Is it me? or them?

[Mr. Bobo]

I am a retired IT guy and in my retirement I develop Android applications as a hobby. I have a Samsung Galaxy S4 that I have been using for 3 years so it's time to upgrade. I decided to buy a Samsung Galaxy S7. I live in the boonies, the closest large city is Solano and it has three mobile phone shops. Yesterday I made the one hour drive to Solano to price out and maybe buy the S7. I walked into the fist moble phone shop and asked the sales lady how much the Samsung Galaxy S7 costs and she replied 34990p. I walked into the second mobile phone shop and asked the same question and that sales lady's reply was 34990p. I didn't bother going to the third shop as I knew the price would be the same or very close. I cannot withdraw 40000p a day from an ATM so I withdrew the 20000p maximum with a plan of returning today and withdrawing the other 20000p. This morning got off to a bad start as the one hour drive to Solano turned into two hours because of bad traffic. Anyway, I did arrive and successfully withdrew the other 20000p, so now I have 40000p in my pocket and I am ready to purchase the Samsung Galaxy S7. This is how it went down.

 

I walked into the first mobile phone shop to buy it there because the sales lady seemed nice. I told her that I wanted to buy the Samsung Galaxy S7 for the 34990 price she had quoted me the day before. Her reply was “Oh sir, we don't have the Samsung Galaxy S7”. I replied “I spoke with you yesterday and you quoted me a price of 34990p” she replied “you asked me the price not whether we had any in stock”. I was flabbergasted.

 

I walked into the second shop and spoke with the same lady that quoted me a price yesterday. I told her that I wanted to buy the Samsung Galaxy S7 for the 34990 price she had quoted me the day before. Her reply was the same as the other lady's “Oh sir, we don't have the Samsung Galaxy S7”. I replied “I spoke with you yesterday and you quoted me a price of 34990p” she replied “you asked me the price not whether we had any in stock”

 

Needless to say the third shop that I never went to yesterday didn't have any in stock either.

 

Was I wrong by implying that since I was quoted a price I assumed that the phone was in stock?

 

Now, tomorrow I have to drive to the SM mall in Rosales which is about a 3 hour drive one way to buy the phone. Yes, I did call ahead to make sure that they have the Samsung Galaxy S7 in stock!

 

 

 

[scott h]

23 minutes ago, Mr. Bobo said:

Was I wrong by implying that since I was quoted a price I assumed that the phone was in stock?

Short answer Mr Bobo? Yep, its all on you. Its happened to me more times than I can count. Now days if I am planning to buy something I always ask "Do you have stock?" The number of times I have taken home the display item at a discount is astounding.

It makes sense in a strange sort of way. Most clerks are just hourly employees and have little or no interest if you buy something or not. We are used to if something is out of stock the item is not displayed or the sales person will tell you how long to get it or even try to sell you something else. Here? Not so much.

But I do feel your pain

 

[robert k]

I normally don't buy the latest and greatest and I usually go to a shop where I can get the best price but even a 15k peso phone will take them a couple days to get, in Manila. For instance, my Huawei Mediapad X1 had been available in Manila for a year already when I bought it there. I then travelled to Dumaguete, capitol of Negros Oriental and that same device didn't show up there for another 8 months. I think it's reasonable to guesstimate that it takes anywhere from a year to 20 months for any expensive tech to penetrate to a provincial capital from the time it initially arrived in Manila. I tried to buy a Samsung Galaxy Zoom in Dumaguete also, with posters all over and it had been out in Manila for more than a year, none in stock in any of the half dozen stores I asked in. I get all my tech stuff in Manila if I didn't bring it from the US.

[Sander Martin]

Welcome to the Philippines. You asked them the price and they gave you a reply ??.

[Mr. Bobo]

14 minutes ago, robert k said:

I normally don't buy the latest and greatest and I usually go to a shop where I can get the best price but even a 15k peso phone will take them a couple days to get, in Manila. For instance, my Huawei Mediapad X1 had been available in Manila for a year already when I bought it there. I then travelled to Dumaguete, capitol of Negros Oriental and that same device didn't show up there for another 8 months. I think it's reasonable to guesstimate that it takes anywhere from a year to 20 months for any expensive tech to penetrate to a provincial capital from the time it initially arrived in Manila. I tried to buy a Samsung Galaxy Zoom in Dumaguete also, with posters all over and it had been out in Manila for more than a year, none in stock in any of the half dozen stores I asked in. I get all my tech stuff in Manila if I didn't bring it from the US.

I hear ya! I have been to the Mall of Asia in Manila several times. Unfortunately for me a trip to Manila can take up to 8 hours which means an overnight stay, fighting the traffic, etc. MOA is definitely the place to buy the latest and greatest high end tech stuff....... 

[Dave Hounddriver]

If you are not in a hurry you can order from Lazada

http://www.lazada.com.ph/samsung-galaxy-s7-g930fd-32gb-gold-4390316.html/

I bought our Samsung S3 from them.  It is shipped from Hong Kong and Lazada guarantees it is an original Samsung or your money back.  Because of the shipping it takes a couple or 3 weeks to get to you though.

[Nephi]

1 hour ago, Sander Martin said:

Welcome to the Philippines. You asked them the price and they gave you a reply ??.

Exactly. It's a lesson I'm still learning from time to time even after all these years. The land where B does not follow A. Yep, frustrating.

[OnMyWay]

4 hours ago, Mr. Bobo said:

Yes, I did call ahead to make sure that they have the Samsung Galaxy S7 in stock!

In stock at the store or at the warehouse in Manila?  

[Mr. Bobo]

11 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

11 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

In stock at the store or at the warehouse in Manila?  

 

At SM City in Rosales the Guanzon Samsung shop has 3 in stock and they are holding one for me which I am picking up today.

[Mike S]

Com'on guys you've been here long enough to know that every little Podunk store isn't going to carry an item that would take 10 years to sell nor would you or I if we owned the store .... I ordered a processor for my computer 4 years ago that wasn't even available in all of the Philippines but had been out for more than 6 months in the US but the supplier in Manila ordered me one just took 3 weeks to get it ... supply and demand is what it is called in Business 101 .... best to call first (if you know the number) and bring a picture of what you want ... it really helps ....