Saturday, March 17, 2012

Really, Dover!?

Has anyone else ever noticed how obnoxious Dover is with their sale pricing?  It infuriates me how hard it is to actually pay the lowest price on something they have marked down...

Basically, upon returning home and still on a total "holy shit this horse is awesome and maybe one day I will be able to actually do her justice" high, I decided that if we really are moving her in two weeks then there are a few bits (literally) and pieces to pick up in order to really round out Prairie's arsenal.

So I hit the internet, and all my favorite sites, starting fancy then working my way down to "realistic."  I grabbed a few more brushes, an extra lead rope, new halter, another turnout sheet so we can do laundry without going naked and (most importantly) the magic bit from yesterday's ride (which - for the first time of me discovering "magic new bits" was a $30 model, not a $130 one... win).

But, then (because I'm OCD), I hit the clearance section and also the sale section.  Why these are two separate tabs, I really don't know.

I was thrilled to see a few of my items "on sale".  "Good for me!" I thought, "for the first time in my life I'm naturally picking out the good values."  Of course then I noticed that I "thought" my new halter was $43.something, not $39.99.  Weird.  But I couldn't let it go, so I double checked my shopping cart only to see that the exact same halter (when added from the-not-sale section was still listed at $43).  My lead rope was $18, not the sale price of $11 that was listed on the sale page, and a few other items had discounts that were not extended if you were shopping in the "normal" area of the site.

I immediately removed the regular priced items, replaced them with the sale prices and watched my total bill drop by $80.  For a while I was feeling extra smart and sneaky that I found all the good deals.  Then my glee turned to irritation that Dover makes you work for your savings.  Then my irritation turned to wrath at the thought of previous orders I perhaps hadn't thoroughly double checked in the sale section.

Has anyone else noticed this? Am I late to the party?

13 comments:

  1. "Why these are two separate tabs, I really don't know."

    Now you know... if you aren't paying enough attention when you're ordering your generally overpriced to outrageously gouge-ful priced items, then too bad for you. I think Dover also rips you off on the shipping.

    Don't get me wrong - I loves me a glossy Dover catologue. The six or seven year old Dover blankets Val came with are super high quality, durable + well fitting.

    I outfitted Val initially out of Dover before I bought him. That was quite an order. I've been happy with everything I got from them. But Valley Vet and Stateline treat you better as customers, even if their product lines aren't as comprehensive. (jmho)

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  2. It's not ANY better in the actual brick and mortar stores, either. I live close to a Dover location and they do the same thing to you in the store. I make sure to pay attention to the prices things ring in as, and I have to ask for the sale prices sometimes. The way they do it is that two-letter code before the item number. The sale code is different from the normal code so if the item is rung in with the normal code, you won't get the sales price.

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  3. I noticed the same thing a while back. If you get the sales flyers in the mail, and then type the item number in on the website, the actual sale price comes up. Otherwise you see the full price. I think at the time they didn't even have a sale button on the website, so you had to have the flyer and know the sales item number to get it at that price. Simply stupid if you ask me. I get why they have a separate thing for closeouts, those are clearance items they are getting rid of. However, the sale prices should just be reflected on the regular prices like any other store out there. Annoys me just as much as you!

    -DS
    Adventures In Colt Starting

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  4. I love Dover, I mean I really do, but I almost never order from them because they certainly do their best to rip you off. Stateline tack, on the other hand, has great customer service and much better shipping charges for many of the same products...actually, I can usually find a coupon to get my shipping for free...

    But that's just me. Sometimes Dover does have better prices, but I check Stateline, Big Dees, and Valley Vet first because their prices are usually better:)

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  5. You are a little late to the party. :) It is super irritating that they rip you off that way and on shipping too. My favorite place to shop is Smartpak!

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  6. Dove is super obnoxious like that! It's all because when they put a new item on sale it gets a new code number and to their system is a different item then the old one.

    I did end up getting their supreme heavyweight turnout for about $60 once because I had a really old catalog and I used such an old code it was on some extreme clearance.

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  7. They are a bit annoying but their quality o really far exceeds places like state line. If I can't find it on eBay, I order from Dover. Love them.

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  8. I personally find http://www.horseloverz.com/ to have the best prices and don't rip you off on shipping. They also have excellent customer service.

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  9. I agree with everyone on this. Dover is SO sneaky (and thus annoying!) about their sales... I usually find it at the sales catalog they send and call it in and double check they're charging me the right price.

    I usually start at Smartpak and if they don't have it, I just google it for the lowest price. I've found that horseloverz and state line have very low prices but not a huge amount of variety. Depends what you're looking for! :)

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  10. I don't do Dover, except once a year when their spring clearance catalog comes out. Only then I can stomach their shipping hijinks and ridiculous prices. ;-) Smartpak ftw!

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  11. Yep, another Smartpak Supporter over here. I will only go to Dover if I can't find it at SmartPak (which is pretty rare). And all the SmartPak brand stuff (tack, blankets, wraps, etc.) is really good quality and very affordable. I have a Dover store 4 miles from my house. You'd think I'd be in there every weekend... but I've been in there about half a dozen times in the 3 years it's been there.

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  12. I found that if I order on the phone and sound super confused I will sometimes get to combine coupons for an even bigger savings. :) Sneaky..

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  13. Literally just ordered a TON of stuff from Smartpak because I did a price comparison, and on some items they were like $3-10 cheaper. Thats a big difference when making a big order. Didnt even notice. BOTH places have awesome customer service though.

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