DVD Sale at TDS

[Kaelyn]

The sale was not advertised or expected, so we received a bonus and a kind of gift by even getting the sale! Why is everyone so bent out of shape about it?

As for sales being on surprise hours or days, I think it is kind of neat to go into a Disney Store and not know what you'll find. I get tired of always looking at red sale signs knowing that stuff needs to go. I was pleasantly surprised and pleased by this sale's unexpectedness.

What I think really sucks is the reason that someone ealier in this post suggested that the reason that it was cancelled was because people were buying them and reselling them for profit. I know that this is their right, but, come on! No wonder Disney cancelled the sale. It is their sweat that made the stuff, so why shouldn't they be the ones that profit from it?

 

[mickey4ver]

Originally posted by LIFERBABE
They can give the DVD's away next time I won't go back. Classic Disney!!

I would....especially if they start giving them away, and $10 per DVD was almost as good as getting them for free...what a sale.

 

[CherylA]

If you want to think of a good sale as "a gift" then think of the Disney Store as some mean uncle that told you he had a present for you and then when you went to get it said he wasn't going to give it to you because he changed his mind.

I personally don't consider a good deal a gift, I still pay good money for sale items. It's a lot of work to watch for sales and I am miffed that I went out of my way to persue this sale and then was told it was no longer offered.

The Disney Store is notorious for badly planning their marketing. I was a Disney Store employee for 2 years and enjoyed my time there but I can tell you first hand that the marketing geniuses at Disney need to more carefully plan their promotions, but they just throw them out there and then when they hit an unexpected glitch they just shut things down. It's unfair to the customers and it's an absolute nightmare for the store employees but the corporate kings and queens don't seem to really care.

 

[SueEllen]

Originally posted by Kaelyn
The sale was not advertised or expected, so we received a bonus and a kind of gift by even getting the sale! Why is everyone so bent out of shape about it?

As for sales being on surprise hours or days, I think it is kind of neat to go into a Disney Store and not know what you'll find. I get tired of always looking at red sale signs knowing that stuff needs to go. I was pleasantly surprised and pleased by this sale's unexpectedness.

WELL SAID Kaelyn!

Does everyone get bent out of shape because they missed a sale at another retailer that they just found out about?

Disney did not advertise this sale. The ones that were there saw the signage. They passed along the information by word of mouth. This was a surprise sale. As for the length of it being changed, well they didn't advertise the length either. I know some CMs were telling people it was through Saturday, but personally I NEVER give an ending date for a sale for just this reason. The sales can change at any given time.

Those of you who called the store and asked about the sale and were giving an ending time, I feel for you.

Sue Ellen

 

[eeyore0062]

Boy, do we have some bent out of shape Mousekateers here!

I can understand the disappointment. but unless you know the real reasons behind why things are done, don't speculate, and don't criticize.

I am sure it was not a very happy experience for the CM's at your store to have to turn away unhappy guests... they are not to blame, and I sincerely hope that no one decided to vent their anger, frustration or disappointment on them. There are proper channels, and they are the ones that should be used. Please go to www.disneystore.com and scroll down until you get to guest services, and click there. You can email them, and perhaps things will turn out to your satisfaction. Or perhaps next time they decide to have a special such as this, they will think again.

 

[Luv2Roam]

I think it comes down to if you were able to buy the DVD/VHS' then it was a great sale and a good deal.
If you weren't, you were pretty miffed about it.
I'm on the happy side.
But if I hadn't bought them on sale, I would just look at it as money not spent.
I am wondering how many of the sale DVD's will end up on Ebay or half.com anyway.
Anytime I want anything like this, half.com is the first place I look.
I would have thought for sake of CM's AND guests that the sale should/could have gone THROUGH Friday at least.

 

[baileybrad]

Some folks think Disney never does anything wrong or handles anything badly. Others are always chomping at the bit to blame Disney anytime anything goes wrong.

I don't think that whether someone was able to purchase DVDs for $10 each or not is really an issue.

This "sale" was handled poorly and inconsistently amongst the stores if the these reports are accurate and there is really nobody questioning folks veracity about that. Sometimes Disney drops the ball....this is one of those times.

Remember when Disney discontinued Surprise Mornings because "their guests had told them that they really didn't use it". Yeah, right!

 

[Debbie]

Darn! I missed the whole thing...and now I'll have to pay full price at another store. Oh, well. If I want them, that's what it will have to be.

 

[aahmom1]

I find it a little hard to believe that they cancelled the sale because people were selling the DVD's for profit. The sale went on for such a short time, how in the heck would they know if somebody was selling them for a profit? Unless of course the person was selling them in the front of the store, which I doubt.

When you have a sale, and you know others obviously know about it, you should honor it, it's as simple as that. I was slightly annoyed when I drove 45 minutes to get to my Disney Store and a CM told me the sale was cancelled. There had to have been at least one person who was told when the sale would end. Those people were lied to. Advertising in a paper doesn't matter, as soon as 1 person was told the sale would go all weekend, that person was lied to, simple as that.

JCPenney was having a big sale yesterday. I for one would have been rather PO'd if I'd gotten there and was told 'Oops sorry they took the sale prices out of the computer, too late, you're outta luck'. That is not good business, no matter what the company.

 

[SueEllen]

Before I write anything else--let me say this--I don't think that corporate did a very good job on this sale. The short amount of time was unexpected. However, as quickly as a sale appears it can also disappear. IT was NOT an advertised sale, and only spread by word of mouth and the internet.

When you have a sale, and you know others obviously know about it, you should honor it, it's as simple as that.

Well I just have a question about that. Say Sears has a sale on Blue Jeans. $50 jeans are now $10. A friend tells you about the sale. You get there and the sale has already ended. Do you expect them to give you $50 jeans for $10?? Come on now--once a sale has ended, it has ended. You wouldn't go to other retailers and expect them to give you the sale price for merchandise on a sale that ended last week, last year, or the day before. SALE OVER.

Now, I understand that you would have been frustrated driving 45 minutes to get the DVDs and finding out that the sale was over. Did you call and inquire about the sale before leaving? Or, did you just rely on finding out about it from a friend or the internet? If you had have called, and a CM told you the DVDs were still $10 and when you got there the sale had ended, I could understand being mad and expecting the $10 price (in which case you would/should have received it)

Sorry, but so many people expect more from the Disney Store than any other retailers. It is very frustrating.

Sue Ellen

 

[aahmom1]

Sorry, but so many people expect more from the Disney Store than any other retailers. It is very frustrating.

Actually I think the opposite, people expect less from Disney because there love for it colors their outlook.

As for looking for jeans on sale a week later? Um no, silly me, expecting the sale to go on for the time said. It's not like I was the only one who got there and was told the sale had been cancelled early, it was cancelled early.

 

[aahmom1]

Another point, I'm a little saddened to see how quick people are to come Disney's defense when they pull the old 'Bait and switch'.

What happens the next time you go to WDW. You know the park hours are supposed to be 8 to 8, but you get there and in actuality the park hours are 9 to 5. Same old 'bait and switch'. Will that be ok too, considering it's Disney's 'perogative' to change their mind?

 

[beansmom]

Another point, I'm a little saddened to see how quick people are to come Disney's defense when they pull the old 'Bait and switch'.

Now, I'm not an attorney but I believe this could only be classified as 'B&S' if the sale had been advertised and advertised to be in force for a specified period of time.

Like many others, I wanted to take advantage of this 'surprise' sale but did not get there in time. Am I disappointed? Yes. Am I gonna cry about it for a week and call TDS a bunch of crooks? No. It boils down to two things:

#1-Life (even life with Disney) isn't fair.
#2-You win some, you lose some.

Now I did see a post somewhere that a CM told a customer that there were supposed to be other 'surprises' at the end of each month 'til the end of the year. I'll try to catch them and if not, then I guess it just wasn't meant to be.

 

[eeyore0062]

I am sure that when the sale started that it was hoped that it could be sustained throughout the 3 day period. However, there perhaps was not enough merchandise to sustain the sale in all of the retail stores. It was NOT an advertised sale (only one that got around by word of mouth/internet) , and was subject to end at anytime, which was made clear at the 2 stores in our area. Although it is disappointing that the sale had to end early... and perhaps was not handled in the best way possible... Disney, and certainly not their CM's can be held accountable for "so and so told so and so, and therefore you have to honor it". I am sorry, but it doesn't work that way in other retail areas, so why should anyone expect that it should work that way at the Disney Stores?

I am sorry for everyone who was disappointed, frustrated, or angered.

BTW, SueEllen... very nice post...very well put!

 

[LIFERBABE]

I don't shop many retailers for the same reason I won't shop TDS. It's not worth my time or effort to take advantage of these types of marketing schemes. Yesterday Dillard's had hourly specials where the panties were on sale at 9am and the bras went on sale at 5pm. I was not going to wait around all day to get a matching set. I was not mad or angered. It was advertised that way and I am sure people received good deals that waited.

I do look at what TDS did as saving me money because I would have bought at least $100 worth of DVD's for XMAS.

Ebay sellers cannot be stopped. Once a store puts items on sale it is normally to benefit the store not the consumer. TDS didnt do the sale as a gift to customers. They had inventory they needed to move or goals they had to reach. I looked at the prices of these DVD's and at best they were half off. After paying listing fees and Paypal fees there can't be much of a profit in selling a $20 DVD that you paid $10 plus tax for. I've sold on Ebay and it is not worth it.
Sometimes sales like these cause a company more harm than good. Kmart went bankrupt. Remember the bluelight special that there was never enough of. After a while people stop responding and choose consistency over panic. I choose consistency. I will still shop for a good price, but this will be the last time I run to TDS for any more "sales".

Disney is constantly amending their sales and services on the backs of their "magic" to see just how much a consumer will take before being put off. I don't know about the rest of you, but there's nothing magical about shorter park hours, expensive bottled water and food, or driving, and walking thru the mall to be told "the sale was cancelled and even the CM's didnt get their videos in time and it was supposed to run until saturday but here's your trial size box of Magic Mickey cereal as a consolation".
Disney is not the last bastion of all that is pure and simple, the Grand Canyon is.
I for one am not going to make excuses for a company that is grossly mismanaged and can't hold a proper sale.

 

[champdds]

Doesn't anyone remember the "Blue Light Specials" ? Only the lucky people who happen to be at the right place at the right time can take advantage of an unadvertised sale...Nothing wrong with this from my point of view.....Of course, I was one of the lucky ones to be at the store on Friday !! (Still cursing the fact that I did not take out the Monster, Inc. coupon earlier for Mickey's House of Villains....could have saved an extra 2 bucks !!) Alas, I also was able to get the DVD of Monster's Inc. for 14.99 when Wal-mart had them on sale (They have sinced raised the price..)


David

 

[idontknow]

Originally posted by champdds
Doesn't anyone remember the "Blue Light Specials" ? Only the lucky people who happen to be at the right place at the right time can take advantage of an unadvertised sale...Nothing wrong with this from my point of view.....Of course, I was one of the lucky ones to be at the store on Friday !! (Still cursing the fact that I did not take out the Monster, Inc. coupon earlier for Mickey's House of Villains....could have saved an extra 2 bucks !!) Alas, I also was able to get the DVD of Monster's Inc. for 14.99 when Wal-mart had them on sale (They have sinced raised the price..)


David

That is exactly what I was thinking while reading this thread. Being in the right place at the right time. There wasn't a print ad for this sale, so it's no holds barred. The way I see it, this was a "blue light" sale.

 

[zurgswife]

Just a note...from my friends CM's at my old store...they were just as confused and still are about the SALE.....it came quickly and went even quicker....they are still trying to make heads or tales of why it was done.....

 

[baileybrad]

Like some folks who think that Disney corporate can't make any mistakes, I don't see this to be anything similar to an old Kmart "Blue Light Special". Those sales took place in a given location, for a particular type of item, and were announced as lasting over the PA system as for the next 20 minutes, etc. The DVD sale was a "silent" sale not announced to the public that based on what is available was to have a definite beginning and end. It just didn't wind up having that way. It was boggled by corporate, DISNEY corporate.

 

[doggy]

I too am absolutely amazed at how many people feel that just because it has the name of "Disney" they are never a fault.....

Face it folks, we all continue to keeping coming back for more...this applies to the Disney Store and the Disney theme parks....as long as we the customer spend our hard earned dollars with them do you really think they will change???

No blame against the CM's in the stores they simply do what they are told by the giant called Disney!!!! And the most amazing part is we the customer as I said already "go back for more"...To those that continue to feel that Disney holds no blame in this mess, would you feel the same way if it was K-Mart, Target, Dillards, and the list goes on....

Disney is NOT what it use to be and never will be again.....Money, Money, Money!!!! The root of all evil....Or is it Profit, Profit, Profit....think about it....