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Drs Foster and Smith just pulled the rug out from under me

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Reef Dude

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Just venting. I ordered a Neptune Apex classic earlier this week that was 50% off from DFS. It was shown as in stock. I have a confirmation email and the cc charge is “holding” in my account. I thought this might be too good to be true and that they would somehow screw me out of this. Well, they did.

I ordered Monday morning. This afternoon they email me telling me that this item is being discontinued and they are cancelling my order. They will not make a special order one for me. They will not upgrade me for the same price. But they tell me that if it’s any consolation, my credit card hasn’t been charged yet. Thanks.

I am so disappointed. I thought I got a great deal, and I can’t even describe how much I was looking forward to receiving this item to replace my old Digial Aquatics controller. I am just so extremely disappointed. I ordered an in stock item only for it to be cancelled without them offering a replacement. I told the dude that I know they are able to order a classic Apex for me, but he said that is not an option. I’ve been buying stuff from DFS for years, and I’m done. Now I need to pay for return shipping for all the other accessories I ordered that are currently in transit.

Thanks for listening. I’m not one to normally complain, but I feel like I got the rug pulled out from my under me.

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Reef Dude

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I tried to go up the chain, but the front line manager would not send me up any higher!
 

Benny Morosco

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That's why you have to love the internet!!

Company Overview
Drs. Foster & Smith, Inc. sells at-home pet healthcare supplies. The company offers healthcare supplies for dogs, cats, fishes, birds, wild birds, small pets, reptiles, and horses; and products for pet pharmacies and ponds. It serves customers online; and through stores and catalog quick order. The company was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Rhinelander, Wisconsin. As of February 2, 2015, Drs. Foster & Smith, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of PETCO Animal Supplies, Inc.

2253 Air Park Road

P.O. Box 100

Rhinelander, WI 54501

United States

Founded in 1983

Phone:

715-369-9425



Fax:

715-369-9319



www.drsfostersmith.com



Key Executives for Drs. Foster & Smith, Inc.
Mr. Spencer Insolia
President

Mr. Rory Foster
Co-Founder

Mr. Brian Schafer RPh
Chief Pharmacist

Dr. Angela Walter DVM
Executive of Veterinary Services

Ms. Debra Freitag Rph
Executive of Pharmacy Services
 
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Reef Dude

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Sweeeeeeeet. Thanks! I’m being nice about it and not calling up yelling at people or anything, but I am being firm and persistent. Thanks again!
 

Wen

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So Sorry about that!

I needed a 40 watt uv sterilizer and found DFS had exact model $150+ cheaper then BRS. I asked BRS if they’d price match and live chat response was they couldn’t go that low and suggested I buy it fast.

So I called DFS to confirm it was in stock and lady said they had very few and it is best to call your order in to make sure you get the low inventory sale items.
 
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Reef Dude

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Jeneane should answer...

Just left her a voicemail. This will be interesting to see how they respond. Their customer service is usually a top notch “no questions asked” type of situation. But his single issue is enough for me to stop giving them my money in he future if this can’t be resolved.
 

ahammer

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I believe your expectations are skewed. This could have been mismarked, or very limited, and you were trying to take advantage of that. 50% off, something was obviously happening.
 

Halal Hotdog

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I understand you are unhappy about this outcome, however this is something all the big companies do on ultra sales. Have had this happen with all the big stores when buying crazy mark downs from their online portal. When one doesn't work out you just move on to the next thing. I would not view this as a negative on DFS.
 
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Reef Dude

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I believe your expectations are skewed. This could have been mismarked, or very limited, and you were trying to take advantage of that. 50% off, something was obviously happening.

I hear ya. It wasn’t mispriced though, as this was the price that others got it for. It’s one thing if you have it in your cart and it goes out of stock while you’re checking out,... I understand that. But to be told this after my order was confirmed by them sucks. I would think that the website automatically keeps track of how many are in stock and then says it’s out of stock when it’s actually out of stock. But I know nothing of online retail. Look... i’m Just really disappointed at the moment after getting my hopes up. Time for me to man up and move on I guess. Nothing a Troeg’s Perpetual IPA can’t help with here in a little while!
 

Adele

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I agree with you. This was no different than you shopping in a store and having the item in your cart to have an employee come up, take it out of your cart and says "sorry someone else wanted this before you, we are taking it back". Okay, if they cannot replace a discontinued item, but they should have compensated for THEIR inventory error in some other form. Just my .02 ;)
 
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Reef Dude

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I agree with you. This was no different than you shopping in a store and having the item in your cart to have an employee come up, take it out of your cart and says "sorry someone else wanted this before you, we are taking it back". Okay, if they cannot replace a discontinued item, but they should have compensated for THEIR inventory error in some other form. Just my .02 ;)

Yes. And to be clear, the Apex classic is not being discontinued as far as I know. DFS has just chosen to not carry it any more per my conversation with them. They still have every other Neptune product under the sun. I asked if they could order one for me or have one drop shipped to me to honor my order even though they’re not putting it on their website any longer, and they told me that is not possible
 
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Reef Dude

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This is not the first post I have seen where people’s orders were canceled. I am starting to believe that this 50% off sale was some sort of accidental promotion, maybe they did not mean to do 50% off?

I don’t know. At least I’m not the only person having this issue. I talked to the front line manager on the phone when I was trying to sort it out with them initially, and he said the sale was not a mistake. They did a steep discount to get rid of their inventory of this item since they no longer want to offer it on their website. I wasn’t sure how they would get past MAP pricing restrictions on something like this, but I wasn’t going to ask questions lol
 

Redleg

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Just got the same story from them. They called and left a message on my landline that my order was cancelled. I just called them back and they won't be able too reorder or honor the price.
 

Rakie

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Many many many peoples orders are cancelled. Either DrFosterSmith boned the dog harder than they ever have before -- OR, they did what companies typically do -- Oversold things because it's expected that 5% of people will cancel their order within 24 hours.

I'm a little hesitant to think it's the former, as many, many, many products that should NEVER be 50% off were. From IM Lagoon 25g tanks for $80 to $300 tunze pumps for $120. That would be an astounding amount of mistakes, as there's at least 30+ products at absolutely crazy deals.. So good it doesn't even make sense kind of deals.
 
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Reef Dude

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Just got the same story from them. They called and left a message on my landline that my order was cancelled. I just called them back and they won't be able too reorder or honor the price.

Sorry to hear that. I wish they have let me know sooner after the order was placed rather than waiting 3 days. Several accessories are already in transit from BRS.
 

infinite0180

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I order a test kit 50% off as well. I paid already with paypal and got an order confirmation but no shipping info yet. I just check the order status online and it cant find my order number... i wonder if i will get the same story?! They already have my money!
 

GoldeneyeRet

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It's not a mistake, mismark or accidental sale pricing. It's an adaptation of a classic sales tactic know as bait and switch. Very common among online vendors these days, also a favorite of petco brick and mortar stores.
 
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