We appreciate your inquiry concerning this issue.

We do apologize for any inconvenience that this may have caused you. Please allow me to explain to you what your final price would be when we price match. If our price currently is $89.99 with free shipping, and you want us to price match the competitors price at $88.94 plus their shipping fee of $6.95; your total without tax would be $95.89. You would take the $88.94 plus their shipping fee of $6.95. Your total would be more with the price match then it would be without it. If you have any further questions concerning this issue, please feel free to contact us.

Thank you for your patience concerning this matter.

Shelley
Customer Support Representative

e-mail: support@orders.staples.com
phone : 1-800-3STAPLE (1-800-378-2753)
fax : 1-800-333-3199
online: http://www.staples.com/help/default.asp?zone=contact

Hi,

Yes, I understand the heuristic used to determine the price to match. What remains unclear is how I obtain a price match for a specific item. I submitted the competitor's product information requested on the price match form. What else must one do to get Staples.com to match a price for a particular item for which competitive pricing information is provided?
 
-- Rob Kleine
   rkleine@GentlEye.com

I do apologize for the inconvenience. We can do the pricematch if you want. But you will be paying an extra $5.80 more than if the pricematch was not done. We have to add their delivery fee so you will be paying more. I am sorry. Please contact us back if you still want the pricematch done.

Thank you for your patience concerning this matter.

Tammy
Customer Service Representative

e-mail: support@orders.staples.com
phone : 1-800-3STAPLE (1-800-378-2753)
fax : 1-800-333-3199
online: http://www.staples.com/help/default.asp?zone=contact

Hi,

It is unclear why I would pay "an extra $5.80" if Staples.com does a price match. I understand that Staples.com's price matching policy entails the total acquisition cost, which includes shipping and handling fees. Unclear to me is how I would pay more. Amazon.com currently offers FREE SHIPPING for the item on which I requested a price match. Last I checked, a number plus 0 totals to the original number. Or are you saying that Staples.com charges $5.80 to do a price match?
 
-- Rob Kleine
   rkleine@GentlEye.com

We appreciate your inquiry concerning this issue.

In order to check what went wrong on the price match I need the order number and the item number.

There are two Rob Kleine with customer numbers on our files. If you do not know the order number, we can find your order with a telephone number or your customer number.

Please call the telephone number below so someone can help you with this problem.

Thank you for your patience concerning this matter.

Emma
Customer Support Representative

e-mail: support@orders.staples.com
phone : 1-800-3STAPLE (1-800-378-2753)
fax : 1-800-333-3199
online: http://www.staples.com/help/default.asp?zone=contact

Information you requested:

* The part number is: 456001.
* Customer number: 400088910

Must one place an order *before* receiving a price match?
 
-- Rob Kleine
   rkleine@GentlEye.com

We appreciate your inquiry concerning this issue.

Here is your price match quote. If you decide to order this item, place your order online. Once we enter the order we will send you an e-mail confirmation. Reply to that confirmation with the price match quote below. Once the order has posted in our system, usually the next day, we will send you an e-mail with the amount you were credited and your final price. This quote is valid for the next 7 days. After that if you haven't placed your order, you will have to submit for a new quote.

Price | Shipping & | Total
| Handling | Delivered(before tax)
-----------------------------|--------------|------------
Staples.com | |
-----------------------------|--------------|------------
(enter comp) | |
-----------------------------|--------------|------------
Difference | |
-----------------------------|--------------|------------
Total Price | |
Guarantee Discount | |
-----------------------------|--------------|------------
Staples.com | |
delivered price(before tax) | |

---------------------------------------------------------

If you find a lower price, anywhere, on a new identical item, now or within 14 days of your purchase just show us the price and we will gladly match it. The item must be in-stock and available for purchase from a competitor located in the United States.

Among other factors an item is only considered identical if it carries with it the same United States manufacturers warranty.

Of course, if our competitor limits the quantity you can purchase, Staples.com® can only match the price for the same quantity as the competitor offers. And to be fair, if the competitor says, "while supplies last", we will gladly honor the price after we check to make sure the competitor has the item in-stock.

When comparing catalog or Internet competitors prices, next day shipping and handling charges will be included in the price match analysis. The following is an example:

Price | Shipping & | Total
| Handling | Delivered
-----------------------------|--------------|------------
Staples.com 89.99 | free | 89.99
-----------------------------|--------------|------------
Competitor 81.99 | 6.95 | 88.94
-----------------------------|--------------|------------
Difference | | 1.05
-----------------------------|--------------|------------
Total Price | |
Guarantee Discount | | 1.05
-----------------------------|--------------|------------
Staples.com | |
delivered price | | 88.94
---------------------------------------------------------

(Note: Prices do not include applicable taxes)

If Staples.com offers a "Free Item" with the purchase of another item, the value of the "Free Item" will be added to the competitor's price when calculating the guarantee amount. The price guarantee amount will be based on a "Net Difference" after the value of the "Giveaway item" is included. (For example, if Staples.com's price is $99.99 and we are giving away with purchase an item valued at $15.00 and the competition's price is $89.99 there will be no price match.)

Our price match policy covers pagers and cellular telephones as long as the service plan, terms, conditions, and service provider are the same. Our price match policy does not cover Sprint long distance services.

If Staples.com offers a rebate and after the rebate Staples.com's price beats the competition, no price guarantee will be given. You will be getting a lower final cost by shopping at Staples.com. (For example, if Staples.com's price is $89.99 before a $30.00 rebate, so you pay $59.99 after rebate and the competitor's price is $84.99 without a rebate, there will be no price match.)

Price guarantee will be applied to no more than 3 of the same product shipped to the same address. We reserve the right to further limit quantities. And of course, this policy does not cover typographical errors.

The Staples.com price-matching policy does not apply to Business Services or to the web sites of any Staples Service Providers. This exception governs products as well as services offered by the Business Service providers.

The terms of this guarantee are subject to change without notice. For more information, or a specific price match request, please contact customer service.

Staples.com is a registered trademark of Staples the Office Superstore, Inc.

Thank you for your patience concerning this matter.

Shelley
Customer Support Representative

e-mail: support@orders.staples.com
phone : 1-800-3STAPLE (1-800-378-2753)
fax : 1-800-333-3199
online: http://www.staples.com/help/default.asp?zone=contact

Thank you for your reply.

The email (quoted below for your convenience) references a price match quote. After carefully reading the full text of the e-mail several times, I am unable to identify a price match quote. What I do discover is that the contents of Staples.com's Price Match FAQ (http://www.staples.com/help/default.asp?area=faq_general_match ) has been quoted back to me yet again. Would you be so kind as to point me to where the price match quote is located in the body of the email?

The email (reproduced below) is also confusing about the timing of a price match. First, it says "place your order online ... reply to the [order] confirmation with the price match quote below." This implies that one must first commit to buying at Staples.com's higher price and then ask for a price match. However, a couple sentences later, the email states, "After that if you haven't placed your order, you will have to submit for a new quote." This statement suggests to me that a price match happens before an order is placed.

What is the correct procedure for requesting a price match from Staples.com? Does Staples.com compensate customers for the effort required to request a price match?
 
-- Rob Kleine
   rkleine@GentlEye.com

We appreciate your inquiry concerning this issue.

When requesting a price match, there are two ways to go about it. First, you could call us and we can research the price match and let you know if it is valid before you place the order and the representative that validates the price match, will place the order for you. The other option is to place the order on line and then call in and have a representative research the price match and then adjust the price on your pending order.

The price match policy is in place to ensure that our customers get the best price out there and in turn, it keeps customers coming back to us. There's actually not too many websites that offer price matching. A lot of them just have a set price. Staples.com has price matching as a cusomter service feature as a privilege to our customers.

We apologize for any inconvenience this might cause you. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you require further assistance.

Thank you for your patience concerning this matter.

Crystal,
Customer Care Representative

e-mail: support@orders.staples.com
phone : 1-800-3STAPLE (1-800-378-2753)
fax : 1-800-333-3199
online: http://www.staples.com/help/default.asp?

Thank you for your reply.

The procedure for requesting a price match from Staples.com is now clear to me.

I am stunned that it has taken six replies from Staples.com customer service representatives to reach this level of clarity. Here is a transcript of the entire dialog:

http://www.gentleye.com/research/staples.html

What still I don't understand is this:

Staples.com's Price Match FAQ page:

http://www.staples.com/help/default.asp?area=faq_general_match

States:

"The terms of this guarantee are subject to change without notice. For more information, or a specific price match request, please contact customer service."

The words "contact customer service" are a hot link to a Price Match form at this URL:

http://www.staples.com/help/contact/contact.asp?Type=price_match

I used the Price Match form to initiate a price match request on 2 July 2001. The request included all requested product and vender information.

Am I to understand that Staples.com does not honor price match requests submitted via the Price Match form on the Staples.com web site?

Since submitting that initial Price Match request, Staples.com customer service representatives have provided a series of replies that are either irrelevant in content, incomplete to the point of being nonsensical, and generally not helpful. Specifically, excepting the most recent reply, every preceding response from Staples.com customer service representatives failed to address the specific questions posed in my replies.

I find all this confusion over a simple request completely baffling. In less time than Staples.com has taken to clarify whether and how to issue the requested price match, the whole issue has become moot. Staples.com has lost the sale (which included this specific item plus a number of other networking products). Amazon.com has already delivered to me the product (and others) in question and at a delivered price even lower than initially quoted.

On the bright side, Staples.com has provided me rich material for an article on Customer Service. For that, I thank you.

 
-- Rob Kleine
   rkleine@GentlEye.com