Something happened this week that has been bothering me and I talked about it with someone in my knitting group this morning. Her reaction seemed even stronger than mine, so I feel that I have a right to be a little upset, but then I thought I would also blog about it to see if anyone else had any reactions/suggestions.
Basically, I placed an order for some items back at the end of October. There was a waiting list (7 months). The seller raised prices at the beginning of March. My place in the waiting list just came up. I'm being charged the raised prices rather than the prices from when I placed my order (I did ask the seller to be sure that was what was happening and indeed it is). So should the seller have honored the original prices from when I placed my order or is the seller justified in charging the higher prices? (Note that there is no information about pricing and the waiting list in the seller's policies.)
A few more details and my thoughts:
In October I decided to place an order for DyakCraft Darn Pretty needles (there's also a waiting list for these and when the price increased in January, anyone who placed an order before then was given the lower price and not the increased price). In checking out the fan group on Ravelry, I noticed that one etsy seller was recommended over and over again as making awesome cases and focused quite a bit on the DyakCraft needles.
I checked out the seller's etsy shop and also looked around on etsy for other options. I decided that I really did like these seller's cases and placed an order. Although there were some pre-made cases for sale with fabric that I thought was okay, I decided that at this price point, I should do a custom case and choose my own fabric. That was when I discovered the long waiting list for the cases. I went ahead with my order since I knew I'd be waiting for the needles anyway and didn't really need the case sitting around for months without any needles to put in it. I chose fabric (kittens and yarn) and sent it to the seller and settled in to wait.
Along the way, I placed orders for more DyakCraft needles -- a full set of DPNs and a set of mini straight needles, so I asked if I could add cases for those to my custom order (I had sent tons of fabric). This was in February (still before the price increase). No problems. The seller really is helpful and quick to respond.
Then I got a message this week that my turn in the queue is about to come up and the seller wanted to know if there were any changes in my needle inventory since we last spoke (in other words, did I still want the cases I had listed or did I want to make some changes). I was still good with the cases we had discussed (5 cases total--one for the multiple sets of interchangeables, one for DPNs, one for the straights, and two mini cases for the DyakCraft Heavy Metals). I wanted to make sure I wasn't going too far over my budget so I asked about prices (I was considering whether to get the interchangeable case to hold 4 sets or if I wanted a bigger one to hold 6 sets). The seller sent a price list--with prices updated and effective from March 1. (I did see in March that the seller increased prices but I don't remember that the seller indicated that those in the queue with custom orders would be paying the increased prices.)
I was a little taken aback and messaged the seller something along the lines of "Hey, I had assumed that since I was in the queue well before the price increase that I would be paying the previous price and not the new. You know what they say about assumptions--so I just wanted to clarify that my cases are at the increased prices." And I got something back along the lines of "I'd like to say yes to the previous prices but my costs have gone up so yes, you have to pay the new prices." I totally understand increases in cost, but from a customer service standpoint this does seem like a good practice.
You might be wondering how much this price increase is. What are we really talking here? Well, the interchangeables case went up by $11 and the DPN and straight cases each went up by $8. That's a pretty significant price increase, especially when you add them together.
So I'm torn. Part of me wants to say, "Please just send my fabric to me and cancel my order." I'm worried that after this experience, every time I look at the cases, I'll think about this and it will leave a bad taste in my mouth. What I had been so much looking forward to is a little spoiled. (Another part of that is that I'm second guessing my fabric choice. I know I'll still like it but I think there are other fabrics now that I would like better.) But instead I've just cut down on my order (I'm not getting the two mini cases for the Heavy Metals--I almost cut out the straights case but I won't be getting a case for those from DyakCraft so I do actually need one). I have looked around at other cases and sellers and I truly do think that this seller is doing exactly what I want and no one else is, so in the long run I will be happier with these cases.
So I guess I'll go ahead with my smaller order and try to just enjoy the cases. But I won't be buying from this seller again (which is sad since she does make a good product) and I won't recommend her to anyone else. (I won't badmouth her--note that I'm not naming the seller here--but I won't praise either.) I just wish this experience wasn't leaving a bad taste in my mouth.
What do you think? Do I have a reason to be at least a little upset or not?
No comments:
Post a Comment