when is a discount not a discount ?

[Perfectos]

Why does the Vwcc club shop charge its paying members more, for certain items, than joe public when buying through eBay vs club shop (and possibly other sources the club sells through?)

As a paying member we’re told on the club home page that as VIP membership offers 5% discount in the club shop! (For an annual fee)
It is true that 5% discount is applied to VIP members at check out if the VIP code is entered, but the discount is applied to already inflated prices for certain items in the club shop, meaning the discounted price is still higher than EBay!

Similarly why does the club offer free delivery on items ordered via eBay but charges members £4.99 via the club shop for identical items?

The club sells various products through eBay and uses various guises to sell identical products to the shop item, through eBay (and possibly other sources), I understand the concept of multi price marketing, but why should paying members of a club, who believe ( and are told) they are getting a direct benefit from being a paid up member (I.e discounted products) be routinely expected to pay the higher price over the price joe public can access without being a paid up member of the club ?

I have bought at least three different items from eBay, (via the club) all three have been cheaper via eBay rather than buying direct, additionally The club shop (via EBay) have offered free postage each time for an identical item ordered through eBay (3x £4.99) making a substantial saving overall vs the cost of buying through the club shop directly !

Why is the club charging it’s paying members more than joe public for certain items ?

 

[westfalia]

So are you saying that you find the club shop a tad
expensive.
I bet you got a free club sticker though.

 

[Perfectos]

Not free £12 for the privilege of the proported discount !

You miss the point why can joe public buy items more cheaply than a member of the club, whom supposedly is getting a discount as a benefit for paying for a membership, this coupled with the free postage vs paid postage for the higher price club shop items !

An example of this is the kador kit eBay £23.99 delivered
Club shop £29.98
Not an insignificant difference.
This is not an isolated instance there are various products this applies to

I just think that the club discount benefits are over sold or even misold, how many Piad members does the club have, but the club offers the an identical product, delivered in an identical way with the best benefit to non members via eBay !!!! Very strange

Maybe the scene tax ?

 

[Perfectos]

Sorry forgot to add the 5% discount £24.99 - 5 % (£1.24) =£28.73 delivered inc delivery Vs eBay £23.99 delivered
Plus multiply by how many paying members at £12 per pop, the club has to offset the initial “discount” I’d say that’s pretty poor value for a club discount for its members and pretty poor all round !

Analogy:
If I went into a pub and was asked to pay at the door to get in, then went to the members bar an ordered a pint + £5 only to find out the guy next to me did not pay to get in went to the same bar and bought his identicle pint for £3.00 I’d be a bit put out!

Maybe if I was told that I was getting a good deal and I had paid the membership and I didn’t know about the scene tax Applied to each sale I wouldn’t be bothered?

A club discount is not a club discount unless it provides a benefit over a non club member!

 

[westfalia]

Analogy:
If I went into a pub and was asked to pay at the door to get in, then went to the members bar an ordered a pint + £5 only to find out the guy next to me did not pay to get in went to the same bar and bought his identicle pint for £3.00 I’d be a bit put out!

Thats not a bad Analogy.

 

[GrannyJen]

edited.

 

[Max-Felix]

I can see the grievance and am very glad this has been pointed out. I was not aware that the shop operated on eBay.

I sincerely hope the mods will allow this topic to remain open for discussion by everyone not just those 'behind closed doors' so we can all offer feedback both good and bad.

Just to add one thought on the shop that stops me ordering - it is crazy and comes across as dare I say a rip off that small items (eg a sink plug for £3.75) is for sale but the buyer is expected to pay £5 shipping?! Especially when a Royal Mail First Class Large Letter (into which small items like this would happily fit) costs £1.

Why does the shop charge so much for post?

 

[Meoncoast]

With all items bought online for home or cali, I usually know what I want and then shop around for the best deal for me that includes the total cost I have bought from the club shop and I have bought from other sources - Many time the shop has lost out due to the addition of their postal charges.

 

[fatty thumb]

Some good points I shop around but this is only 1 part of a great club and being a vip member I saved £78 on my insurance got a tracker half price. I also have learned and saved a great deal of time using the forum, downloaded the check list before collecting my van and I have even attended 2 great friendly Cali meets so for me the shop is only a very small part off the overal picture

 

[Amarillo]

Thats not a bad Analogy.

A better analogy might be the price differential between high street shops (the club shop) and outlet stores (EBay).

I’d like to hear from the shop owner. It does feel as if advantage is being taken of VIP members.


Follow my blog: www.au-revoir.eu

 

[Wongo]

VIP members should get the best price on all occasions, this is disappointing news.

 

[CampervanBits]

Sorry for the delay in responding to this, we wanted to try and get to the bottom of it before replying.

Campervan Accessories Limited that runs the club shop also sells on various other sales channels including eBay, all prices should be the same on all the websites that we run but it appears some prices have gone out of sync.

You are quite right that VIP members should get the best price available and we are looking to fix this by implementing some price sync software as at the moment all prices are entered individually on each website by different departments within the business.

We are currently going through a big upgrade of our stores so we hope to get this problem fixed at the same time.

In the meantime we please ask that if you see a price cheaper anywhere please let us know via calling the shop on the number below or by dropping us an email and we will honour that price minus the 5% discount. This will not only give you the best price, it will also help us identify these pricing errors

 

[Perfectos]

Dear shop team, Firstly thank you for reinstating the original posts and allowing the discussion to continue In the spirit of the club.

Thank you for your full and fair response, I apologise if this thread has been taken as “ranting off” it was not meant to be inflammatory, I was merely making an observation and pointing out the facts for open and honest discussion, I believe feedback, both good and bad are necessary for all businesses to gain a balanced opinion and improve for the benefit of all concerned (user and provider)

I would like to add that I have actively supported the shop, but I have bought certain products via eBay (via the club shop) purely because the product was cheaper to buy via that conduit. Similarly I have bought high priced items directly from the club shop.

I find the club forum both informative and interesting and a fantastic resource for like minded people. I hope you continue the good work and encourage all members to participate in open and honest discussion with a view to resolving such issues, for the benefit of the many many loyal members and ultimately the club, which would not operate without the support of so many loyal members.

I apologies again if this has caused any issue, I do not have a “grievance” although I feel that contribution to the forum should be encouraged by all in the interests of open discussion and assistance in constant improvement, both good and bad comments hold some merit so long as it’s not detrimental or defamatory, at no point did I suggest the club shop was not competitive, or members should not purchase from the club shop, I merely raised the issue over the in balance of the discount system, for further discussion, which you have kindly acknowledged.

 

[GrannyJen]

I can see the grievance and am very glad this has been pointed out. I was not aware that the shop operated on eBay.

I sincerely hope the mods will allow this topic to remain open for discussion by everyone not just those 'behind closed doors' so we can all offer feedback both good and bad.

Just to add one thought on the shop that stops me ordering - it is crazy and comes across as dare I say a rip off that small items (eg a sink plug for £3.75) is for sale but the buyer is expected to pay £5 shipping?! Especially when a Royal Mail First Class Large Letter (into which small items like this would happily fit) costs £1.

Why does the shop charge so much for post?

"The Mods" simply froze replies for around 4 hours so "the shop" could reply.

The reason why "the mods" froze replies may not be obvious to all because of the way "the Mods" are hopefully on to every possible scam going and are active in their intervention.

I was the Mod that suspended replies until Admin, the club shop and whoever else could reply. One of my instant knee-jerk reasons was that recently the shop has been cloned, or its products cloned, by inferior sing sold on Ebay so I thought that with respect to the members let's just put a hold on things until we had a constructive response.

My other thought is that recently California owners, and California prospective buyers, have been hit by a plethora of scam articles, and caveat emptor may be a slick term to throw around but I at the time of thread suspension was unsure this was just another scam.

4 hours is not a long time to suspend a post just to make sure all is in order and everything is genuine and members of this forum are not being deliberately wound up by those who wish to do it malice, those who wish to scam our members and those who simply sign up as a member to spread sing and derision everywhere.

 

[Perfectos]

With due respect Granny Jen, that was not what your message to me said or implied.

I note your message to me accusing me of “ranting off” “against the club VIP scheme” has been deleted from this thread, so others could not see your response and the tone of your message to me !

Until this thread was reinstated I was not given the opportunity to comment, it was merely sensored without proper explanation or investigation as to the content and facts.

Therre was no threat from cloning or cyber attack in my post, I was merely asking a perfectly reasonable question.

The thread was initially moved, presumably by mods , then it was taken down at 21.58 last night, presumably by yourself.

I have explained fully in my post above and I have an apologised, there is no malice or poo, just fact in this quarter!

 

[GrannyJen]

With due respect Granny Jen, that was not what your message to me said or implied.

I note your message to me accusing me of “ranting off” “against the club VIP scheme” has been deleted from this thread, so others could not see your response and the tone of your message to me !

Until this thread was reinstated I was not given the opportunity to comment, it was merely sensored without proper explanation or investigation as to the content and facts.

Therre was no threat from cloning or cyber attack in my post, I was merely asking a perfectly reasonable question.

The thread was initially moved, presumably by mods , then it was taken down at 21.58 last night, presumably by yourself.

I have explained fully in my post above and I have an apologised, there is no malice or poo, just fact in this quarter!

Yes

I did not take down your post, or delete your post, I left your post for all to see. I simply froze responses to it. Your post was not moved, deleted or hidden. Simply a breathing space was introduced so the forthcoming reply could be solicited from the club shop.

I also explained why. this forum is hit daily with messages from people with no previous posting history who's only intent is to spam, scam or engender malice. Your post was a long detailed response from someone who had until then posted only 13 times. It contained details of eBay transactions, over which this forum has no control. I also added that you had raised concerns that if legitimate deserved an answer which is why your post was not deleted or hidden,

At somewhere around 4am this morning, regrettably I cannot be as accurate as you at remembering the exact time, I reinstated responses to the post as I felt confident a constructive reply was forthcoming.

I hope now you have had an adequate response. It is little over 24 hours since you posted. I hope the response in that time indicates to you that the moderation team will do all they can to both protect members interests and resolve problems.

 

[motacyclist]

Sorry for the delay in responding to this, we wanted to try and get to the bottom of it before replying.

Campervan Accessories Limited that runs the club shop also sells on various other sales channels including eBay, all prices should be the same on all the websites that we run but it appears some prices have gone out of sync.

You are quite right that VIP members should get the best price available and we are looking to fix this by implementing some price sync software as at the moment all prices are entered individually on each website by different departments within the business.

We are currently going through a big upgrade of our stores so we hope to get this problem fixed at the same time.

In the meantime we please ask that if you see a price cheaper anywhere please let us know via calling the shop on the number below or by dropping us an email and we will honour that price minus the 5% discount. This will not only give you the best price, it will also help us identify these pricing errors

I think most members realise that some products can be found cheaper elsewhere (given enough effort). I will look on Amazon to check and if the price is thereabouts I will order from the club shop to support it and the forum, and also because the service has always been excellent.

I must admit I didn’t realise the club shop’s products were available on eBay. I can understand that it is difficult to keep two websites in sync, and your response seems very fair.

 

[leightonjthomas]

A 4 hour suspension to allow proper consideration sounds reasonable and the response from VW California was measured and helpful. Not sure whether GJ was having a bad day but her initial response was a bit ott and I would have thought that it would have been appropriate to include an apology to Perfectos as part of the useful explanation for her action.

 

[leightonjthomas]

Yes

I did not take down your post, or delete your post, I left your post for all to see. I simply froze responses to it. Your post was not moved, deleted or hidden. Simply a breathing space was introduced so the forthcoming reply could be solicited from the club shop.

I also explained why. this forum is hit daily with messages from people with no previous posting history who's only intent is to spam, scam or engender malice. Your post was a long detailed response from someone who had until then posted only 13 times. It contained details of eBay transactions, over which this forum has no control. I also added that you had raised concerns that if legitimate deserved an answer which is why your post was not deleted or hidden,

At somewhere around 4am this morning, regrettably I cannot be as accurate as you at remembering the exact time, I reinstated responses to the post as I felt confident a constructive reply was forthcoming.

I hope now you have had an adequate response. It is little over 24 hours since you posted. I hope the response in that time indicates to you that the moderation team will do all they can to both protect members interests and resolve problems.

Your initial response seems to have been deleted at 3.42 am.

 

[GrannyJen]

A 4 hour suspension to allow proper consideration sounds reasonable and the response from VW California was measured and helpful. Not sure whether GJ was having a bad day but her initial response was a bit ott and I would have thought that it would have been appropriate to include an apology to Perfectos as part of the useful explanation for her action.

You are absolutely right.

At the precise time that a long post ranting about the club shop was posted so I took down another post doing just the same and advertising a product that was clearly a scam and another of the many diatribes against the forum admin and motives.

I therefore apologise for my intemperate response, the content of which I will repost so th whole of this forum can see why I should trail sack cloth and ashes.

 

[Zerax]

Analogy:
If I went into a pub and was asked to pay at the door to get in, then went to the members bar an ordered a pint + £5 only to find out the guy next to me did not pay to get in went to the same bar and bought his identicle pint for £3.00 I’d be a bit put out!

A more relevant analogy would be that you paid an entry fee to get into The Kings Arms where you bought a pint of Doom Bar for £5. Your mate went to the Queens Head which was free to get in and also bought a pint of Doom Bar but for only £3

 

[leightonjthomas]

You are absolutely right.

At the precise time that a long post ranting about the club shop was posted so I took down another post doing just the same and advertising a product that was clearly a scam and another of the many diatribes against the forum admin and motives.

I therefore apologise for my intemperate response, the content of which I will repost so th whole of this forum can see why I should trail sack cloth and ashes.

More importantly this is a great forum with countless benefits, financially and otherwise, and I would like to echo the genuine gratitude expressed by so many members to the mods and administrators.

 

[Loz]

A more relevant analogy would be that you paid an entry fee to get into The Kings Arms where you bought a pint of Doom Bar for £5. Your mate went to the Queens Head which was free to get in and also bought a pint of Doom Bar but for only £3

Doom Bar for £3 was probably a cheap copy

 

[CampervanBits]

Just to add, some items are on eBay for a reason, like the bellows bungee, club stickers etc.. this was to allow a cheaper delivery compared to the shop. We are working to have a cheaper delivery charge for small items in the shop as we now also use Royal Mail as well as DPD but this means a change to the software we use, this will come with the revamp at the end of the year.

Also another thing to add, we do try price match or beat our competitors, especially on big ticket items from the likes of Vango, Kampa, Thule etc..

Please always drop us an email or give us a call if you see something cheaper elsewhere .

 

[Perfectos]

Surely the length of post and detail contained Therein and the accuracy of the facts should have been considered relevant, given the facts!
Members Have to start posting somewhere so I fail to the the relevance to the comment regarding the amount of my previous post, all of which are legitimate and clearly could be read by yourself, your tone in your response was of annoyance that I had the audacity to raise such a question.

I reiterate the point I make is valid and relevant to the members of this club including myself.

Your comments to me have been desirery at best and in no way are you justifed in the tone you chose to take in your responses. Including your latest post above regarding “those who simply sign up as members to sprea£ poo and derision everywhere” which quite frankly is insulting

The “shop” posted their reply at 5.21 this evening ! For which I acknowledged and thanked them, you have then chosen to try and justify your poor judgment with further personal insults ! Which quite frankly make me ask why genuine members are treated like this for asking a perfectly acceptable question in the interest of many ?

When I make a mistake I generally acknowledge the fact and possibly apologise, not add further under hand insult!