hi to all--
i just wanted to post about something that happened to me a couple of days
ago.  i decided to get some ferret supplies recently, and thought i would
check online at the ferret store to compare prices before i bought
anything.  i was surprised and dismayed to find a few of the things i
needed to be considerably more expensive.  now, i know they have excellent
prices on many things, and there isn't a shipping cost.  but i could not
see how there could be so much of a difference in price on these items.
so, i emailed the owner(?, maybe prez?) about this so that he would know he
has a competitor who is really cutting prices hard on him.  i even told him
the items and where it was found in the catalog i had.  the next morning i
recieved a letter from him, which i might add was a very nice and casual
letter; he explained to me how this had happened.  he also said he would
see to it that the particular brand's price was adjusted.  i wanted to let
all know about this since i personally believe this is one of the best
places to get ferret stuff.  i've never had any problems with their reps.,
or getting my order late.  and, it's good to know that a letter does make a
difference.  i thought this might be good for all the fmler's to know
especially the new ones.  http://www.theferretstore.com/ go there sometime
and bookmark it because you never know what's new.  with big's permission,
i'd like to post his reply to me......and if it's too big, that's ok too(no
pun intended G!).
 
thanks--
malissa d
 
Hi Malissa,
First off, thanks for writing!
 
We are always reviewing our pricing based on what competitors are selling
the same product at.  That is what started our Super Buy lineup.  We'll
give a low price and ship it for free with a $25 order.  Jeffers gives a
low price plus shipping.  Many of our products have come into line with the
competitors through the Super Buy program.  Now, the PPP issue.  I'll take
the blame for this one.  In February, we changed a lot of our pricing to
match the Jeffers of the world by putting them on Super Buy.  I'm looking
at the list of changes that were done at that time and there are about 75
items.  There are about 15 that were not changed - PPP being some of them.
When the changes were given to me to approve, the most drastic were the
PPP.  At that time, I made the decision to hold off on changing the PPP
pricing until the new catalog is out in September.  Why?  The main reason
for that was because of the people who only order through the mail.  Back
in February, we didn't have a billing system that would correctly handle
overpayments when someone sent in a check.  To avoid a whole lot of
confusion, refund checks, etc., I said to hold off on the PPP products and
any price increases, until the new catalog is out.  I thought about your
e-mail all weekend, and was kicking myself in the butt for my decision a
few months ago.  At our staff meeting this morning, I said that since we
have a new billing system in place that handles the overpayment stuff
correctly, we're not going to wait till the catalog is out to change
pricing, (price decreases only) but we will do it today.  I can't guarantee
that we will always be the same as or lower than Jeffers, but we will
certainly try and we can always match ANY competitors price plus shipping.
The price changes are being done on the Internet and our internal systems
today.  Our goal is to make The Ferret Store the only place you need to
shop for ferret supplies.  I know I hate going from store to store buying 3
things here and 2 things there.  It can be frustrating.  I appreciate the
fact that you made me stop and reconsider my previous decision and I truly
do appreciate your business.  If there is anything I can do, just let me
know.
 
Thanks again,
Scott Sanfilippo
General Manager, The Ferret Store
[Posted in FML issue 2720]