retail shopping experience in Thailand

[novo58]

Recently the wife needed to buy a new iron . She runs a small laundry service from the house for a solid base group of about 10 customers.

We went to Robinsons to have a look at new irons...................she found the same model that she already had and was happy to buy that.

Being Thai , the wife ( of course) asked for a discount..............and was told ( rightly or not) that the iron was on promotion at 1000B off marked price .

The sales assistant, unpacked the iron, plugged it in , put water in ( for steam spray) and checked that it worked properly.

All good , re-packed the iron , filled in and detached warranty card......................

The wife asked about " any gifts ?????????"

So we went to buy ONE IRON .........................walked out with

one iron PLUS AT NO ADDITIONAL COST

one NEW ironing board apparently comes with the iron

One small pull along vacuum cleaner gift given for buying the iron

one electronic set of scales ( bathroom style) apparently a gift for the falang ( he fat , need to lose weight).

told to bring old iron in and they will see if they can repair it ......UNDER WARRANTY.

All for the cost of one new iron that we were going to buy no matter what .

How do they make a profit ???????

[kannot]

My Wife bought a bag form Robinsons Seacon Square for work about 8000 baht, 3 months later handle broke, she took it back they said pls wait we'll repair it, 6 months later still no bag.

Theyd lost it, they said we'll give you vouchers for 4000 baht for a new bag from only a certain choice of bags not any bag.

In a word they were crap.

[Costas2008]

Wife can read Thai........Farang husband has no idea what is written on sales label.

Farang husband better just pay and stop asking questions how they make money.

[Brit_Doggie]

one electronic set of scales ( bathroom style) apparently a gift for the falang ( he fat , need to lose weight).

their dietry supplements are sky high so now guess again how they make profits hehe.

[novo58]

Wife can read Thai........Farang husband has no idea what is written on sales label.

Farang husband better just pay and stop asking questions how they make money.

Costas.................I ( like many here on TVF) always look forward to reading your totally uniformed comments.

the ONLY sales label was a small shelf style label ( like supermarkets use on shelf facings) with the price and the product ( written in English). In this case it was in a small plastic stand which was sitting on a small stack of boxed up irons.

Costas .....................you are really better off SAYING NOTHING if you have nothing constructive to add to someone's post ( other than your totally un-informed opinions).

Brit_Doggie

Posted 14 minutes ago

one electronic set of scales ( bathroom style) apparently a gift for the falang ( he fat , need to lose weight).

their dietry supplements are sky high so now guess again how they make profits hehe.

AND BRIT ............................where anywhere have I stated that I want , need or will buy any Dietary ( use spellcheck in future) supplements.

By the way the last time I checked TEFAL ( who make the iron ) DO NOT SELL dietary supplements.................so where do you make any such connection.

Again , like Costas ....................Brit Doggie if you cannot ADD useful information to a post............why bother saying anything at all. By all means have you ill-informed , unintelligent opinion -------------------------BUT KEEP IT TO YOURSELF.

[Soutpeel]

yes but your know those "freebies" your wife got, were "freebies" given to Robinson's as promotional items, so not costing them anything, further THB 1000 discount was on a further mark up over and above the true retail price so in other words you "paid" for those"freebies"

Retail price = THB 2000, Price on the shelf THB 4000 with a THB 1000 discount and throw in a few promotional items which they go for free anyway, and the store made an additional THB 1000 on the deal above their profit margin and you think your Mrs has got a good deal...

Everyone's a winner

[Aussieroaming]

Awesome, I've never had an issue using Robinson's.

[novo58]

@ Soutpeel

after 30 years as a hospitality manager........................I think I know how retail mark up works, and promotional items.

Now if they gave away a FREE T-SHIRT your method applies .........................or other NON SALEABLE ITEM.

BUT the additional items, vacuum cleaner, bathroom scales, ironing board .........................are all SALEable items off the sales floor, all with marked retail prices. They are part of the TRADING STOCK which would be included in any stocktake of saleable items

So , in my hospitality background ................its like you come in to buy a carton of beer and I GIVE you a packet of cigarettes and a small bottle of scotch as well.

The ONLY thing this does is REDUCE the profit to very little as I now have to cover the cost of the additional items. I would have had to BUY the cigarettes and small btl of scotch into the business .....................they WERE NOT given to me free by the supplier of the beer.

Just as an aside ...............soutpeel

It appeared to me that the sales assistant WAS NOT a Robinsons employee but rather employed by TEFAL ( perhaps as an agent or on commission basis) so was DEFINITELY NOT giving away promotional items from Robinsons.

[lopburi3]

It would make more sense if a make/model of iron was provided (and better yet the price also). This appears to be a very expensive purchase for what most of use would spend on an iron. Irons are normally less than 1000 baht total where I (and suspect most readers) shop.

[Jai Dee]

One flame post has been removed from this thread.

Edit: Actually a number of posts and replies have been removed.

Edited March 26, 2015 by Scott

[seajae]

@ Soutpeel

after 30 years as a hospitality manager........................I think I know how retail mark up works, and promotional items.

Now if they gave away a FREE T-SHIRT your method applies .........................or other NON SALEABLE ITEM.

BUT the additional items, vacuum cleaner, bathroom scales, ironing board .........................are all SALEable items off the sales floor, all with marked retail prices. They are part of the TRADING STOCK which would be included in any stocktake of saleable items

So , in my hospitality background ................its like you come in to buy a carton of beer and I GIVE you a packet of cigarettes and a small bottle of scotch as well.

The ONLY thing this does is REDUCE the profit to very little as I now have to cover the cost of the additional items. I would have had to BUY the cigarettes and small btl of scotch into the business .....................they WERE NOT given to me free by the supplier of the beer.

Just as an aside ...............soutpeel

It appeared to me that the sales assistant WAS NOT a Robinsons employee but rather employed by TEFAL ( perhaps as an agent or on commission basis) so was DEFINITELY NOT giving away promotional items from Robinsons.

Tefal, sounds like the same iron my wife bought, free ironing board and its a really good one designed for the iron, a free vacum cleaner, again a really top mdel plus a few other bits and pieces(no scales though. The difference is that she bought it at Sirisin, it was a few thousand baht cheaper than the one at Robinsons (even with the offered the discount). Robinsons have a very big mark up and you need to do your homework before going there, admittedly we do buy from them as they sell quality usually but their prices can be a touch high. Our ironing board and vac were sent direct from Tefal too, not from the store, bloody great iron too.

[rgs2001uk]

Asking for discount in Robinsons, nice one will need to get the wife trained up.

What free stuff comes with it, even better, are there courses available in Thailand I can send the mrs to, preferably in Bkk and not upcountry.

[Rimmer]

Some bickering and baiting posts have been removed also quoted replies to them

[kkerry]

How much was the original price of the iron?

[Soutpeel]

How much was the original price of the iron?

around THB 9,000 or there about's

[Rancid]

So the OPs pleasant shopping story he been cut to threads as him being another gullible faring being ripped off.

Nothing like bringing a little joy to someone's day ,eh?

[Soutpeel]

So the OPs pleasant shopping story he been cut to threads as him being another gullible faring being ripped off.

Nothing like bringing a little joy to someone's day ,eh?

No the OP's post was cut to shreds because of his rude and arrogant responses to various posters who were making some light hearted comments and ribbing. which resulted him going off the deep end and ranting

Cant call it ripping off per se, any who has spend any time in Thailand knows the likes of Robinson's and central department store sell the more expensive stuff, granted the stuff is typically of higher quality, but at the same time there will be bigger margins as well, could the find the same product cheaper else where most likely.

[phoenixdoglover]

Your wife is in the wrong business. She should be a "personal shopper".

[NancyL]

I hate to burst the OP's bubble, but if this is one of those professional grade irons where the water is stored in a tank and not on the back of the iron, then normally the ironing board is provided with the iron -- and it's a darn good ironing board. At least that's the "tradition" in Thailand.

My mother had did advanced graduate level studies in "home management" in the U.S. in the 1940s and her specialty was laundry rooms. Honest to God. This was cutting edge stuff in the 1940s. I grew up in a home where the laundry room was just off the main living area and was bigger than any of the bedrooms. Needless to say it was a home that she and my equally strange Dad had custom-built in the 1960s.

Anyway, some of this has rubbed off. When I came to Thailand and saw the ironing rigs the professional laundry ladies used, I knew I just had to get a top-of-the line step-up out of memory to dear old Mom.

Ours came from Central Dept Store (sister store to Robinsons) from Philips. Cost about 15,000 baht a few years ago. I asked for and received the ironing board, but it didn't occur to me to ask for a bathroom scale, microwave or big screen TV. (Frankly, the bathroom scale could have been left over from their New Year's 2-for-1 promotion)

A couple years ago, it got where the iron wouldn't shut off automatically. The only way to shut it off was to unplug it. Hubby took it into Central's repair place and even though it was out-of-warranty, they repaired it for free. Even though they asked him "do you ever put too much water in it?" and he said "well, yes, maybe sometimes" they repaired it for free. They just said "stop putting too much water in it"

Central is Number One in our book as a place to buy appliances and this iron is a great way to remember Mom every time we iron. Especially since we finally got a big wide-screen TV at Central and now Hubby can really enjoy his daily ironing chores in front of that TV.

Edited March 23, 2015 by NancyL

[TacoHell]

I am in the retail business here, and we get tons of "saleable" items for free. Items we and others regularly sell for 1500-2000THB marked on the shelf. These are good selling quality products and all profit. We can offer these as bonus items to customers on some purchases and it does not matter to our P/L because COGS is 0.

[StefanBBK]

We all know nothing is really free. If extras are given away, then somehow the cost is priced in. The extras seem to be quite valuable, as we judge by their usual sales price. The cost is a fraction of it.

I noticed the practice of free gifts is quite widely spread in Asia. To buy a TV and not getting a discount and a DVD player or more is unheard off. We have quite a few spare things under the stairs, free rice cookers, umbrellas, etc. Some items quite useful and good quality,others best described as obscure.

I am with Costas, letting the wife do the talking. Usually she states that Hubby want buy if no discount and freebie. ...

Even online you get extras. See pic below.

Also OP needs to review his attitude towards other posters. This is not a deadly serious topic for many.

[NancyL]

Yes, the practice of giving of giving of "free merchandise" when shopping is widely practiced here, especially in mid-level and above stores. I never forget the first time I experienced it as a newbie a generation ago, when the young women still were taught grace and manners as part of the public school curriculum. I bought a minor appliance, like a curling iron and the sales clerk made such an elegant production of presenting me with a watch, I thought it was a Rolex. She was just so delighted that she was able to give it to me and personally put it on my wrist. Of course now, they don't really care and just chuck it in the bag with your purchase.

Anyway, whenever I buy more than a few items at Tops, it's always my standard practice to go to the customer service counter to inquire as to what freebies I can receive. There's always sometimes. Food storage containers, towels, coffee mugs. Something. Sure most have advertising on them, but sometimes I score something nice. What we can't use, I put in the "recycle" area by the trash pick-up of our condo. This is where the condo staff picks up the empty bottles, cardboard, etc from the residents for sale. The little items I get from Tops always disappear and I've seen some of them in use in the little restaurant in the condo lobby.

Edited March 24, 2015 by NancyL

[Rooo]

Baiting & trolling posts removed.

[Rooo]

I really do not see the point in continuing this topic. Members go out of their way to alienate a newish member & when a justified reply is given after being ridiculed, persistent off topic & trollish posts made.

Some of the seasoned members should be ashamed.

TOPIC CLOSED.