What's up with the "Check out to see price" items?

[torinsmom]

So, I have been on sites where you had to put a sale item in your cart to see the price, but several sites I am searching on are saying you have to check out to see the price. I'm sure you'll see it before final confirmation, but when it is asking for credit card info and I still don't know the price....well, I'm not going there. This was on NewEgg and Walmart.

 

[kwelch10377]

I think it has something to do with manufacturer agreements, although I have never seen where you have to enter in your CC info before they would show you the price.

 

[torinsmom]

I think it has something to do with manufacturer agreements, although I have never seen where you have to enter in your CC info before they would show you the price.

Yeah, that was weird. I don't mind putting it in the cart, but when you have to enter billing info before you see the price, that's not happening. I guess you get the price and then you can either confirm or not. I had never seen it before either.

 

[SandrA9810]

I don't even bother with those sites, because for the most part DO make you register before seeing the price. Just because I want to see the price of an item, doesn't mean I want my inbox full of spam email from them.

 

[tasha99]

I had it happen at Best Buy today. Never seen that before and I don't like it.

 

[POOHsie]

I've been to sites that asked for billing name/address/phone info before showing price. I just put in fake info. It works! Now, if asked for CC info before showing price, that is a BIG RED FLAG. No way will I do that!

 

[pigletto]

Totally agree. Nine times out of ten the price is what will make me determine if I actually want the item for that store. Sometimes I think they assume if they get me to put all of my shipping and credit card info in, that I'll go ahead and buy it when I see the price whether it's great or not. Not so. If it asks for the card first I look somewhere else.

 

[acourtwdw]

It is a legal agreement that the store/website has with the manufactuer. On the Best Buy site, it will never ask you for your cc before showing you the price. I can't speak for others but I work for BBY and know their site inside and out.

 

[Mrs.Malone]

They always say it's a "legal agreement" and I don't doubt that but I've always wondered why! Is it because the manufacturer doesn't want a really low/clearance price to show up on those comparison shopping sites because it'll drive the prices for their product down everywhere? I can't figure it out.

 

[rszdtrvl]

This is what Amazon says :

"Retailers like Amazon have the legal right to set their own prices independently, but some manufacturers place restrictions on how those prices may be communicated. Because our price on this item is lower than the manufacturer's "minimum advertised price," the manufacturer does not allow us to show you our price until you take further action, such as placing the item in your shopping cart, or in some cases, proceeding to the final checkout stage. The steps required depend on the details of the manufacturer's minimum advertised price policy. Taking these steps allows Amazon to show you our price consistent with our goal of always offering you the lowest possible prices on the widest selection of products."

 

[LilyWDW]

So, I have been on sites where you had to put a sale item in your cart to see the price, but several sites I am searching on are saying you have to check out to see the price. I'm sure you'll see it before final confirmation, but when it is asking for credit card info and I still don't know the price....well, I'm not going there. This was on NewEgg and Walmart.

I have never had Newegg require a CC before seeing the price and I shop there constantly. In fact, I was on there today looking at a few things and all I had to do was press "see price in cart" to see the sales prices.

Can you post the item so I can see it?

 

[marius97]

Those minimum advertised prices requirements can be a real pain. Some companies are super strict on enforcing them. Though not an online issue, there was one company when I worked in the golf industry. They would call pro shops up, try to negotiate a better price, and then if they got too good a deal, you would get a letter from their lawyer. On shop gave active duty military something like a 10% discount on merchandise. This company found out and threatened to pull their distributor rights. This shop said to heck with you, put all that company's equipment in the $10 bin and said you're no longer welcome...Anyway, it is an issue of companies wanting to keep the price of goods up. In a small way, it can actually help the small business. If Walmart buys a ton of something at a discounted price, they may be able to sell it for less than what a small business could buy it for.

 

[torinsmom]

I have never had Newegg require a CC before seeing the price and I shop there constantly. In fact, I was on there today looking at a few things and all I had to do was press "see price in cart" to see the sales prices.

Can you post the item so I can see it?

Here you go, not making this up

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16889187213

I put it in my cart, no price, clicked continue and it goes to the secure checkout page where you choose your payment method/enter CC info. Lots of items you can see the price in the cart, but not ones like this.

 

[reginaastralis]

That is really annoying, and I just don't understand why they would want to make it harder. Personally, I guess I am just lazy, because I'd rather pay a little more than deal with that annoyance.

 

[SandrA9810]

I already had my info on file from a few years ago. But I put in a random CV2 and exp date. I wouldn't have done it for any other site, if my info wasn't already there.

BTW, the price is 799.

 

[LilyWDW]

Here you go, not making this up

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16889187213

I put it in my cart, no price, clicked continue and it goes to the secure checkout page where you choose your payment method/enter CC info. Lots of items you can see the price in the cart, but not ones like this.

To start with, I never said you were making it up. I said I had never run into it before on Newegg and I spend a lot of time and money on that site. That is why I asked for a link to see if something was being missed. I was trying to help....

 

[meg8017]

I had a similar experience on Best Buy this weekend. Didn't have to enter cc, but had to enter a lot of info, incliding email addy. I just made it all up, I'm all set with even MORE junk email just to check the price of a tv.
"sam smith, 123 smith lane, real town nearby, real state and real zip. sam@sam.com"
I can see needing to put it in your cart but forcing people to give out all kinds of info isn't going to boost sales IMO.

 

[jessica52877]

Saw it on best buy on Friday and that newegg one was just annoying. I had to click through several times then do an account (I don't have one) so I left. I was just looking but that is a huge turn off.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I haven't seen much of that, but I would guess that they figure you will be so committed to the purchase that by the time you see the price, it won't matter and you will click purchase anyway.

Plus they can snatch your personal information of course.

 

[torinsmom]

To start with, I never said you were making it up. I said I had never run into it before on Newegg and I spend a lot of time and money on that site. That is why I asked for a link to see if something was being missed. I was trying to help....

Sorry, tone is hard to read on these boards and there are a lot of snarky people here. I spend a lot of time on that site as well, and it looks like something new.