MS Color over charged?

[r32]

People make mistakes, even shop employees looking across lines and lines of product price lists. They might not memorize price lists the way we remember the price of the lens on the top of our personal buy list.

It is what they do to rectify a situation when informed of a mistake, that wins loyal customers.

 

[dragius]

hmmm very surprised, have bought things from them for many years...
have never been over charged ever hmmm/.... :think:

 

[coldfish]

People make mistakes, even shop employees looking across lines and lines of product price lists. They might not memorize price lists the way we remember the price of the lens on the top of our personal buy list.

It is what they do to rectify a situation when informed of a mistake, that wins loyal customers.

You may not have read through all thread before you wrote this.
He was flipping a price list to check the lens (28-105mm f4/5.6, not f3.5/4.5) I was looking for & quoted S$290. Sounded good. BUT no stock.
Then he offered the lens that I bought & this time round, he immediately said S$360.
I asked him why S$70 more? His answer was:"Maybe better coating?"

Yes I can accept that they may not be able to memorize everything. But after checking price list?
My goodness, that price list must be yonkz never been updated except selected items!

And yes, almost every reply reminded me of making the mistake of not doing my homework first and yes again, I admit I SHOULD have done that; and I did for 28-105mm as well as for 28-135mm EXCEPT this lens.
But then again, if everyone has to do thorough homework in order not to, let me put it this way, feel cheated, what happened to the 'good' name: Singapore, a shopping paradise?
Furthermore, this is supposed to be a reputated shop where so many people have had good experiences with the sales people there and I frequented their shop without having much problems and all of a sudden I'm charged more than RRSP?

Sorry, I can't see the logic there. Unless it's like what some say:" It's easier to cheat someone you know then those you don't"?

Once again, I want to thank everyone who reminded me time & time again that I should have done my homework.
Yes, from now on, I'll do that everytime just like what I did way back in the 80s when such things were a norm until the Government put a stop to it.

Finally, I wrote an email yesterday morning attentioned to Florence asking whether it's an misunderstanding or was it the actual price they were offering.
I also added that I was willing to trade in the lens I just bought & upgrade to 28-105mm f3.5/4.5 (Alan quoted S$530 w/o GST).
I am still waiting for her reply...

 

[Jango]

hey coldfish, sorry to hear of your unhappy experience. I've never bought anything from MS so far...I agree with you that it is a shame the general retail scene in Singapore for photography equipment (and computers and many electronic goods) has to come to this. The notion that consumers need to do "homework" to "avoid getting overcharged" by the so called "respectable and honest" shops is ridiculous. Unfortunately there's not much we can do about it.

Just look at the "Star Retailer" endorsement in SLS. Joke of the decade.

Anyway, lets hope this is a genuine mistake on MS's part and give u a rebate!

 

[coldfish]

Jango!

Didn't know you frequent here too!

I was flabbergasted by majority concensus of the willingness to accept such uneven treatment.

I am feeling better now.

I guess the reason why I got into such fit was because I felt similar to when you are beginning to trust someone & suddenly got poured cold water on...

Anywayz, let's face it, they are only loosing one cash paying customer.

Let's wait & see.

 

[tky]

I think it's more to do with many good experiences people have had with MS Color. That's why people are giving the benefit of doubts. If we change the shop name to "XYZ@doubtful location", I bet the replies would have been different.

Do give the shop a call and talk to the Mr Loh or Florence.

 

[RonTheMan]

I too had good experience when buying from MS. It's best to find out the prices first before buying, be it a camera, or another other things. Many a times, when I step into a shop and enquire about a product, the salesmen will recommend me another product instead. If I do know the price and the ins and outs of the product, then I might consider it. Otherwise, I definitely will not buy it.
Anyway, hope that MS will give you a refund.

 

[madmacs]

Jango!

Didn't know you frequent here too!

I was flabbergasted by majority concensus of the willingness to accept such uneven treatment.

I am feeling better now.

I guess the reason why I got into such fit was because I felt similar to when you are beginning to trust someone & suddenly got poured cold water on...

Anywayz, let's face it, they are only loosing one cash paying customer.

Let's wait & see.

its not that we are willing to accept such treatment...its just that most of us have never experience such treatment from ms color. which is why we think it was a mistake on their part.

some nice things they have done.

1. friend of mine ordered an optech bag strap. they didnt have stock so they loaned her one instead while they placed an order.

2. another friend bought the timer release for his 10d. about a week later he saw me using my timer remote controller and found it very useful. he approached mscolor for and upgrade and they readily agreed. even though he had to go on an overseas trip and do the upgrade about 1 month after purchase.

have you gone to ms color to talk to florence or mr loh yet? if not let them know about this incident and see how they can help your resolve this. no point harping about it..go do something about it.

 

[coldfish]

Hi all,

I believe this could be a misunderstanding after a brief talk with Florence.

Obviously, Canon changed their prices but did not update them on the website (or maybe typo).

On her list, it (28-90mm f4/5.6 USM) was indeed more expensive than 28-105mm f4/5.6 USM.

She did not answer my email because
1. She just came back from photokina yesterday
2. I didn't state exactly what lens I bought :embrass: so she didn't know how to answer.

That said, she even offered full refund. :thumbsup:

As this turned out to be a major embarassment from my side, I suggested an upgrade to 28-90mm f3.5/4.5 USM & she immediately agreed but need to order first.

I am truly sorry for starting this thread and apologize unconditionally to everyone involved for the high handed approach.
I just hope that no further damage is done to MS Color from hereforth.

I also want to thank you all for suggesting me to contact either Mr. Loh or Florence to clear things up.

 

[Virgo]

Glad you've cleared the clouds before any damages are done. :thumbsup:

Don't think MS Color will overcharge anyway. They have been around for years. No point overcharging and smeared their reputation. Bad things spread around fast you know. :sweat:

 

[madmacs]

hehe...and they lived happily ever after :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

 

[zhangyb]

Hi all,

I believe this could be a misunderstanding after a brief talk with Florence.

Obviously, Canon changed their prices but did not update them on the website (or maybe typo).

On her list, it (28-90mm f4/5.6 USM) was indeed more expensive than 28-105mm f4/5.6 USM.

She did not answer my email because
1. She just came back from photokina yesterday
2. I didn't state exactly what lens I bought :embrass: so she didn't know how to answer.

That said, she even offered full refund. :thumbsup:

As this turned out to be a major embarassment from my side, I suggested an upgrade to 28-90mm f3.5/4.5 USM & she immediately agreed but need to order first.

I am truly sorry for starting this thread and apologize unconditionally to everyone involved for the high handed approach.
I just hope that no further damage is done to MS Color from hereforth.

I also want to thank you all for suggesting me to contact either Mr. Loh or Florence to clear things up.

ya n i can affirm to her departure to photokina because i called her the day she left for my 20D

 

[Jango]

Good to know!!

 

[dragius]

It all ends well! phew! :sweat:

 

[stout]

Hi all,

I believe this could be a misunderstanding after a brief talk with Florence.

Obviously, Canon changed their prices but did not update them on the website (or maybe typo).

On her list, it (28-90mm f4/5.6 USM) was indeed more expensive than 28-105mm f4/5.6 USM.

She did not answer my email because
1. She just came back from photokina yesterday
2. I didn't state exactly what lens I bought :embrass: so she didn't know how to answer.

That said, she even offered full refund. :thumbsup:

As this turned out to be a major embarassment from my side, I suggested an upgrade to 28-90mm f3.5/4.5 USM & she immediately agreed but need to order first.

I am truly sorry for starting this thread and apologize unconditionally to everyone involved for the high handed approach.
I just hope that no further damage is done to MS Color from hereforth.

I also want to thank you all for suggesting me to contact either Mr. Loh or Florence to clear things up.

That's Bad news for the Next person who buys your EX EF28-90mm f4/5.6 USM at MS if they agreed to your request of upgrading to 28-90mm f3.5/4.5 USM !

Paying a Premium for a short used/own iteam!

Am I Right!

 

[stout]

2. another friend bought the timer release for his 10d. about a week later he saw me using my timer remote controller and found it very useful. he approached mscolor for and upgrade and they readily agreed. even though he had to go on an overseas trip and do the upgrade about 1 month after purchase.

QUOTE]

Thats Bad News Again! How much will MS charge for the returned stuff that U ppl exchanged to upgrade!

Does MS tells (u/me/new-buyer) that (u/me/new-buyer) we are buying a used item?

How much would they charge, charging price as new or used( stuff that has been return for an upgrade) ?

Would I be inform, or buying a 2nd hand item and paying a premium as NEW!

 

[coldfish]

Come guys! Please don't start again and I really hope this thread ends right here.
MS Color agreed to change lens simply because I just bought it, in excellent condition and lastly, yield to my request.
We are not talking about buying tissue papers here. So please, if you wish to start any flame, please start with a new thread.
Thank you.

 

[kiwi2]

Come guys! Please don't start again and I really hope this thread ends right here.
MS Color agreed to change lens simply because I just bought it, in excellent condition and lastly, yield to my request.
We are not talking about buying tissue papers here. So please, if you wish to start any flame, please start with a new thread.
Thank you.

I'm glad you've sort it out with them!

Wahhh, 180 degrees attitude change huh! It makes a huge difference to how we perceive things and people when they go our way and when they 'seem' to go against our way....

I would say still in singapore, when buying things especially cams, better to do homework first. Sometimes it's not the intention of the shop. It's just a queer way they do business which I haven't yet understood.

 

[Yjx]

I'm late here...

But juz wanna stand up for MS Color, whom I know for 5yrs liao.
This ppl are great, and brough everything from cheap chemicals to costly lens, and never had the experience of being cheated wat so ever.

In fact, they always gave me reasonable, if not the cheapest quote, via either Email or Verbal.
Service is also top-notch, but I've been dealing with Uncle Jackson, Auntie Florence and Willy only.

With that said, I would give my thumbs up for MS Color. :thumbsup:

Also, since the fog of misunderstanding is cleared, maybe this thread should be closed or deleted to prevent others concluding just from the Topic heading??? :think:

 

[toasty]

From the story line, I'm still not clear why MSColor overcharged in the first place? Was it just because their price-list is outdated?

Anyway, I'd say MSColour handled the situation well. Much better to refund than to have a person running around completely unhappy with the way he feels with their service/prices.

While I agree that customer should do homework before buying, I also believe that there is some responsibility on the shop not to cheat their customer. I'm not talking from a legal point of view, they have the legal right to charge whatever price they want, but from an ethical point of view. They ought not to overcharge unknowing customers. It's akin to taking candy from a small kid in my opinion, and shows up the selling ethic of the shop. Someone said that we should put ourselves in their shoes to understand. But even if I put myself in the seller's shoes, I would still not understand over-charging an unknowing customer. That said, I want to mention I am talking in general here and not about MS Colour in particular as in my opinion, they have done well to refund coldfish showing that they value customer satisfaction over the immediate profit of a sale. In the long run, that will definitely benefit them as well as the customer. The converse is also true, a shop which cheats hurts itself as well as its customer.