Bass Pro Price Matching on Guns

[Gunlawyer101]

I recently went to the Bass Pro Shop near me in Miami (Dania Location). I went there to buy a Glock 43. They were priced at $519.00. I found several online prices for brick and mortar stores for $449.00. I looked up Bass Pro's online policy regarding price matching and was ready for battle.

Here's how it went:

Counter guy #1 - "no, we don't price match on guns". I then said, according to your website, there is nothing on there about not price matching on guns. He says, let me get my manager.

Lady Manager #1 for the gun area - A young woman shows up. Nice enough. She politely says, "we don't price match guns or electronics". I show her the Bass Pro price matching policy on their website and politely say, "your website lists all the exclusions and it says nothing about not price matching guns or electronics." She says, let me call my manager.

Manager #2 - Gruff, pissed off, crew cut haired guy shows up. No greeting, nothing. Looks at me and says, they don't price match electronics and guns. I show him the price matching policy that is posted online. He leaves, comes back and says, we will only price match brick and mortar stores that have an advertised price and the store is within 50 miles. I tell him, there is nothing on your policy page that says the store whose price I'm seeking to match has to be within any distance. I showed him an online ad from a brick and mortar store in Utah. He grimaced and said, "are you kidding?" I said, "no, I'm not". This meets all your criteria. 1) It's a brick and mortar store, there's a physical address, a picture of their store, I called to verify that they are a brick and mortar store, and 2) their price is advertised online. He says, hold on.

Manager #3 - The store manager shows up. Calm guy. Doesn't greet me, but he didn't seem pissed off. Explained to him the situation, he looked at the policy listed online and told the crew cut Manager #2, "he's right". He gets it for $449.00. There's nothing there about the store being a certain distance away. It's a brick and mortar store and the price is advertised online. He says, "I'm going to have to call corporate on this one.

I win. Crew cut manager, with a pissed off face goes and tells the girl manager to give me the gun for $449.00.

HERE'S THE PRICE MATCHING POLICY FOR Bass Pro as of 11/30/15: I focused on the bolded items. The manager didn't make me or ask me if I had faxed or emailed a copy of the ad to Bass Pro. I showed him the ad on my phone, the business' website, and he agreed it was a brick and mortar shop.

Price matching with competitors:

We are glad to price match with competitors! Competitor price matching requests will be granted if the prices are current, dated and nationally advertised. The following exceptions are applicable:

All conditions on competitor's ad will apply (i.e. limited quantities, special purchases.)

Items to be price matched must be an exact match (i.e. color, pattern, model size, and year.)
Bass Pro Shops will not honor prices on closeouts, clearance items, inventory reductions, special buys, discontinued, or reconditioned merchandise.
Website prices will only be honored from established retail companies that are open to the public and have a physical address.
Bass Pro Shops will not honor supply companies, wholesale, clearance outlets, manufacturer's sales or membership clubs (Sam's, Costco)
We will not match private label merchandise.
We will not honor "buy one, get one free" offers.
We will not honor free bonus offers.
We will not honor rebates.
We will not backorder any out-of-stock item.
We will not honor any reduced or free shipping offers.
Publication errors of any kind will not be matched.
All price matches must be verifiable; a verifiable copy of the ad, complete with store name, sale dates, and model number of item must be faxed (417-873-5060) or mailed to us-Bass Pro Shops, Attn: Customer Service, 2500 E Kearney, Springfield, MO 65898
Price match requests may also be emailed to [email protected]. Please include a screenshot of the item or the URL (web address) where the item was located. This can be done in lieu of submitting via fax/mail.
Request for price match must be received prior to end of competitor's sale.
Orders can be price matched within 30 days of purchase.

 

[Jeff H]

Glad to see that you got the gun. Traditionally Bass Pro has about the highest prices around. I don't even go there anymore for firearm related purchases.

 

[gspn]

Personally, I'd pay $68 to not have to go into BPS this time of year...I'd pay another $68 to not have to fight three or four employees to get them to understand their own matching policy.

Cool that you got your gun though.

 

[bannockburn]

Gunlayer101

Well done Gunlawyer! You stuck to your guns, so to speak, and got it at the price you wanted.

 

[hamp sandwich]

Gunlawyer, it's guys like you that keep me out of the retail biz... And that's a good thing!!! LOL!

I enjoyed reading this. I don't blame retailers for sticking to their policy, but it's nice when customers keep them from making it up as they go. You made them earn their money!

 

[340PD]

I really have a strong distaste for price matching policies. I will go out of my way to avoid stores that offer them. Whenever possible, I buy all my products from small locally owned retailers regardless of price. I realize they have to make a profit to stay in business and appreciate the fact they are there when I need a repair or replacement part in a hurry.

 

[Vernon1]

Pick Your Battles

I am 67. When I was a much younger man I would do as you did with BPS.

However, as time goes by you too will pick your battles. I know this because doing things like this are fun-especially when you "win".


What cost to your health was the win? Nothing you might remark-no big deal.

There were thousands of buffalo at one time. Where are their bones?

There were mountains of bones. But as time passed the bones absorbed moisture. Then the cold made the bones expand and break up soon turning to dust. The wind then blew the dust away.

Pick your battles and which bones you think are worth picking.

There are a finite number of battles you will "win." Your health will determine how many battles you have left to fight. Choose wisely...

 

[stonecutter2]

The store had a policy and its own employees were totally ignorant to it. Good on you keeping them in line.

There's no excuse for a company to have multiple managers, and an employee all misinterpreting a pretty easy to understand policy.

 

[CoRoMo]

I found several online prices for brick and mortar stores for $449.00.

I guess I'm the only one here who thinks you should have just hit up one of all those several shops that had it on sale that day, rather than bother a bunch of good folks at their place of work because you think you should get your way.

Bravo

 

[jrdolall]

There is no way that a store as big as Bass Pro can have all of their employees be knowledgeable about every one of their policies. No way.

I personally would not wait and talk to four employees to save a few bucks but I applaud you for doing so. Dickering just isn't in my makeup.

When I was in sales we used this saying. Price, quality, service. Pick two. You cannot have all three. Bass Pro offered the quality you wanted and the service(they are local) but not the price. The store in Utah offered the price and the quality but not the service(they are in Utah). Bass Pro would be well served to change their policy to the aforementioned 50 miles. Why match a price from a company operating in a different state with different taxes and regulations? Make it 100 miles even.

I despise employees that can't even smile and say thank you. It sounds like you were dealing with a car dealership. "Get this man a donut!" instead of getting you someone that could give you a definitive answer.

 

[joem1945]

Wise words from Vernon1. Puts many things into perspective.

 

[Morrey]

Price Matching

I bought a G43 from my local gun store for $449 which is their everyday low price. That price would be certainly easy to match.

Price matching is somewhat "rhetoric" based, and as I looked closely at Walmart's matching policy that touts we'll match any price...that is hardly the case. They only match a handful of other retailers which are all brick and mortar but may also have online sales. Basically, there are more strings attached (and exclusions) than one realizes.

 

[illinoisburt]

FYI -- Gander Mountain would have done the same price match with a 10% discount added on top. I have used their 110% price match in the past. Some grumbling but got done by the department manager each time. They did call the other store to verify it was same model and in stock at the time of purchase. It has made them my go-to source for the last few new guns I have purchased. (I brought in hard copies of the ads, haven't tried phone ads with them.)

Price matches in general can be very good at the right stores. Tractor Supply Company price matching has saved me over a grand this past summer putting in new fences and buying feed. They did work from phone ads.

 

[Crowcifier666]

Sorry....Phone ads?

 

[red rick]

I had know problem last year with them price matching a 870 . I brought the phone number of the store that was cheaper and the associate just called to verify the price , simple as that .

 

[bottom shelf]

There is no way that a store as big as Bass Pro can have all of their employees be knowledgeable about every one of their policies. No way.

I agree. But I also think they shouldn't make something up if they don't know. They should find someone who does know. "The problem is not what people don't know, it's what they know but is wrong". (or something like that)

 

[CajunBass]

I've never understood what the advantage of "price matching" is. If you're just going to "match" the price, I'll just buy it at the place with the lowest price in the first place. You're not doing me a favor "matching" it. BEAT it, if you want my business.

Even if they beat the price, I wouldn't stand around jawing with a half dozen people over rather they're going to do it or not. It's not that important to me.

 

[pockets]

It is worth $68 to me to not have to go through all of that just to buy something.

I feel bad for the next person to come in there looking to buy a gun. He or she will have to deal with the irked employees, who probably get really weary of this stuff.

 

[Panzerschwein]

Love it.

Bass Pro should honor their end of the deal. OP, you rock!!

 

[Arizona_Mike]

This is a great post. Does the fax or email imply that they will refund after a purchase?

Mike

 

[captain awesome]

Unless its out the door price i would still buy online. Many of them ship for free and also dont charge tax. A local ffl dealer does 10$ transfers so thats where I go.

 

[Gunlawyer101]

Vernon101 - I agree with you. I'm 50 years old. Perhaps if I was 67 and not feeling well, I would not have been so insistent. I guess I'll know when I get there. However, it's in my nature to fight for what is right. Sometimes a fight is not worth it if there is a risk to fighting but there was no risk here. It didn't affect my health, except improve my mental and emotional health knowing I didn't roll over and let a big corporation get away with something that was wrong.

As a lawyer, I'm used to picking my battles. That's what I do for a living. As far as being persistent, I hope I'm that way the rest of my life. I don't ever plan to be complacent.

Also, what's the old saying, "If you don't stand for something, you fall for everything." If one day I get to frail to fight as hard as I should then that's another story. I'm not going to fight a guy over $68.00 bucks and have a heart attack in the process.

One thing I've learned in life is that persistence pays off....in anything. My grandfather always told me, "the squeaky wheel gets the grease".

This was not really a contentious battle, this was moreso a test of integrity for Bass Pro as a company. The final manager passed. He was a good reflection of BP at that location at that particular time. If I didn't get what I wanted and what was fair (dictated by their own terms, not mine), no big deal. I came in without a gun and I would have left with no gun. It would have gone no further. However, I certainly never would have spent another cent at BP.

Vernon, if you found any satisfaction in my experience/story, just know the little guy won. If you consider yourself one of the little guys as I feel I am, you won too. This is a victory for every other little guy out there.

I do however want to acknowledge and tell you that I understand your wise point. It was not lost upon me.

Regards, Nick.

 

[Gunlawyer101]

Coromo writes: I guess I'm the only one here who thinks you should have just hit up one of all those several shops that had it on sale that day, rather than bother a bunch of good folks at their place of work because you think you should get your way.

Coromo, I don't think I was "bothering good folks at work". Why is it bothering someone to ask someone to do their job? If I go to Red Lobster because they are advertising all the shrimp I can eat, am I bothering the waiter if I ask him to bring me portion after portion of shrimp? If you go the movies and the movie corporation has a policy that says, "kids under 3 are free" and then they try to charge you if you have a kid under 3 would you not insist that the company abide by their own rules and polices that may have attracted you there? Big corporations have us bend over way too much in my opinion. You can see from the consistent complaints online of Bass Pro's so called price matching policy that this has been a continuing problem/issue with Bass Pro. It is a problem that when you get there, what is clearly spelled out in a policy and posted for the world to see isn't so clear anymore.
Moreover, workers today (at least in my area of Miami) are increasingly lazy, undisciplined, uninformed, rude, and act with increasing frequency that they are doing YOU a favor by allowing YOU to buy their stuff or services. I don't know if it is that way across the country in other BP stores, but it is here in big city south florida. I don't let people get away with that. I call people out. Am I a bothersome person for insisting that a big company who wants my money keep their promises, adhere to their policies, properly train their employees on their policies, and that their management be familiar with those policies? I'll leave it to everyone ear to make their own decision if I was being a bother to them.

Bass Pro advertises that they price match. I read their policy, when confronted with it they didn't know it and I only politely reminded them one by one of what their own company policy says until the right thing was done. What's wrong with that? Shouldn't 2 of the 3 managers I spoke with know their own policies? I surely can't be the first guy to go in there seeking a price match on a gun. If the internet complaints on Bass Pro price matching is any clue, I'm certainly not. I'm not saying they do this (stonewalling) intentionally, I will give them them the benefit of the doubt, but what is wrong with me asking the "good folks" at BP to keep a promise? That's what drew me and I'm sure other customers in there to begin with. Bait and switch is illegal you realize? It's important to note that I'm not getting MY WAY as you said, I'm only trying to get something THEIR WAY. They made up the rules, not me. It's not "my way".

The reason that I didn't go with the online order from the store in Utah is a few:

1. I didn't want to wait for something I should be able to get right now.
2. The BP shop is very close to where I work so it was more convenient than ordering. I also wanted to see the gun in person and handle it.
3. No local shops near me had it on sale for $449.00. If I ordered it from Utah, I'd have to have the FFL guy send his info to the gun shop, they would have to check it out (another wait), I'd have to pay an FFL fee (not $10.00 where I live, the closest FFL charges $25.00 for handguns), plus then have to drive to the FFL guy's shop too.
4. As far as those saying, I wouldn't bother going through this for $68.00, I'd say, sometimes things are about principle...about right and wrong. Though this was a small matter, it was a wrong being committed. If someone is content with big corporate America pushing them around, not playing by the rules that they themselves have set that's fine, to each his own. Not to me. I make a pretty decent living as a lawyer, it's not about the $68.00 bucks. Though, I don't take $68.00 bucks lightly either. My father was a mechanic and he often worked a hard long day for less. Plus, it's a nice steak dinner! It's a victory against corporations. I hope that this post encourages others to stand up for what is right and what is wrong.

 

[Poper]

There is no way that a store as big as Bass Pro can have all of their employees be knowledgeable about every one of their policies. No way. [Well, maybe not all their employees, but certainly ALL of their MANAGERS should be knowledgeable. If not, then either those either shouldn't be managers, or the company needs to update their training procedures and manual.]

I personally would not wait and talk to four employees to save a few bucks but I applaud you for doing so. Dickering just isn't in my makeup.

When I was in sales we used this saying. Price, quality, service. Pick two. You cannot have all three. Bass Pro offered the quality you wanted and the service(they are local) but not the price. The store in Utah offered the price and the quality but not the service(they are in Utah). Bass Pro would be well served to change their policy to the aforementioned 50 miles. Why match a price from a company operating in a different state with different taxes and regulations? Make it 100 miles even.

I despise employees that can't even smile and say thank you. [I heartily agree. Sales people (and service employees, too) should never let the customer feel like he is a nuisance or is imposing on the establishment. It is the fastest way to lose return business and word of mouth referrals.]It sounds like you were dealing with a car dealership. "Get this man a donut!" instead of getting you someone that could give you a definitive answer.

Bass Pro offered the quality you wanted and the service(they are local) but not the price.

Not quite. Reference the mangers' (plural) manners that implied the customer was not entitled to a policy that he truly was entitled to. That kind of "service" drives people (and references) away.

Personally, I think Gunlawyer101 did Bass Pro a great service in displaying a weakness in their managerial training program, not to mention the questionable judgement of the senior person that placed these poor performing managers in their position.

My father was a professional man. He always told me to "select people that are a testament to your judgement". Whether I was the employer or acting for my employer.

Bass Pro dropped the ball on that one.
JMHO.

 

[Bo]

Gunlawyer101, I couldn't agree with you more! If they're going to put it in writing,then they need to stand behind it.
I'm not a lawyer but, when I see something wrong, I call them out!