xxxxxxxxxx store regarding our Trade In Guarantee. I’m sorry to hear the matter was not dealt with appropriately by the store team regarding you wishing to redeem the offer against Computer Exchange.

Whilst our Trade In Guarantee does not apply to on-line companies, Computer Exchange does have stores and Blockbuster does match this competitor providing it meets the criteria of our terms and conditions. Please find below the following attachments for your information. Your comments have been passed on to the District Manager, who will investigate the matter and retrain the store team accordingly.

I have notated your account to ensure clarity if you wish to trade in any items and get a quotation from Computer Exchange. Our store team do have access to the CEX website so can check any pricing accordingly. As a gesture of goodwill, I have issued a £5.00 credit on to your account. If you have any further queries, please don’t hesitate to contact me on 0845 60 60 999.

I trust the matter has been resolved to your satisfaction and I would like to welcome you back to our xxxxxxxxx store soon.

Yours sincerely


xxxxxxx
UK Customer Service Advisor
Click to expand...

Result?
 
Now you should go back with a stack of games/DVDs and watch as they attempt to give you the biggest evil stare ever seen :D
 
Find something in Blockbusters for £5 that CEX will give you more money for, then buy said item out of your free credit and instantly trade it in.

Repeat until you are a millionaire.
 
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