Observations on Pricing
Since we're in the process of moving, we've been doing a bit more shopping and buying recently. Here are a couple of observations:
1. At U-Haul, the 14-foot trucks have a big $19.95 painted on their side. That price apparently indicates nothing of any relevance. I scheduled the rental of a U-Haul yesterday. I am moving about 15 miles from my current home to my new home. Renting the $19.95 truck will cost me at least $55.
2. I bought a dryer for my new home. It cost in the neighborhood of $700. I had to pay an extra $8 for the cord for my dryer so I can plug it in.
3. I bought a refrigerator. It comes with a water dispenser. If I want the delivery person to attach the water line to the refrigerator, I have to pay a $10 insurance fee so that if the delivery person damages my water line, the store's insurance can pay for the repairs. The refrigerator cost about $1400.
Here are my observations and questions. First of all, is there anyone who really pays $19.95 for a U-Haul? Does anyone really expect to pay that amount? I knew going in to the rental shop that I was going to spend at least $50 for a $19.95 truck. I go there because it's convenient and available. Take the $19.95 price off the trucks because that price means exactly nothing.
On the other two, please just build those costs into the appliances. Both of those represent about 1% of the cost of the appliance. Every electric dryer is going to need to be plugged in, so just include the cord. If my refrigerator has a water dispenser, hook it up for me and build the insurance fee into the delivery. At the end of the day, I just feel like I've been to a lawyer's office if I get nickel-and-dime fees for every little additional item that I need to make my stuff work.
That's my 2 cents. Oh, and because I gave you this food for thought over the Internet, I'm going to charge you a 1 cent delivery fee.
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I experienced the same thing at an auto dealer several years ago. I was told it would cost $600 for the tune-up. I got my bill and it was $648. There were an additional 28 items costing no more than $2.25 each for a grand total $648. My question? Why not leave off the extra "disposables" and tell the customer it will cost $650. Paying $600 for a tune-up and being nickel-and-dimed for $50 bucks was enough for me to switch dealerships. Tell me it's $650 and charge me $650 and I'm fine. True story, they charged me .38 cents to top off my washer fluid. I need to let this one go...but I can't.
Posted by: Ryan | May 10, 2006 10:15 AM
Ug, I HATE crap like this. It makes me wonder if we could change things if consumers would band together and stand up instead of letting everything slide. It's always more work to do something than not and in today's world I know it often falls on deaf ears but it sure sparks a defiance streak in me.
Posted by: Holly | May 10, 2006 11:38 AM
One of my favorites is phone bills. The plan that we have with AT&T here in MN is a "One Rate USA Plan" advertised at $47.95. It's great because it gives us unlimited local and long distance in the U.S.... However, it's not $47.95...
After "fcc line charges", "local connectivity charges", "universal connectivity charges", etc....The monthly bill is actually $70.92.
Another weird thing is that most advertising for things like this must include a disclaimer... sometimes as open-ended as "Additional charges may apply". I don't believe that there is such a disclaimer in ads for AT&T... or for U-Haul.
Posted by: Jeff | May 11, 2006 06:33 AM