Sony Store

Rockshamrover

I called into the Sony shop the other day to get a price for an adapter cable for my Vaio laptop as the old one was broken.

I was told by the shop assistant it would be €150.00.

Went online today and found a UK site that sells the adapter for my particular laptop for £26.90 and £12.90 delivery.

That's at least 50% cheaper.


http://smart-parts.net/

topper75

At least.

rubadub

Rockshamrover wrote: »

I was told by the shop assistant it would be €150.00.

In my place we call that a "f*ck off price". Some see it as better than refusing to help you at all, so if somebody is insistant on wanting something that is not particularly easy or viable for you to supply you give a very high price to cover all the inconvenience. It could cost them a lot in admin etc to order in a one-off special item like this.

Sometimes I have to hound companies until they give me a f*ck off price, since I have to get various quotes due to paperwork/internal systems.

If somebody bites and actually pays it then you are happy enough, and the customer should be too, as they were perfectly free to tell me to f-off too!

topper75

Not a good business model when you are competing with e-commerce though in the long run. I mean if shops offer anything these days, it is customer service. When they no longer offer that....

The admin overhead on the one-off item needs to be charged (mentally rather than on the books!) against long term customer loyalty.

jmayo

rubadub wrote: »

In my place we call that a "f*ck off price". Some see it as better than refusing to help you at all, so if somebody is insistant on wanting something that is not particularly easy or viable for you to supply you give a very high price to cover all the inconvenience. It could cost them a lot in admin etc to order in a one-off special item like this.

...

It could cost them a lot in admin, etc.
How much do you pay admin staf fin your place.
That has to be one of the most pathetic excuses for excessive overcharging I have come across.
As someone that setup a inventory and purchasing system for a company it is a joke if it would take the amount of the overcharge to purchase a one off item.
Most purchasing and inventory systems allow new parts setup in a matter of minutes and even the receipt of miscellaneous parts.

And seeing as they are a Sony dealer then they should probably have a stock of the most obvious Vaio replacement parts already on their systems.

rubadub

topper75 wrote: »

Not a good business model when you are competing with e-commerce though in the long run.

Many know they cannot compete with e-commerce, esp. on items like this. People go browsing for TVs etc and will pay more, they do not really browse for the likes of adaptors. Also I do not think we are comparing like with like here, the website linked to seems to have generic adaptors these can cost FAR less than official Sony ones. And I expect the Sony store will only be dealing with branded sony goods. A better comparison would be a generic one in peats or maplins, or else how much a official Sony one would cost from a reputable online store.

topper75 wrote: »

The admin overhead on the one-off item needs to be charged (mentally rather than on the books!) against long term customer loyalty.

Indeed, and they probably have figured this out. In my place we do often sell certain items at a loss to keep big customers happy, who will offset this loss with high purchasing of our standard off the shelf units. I bet if he was getting a big plasma at the same time it might have been cheaper.

jmayo wrote: »

It could cost them a lot in admin, etc.
How much do you pay admin staf fin your place.

I am told it costs at on average €25 per transaction. That is just the admin side for an off the shelf part. With other orders there can be 3-4 people involved, I have to cost up jobs and it is surprising to many people the real cost. e.g. we might get a request for a part so I ask a machinist how long it will take "ahh, about 5 minutes", so I would say "grand, I'll be back in 10minutes to get 2, theres a customer in reception", then I get the REAL reply, "ah jaysus, hang on, I have to fill out the form and give it get the parts from Mick, have to get john to get them from stores, set up my machine, do my spares checklist, etc" the lists go on and on, especially for non-standard stuff. If I had to order in an off the shelf part from another company for £40 from a UK site to sell on (like in this case) we would probably be asking for more than €150 (and this is not the sony branded one.). In many cases we just tell customers to go direct to the likes of radionics/farnell etc and even tell them the part number they need.

If they charged him cost price it could still have been far cheaper online, and he could be on moaning that he paid €70 and could have got it cheaper online. I still view is as an F-Off price, which is a sort of polite way of saying you will get it cheaper elsewhere and sorry but we are not interested in your business since we can probably not do it for a reasonable price. If they could they probably would.

Also the last place I would have gone is the sony store! I would expect them to be extremely expensive for an item like that. It would be like going to Weirs for a replacement battery for a Seiko watch, and them insisting on an original seiko replacement to be ordered in, when you can get 30 in a pack for €2 in a €2 shop.

Rockshamrover

rubadub wrote: »

Many know they cannot compete with e-commerce, esp. on items like this. People go browsing for TVs etc and will pay more, they do not really browse for the likes of adaptors. Also I do not think we are comparing like with like here, the website linked to seems to have generic adaptors these can cost FAR less than official Sony ones. And I expect the Sony store will only be dealing with branded sony goods. A better comparison would be a generic one in peats or maplins, or else how much a official Sony one would cost from a reputable online store.


Indeed, and they probably have figured this out. In my place we do often sell certain items at a loss to keep big customers happy, who will offset this loss with high purchasing of our standard off the shelf units. I bet if he was getting a big plasma at the same time it might have been cheaper.


I am told it costs at on average €25 per transaction. That is just the admin side for an off the shelf part. With other orders there can be 3-4 people involved, I have to cost up jobs and it is surprising to many people the real cost. e.g. we might get a request for a part so I ask a machinist how long it will take "ahh, about 5 minutes", so I would say "grand, I'll be back in 10minutes to get 2, theres a customer in reception", then I get the REAL reply, "ah jaysus, hang on, I have to fill out the form and give it get the parts from Mick, have to get john to get them from stores, set up my machine, do my spares checklist, etc" the lists go on and on, especially for non-standard stuff. If I had to order in an off the shelf part from another company for £40 from a UK site to sell on (like in this case) we would probably be asking for more than €150 (and this is not the sony branded one.). In many cases we just tell customers to go direct to the likes of radionics/farnell etc and even tell them the part number they need.

If they charged him cost price it could still have been far cheaper online, and he could be on moaning that he paid €70 and could have got it cheaper online. I still view is as an F-Off price, which is a sort of polite way of saying you will get it cheaper elsewhere and sorry but we are not interested in your business since we can probably not do it for a reasonable price. If they could they probably would.

Also the last place I would have gone is the sony store! I would expect them to be extremely expensive for an item like that. It would be like going to Weirs for a replacement battery for a Seiko watch, and them insisting on an original seiko replacement to be ordered in, when you can get 30 in a pack for €2 in a €2 shop.

I would imagine Sony have sold millions of Vaio laptops, maybe 10 perent of these need replacement parts every year. That's a massive market to ignore. I would be very surprised if your F**K O*F policy is an actual Sony store official policy.

I do agree with you on paying more for branded goods. I would think 25% more for a branded item would be reasonable.

So does this go down as a genuine rip off?

seithon

When I was working for Sony the Adapaters were expensive, more so then the 26 you were quoted I'd be worried that the one you found in the Uk might be a generic or knock off one.

god's toy

Funny, I got my hands on the new x series walkman from a SC for 339, Argos has it for 399!... just shows you they are not the worst all the times.

Rockshamrover

seithon wrote: »

When I was working for Sony the Adapaters were expensive, more so then the 26 you were quoted I'd be worried that the one you found in the Uk might be a generic or knock off one.

At the end of the day the official Sony one broke after 18 months use so I don't fancy paying another €150.00 for something that isn't exactly stellar quality.

The one I ordered is generic and they are a UK company so I am not to worried:)

I was looking around a few American sites and they have Sony adapters for $30 to $50.

Thanks

Rockshamrover

god's toy wrote: »

Funny, I got my hands on the new x series walkman from a SC for 339, Argos has it for 399!... just shows you they are not the worst all the times.

How many GB is your one? They look the biz:D

god's toy

Rockshamrover wrote: »

How many GB is your one? They look the biz:D

32 Yep they are the biz, really (and I mean REALLY) good sound and slick UI. So worth it!

jmayo

rubadub wrote: »

...
...

I am told it costs at on average €25 per transaction. That is just the admin side for an off the shelf part. With other orders there can be 3-4 people involved, I have to cost up jobs and it is surprising to many people the real cost. e.g. we might get a request for a part so I ask a machinist how long it will take "ahh, about 5 minutes", so I would say "grand, I'll be back in 10minutes to get 2, theres a customer in reception", then I get the REAL reply, "ah jaysus, hang on, I have to fill out the form and give it get the parts from Mick, have to get john to get them from stores, set up my machine, do my spares checklist, etc" the lists go on and on, especially for non-standard stuff. If I had to order in an off the shelf part from another company for £40 from a UK site to sell on (like in this case) we would probably be asking for more than €150 (and this is not the sony branded one.). In many cases we just tell customers to go direct to the likes of radionics/farnell etc and even tell them the part number they need.

...

Hang on you are now mentioning parts that need machining, that is a whole different kettle of fish.
This isn't a part that needs machining, it isn't a part that other Sony stores somewhere in the Sony store network would probably not have ordered at some stage.
Are Sony Stores all linked to an Irish Sony Distributor ?
No wonder Irish high street electronic and electrical have such a pure reputation. :rolleyes:

BTW can you tell us where you are working, because I would want to seriously avoid, since you are pushing such a high markup on UK ordered parts

rubadub

jmayo wrote: »

Hang on you are now mentioning parts that need machining, that is a whole different kettle of fish.

Yes, I was explaining that the process is not always as simple as people think, even the people who have to do it (i.e. the machinist who said "5 minutes")

I also said "If I had to order in an off the shelf part from another company for £40 from a UK site to sell on (like in this case) we would probably be asking for more than €150". I would not have expected them to stock adaptors for laptops. I also would not go to dell for spares, you can get generics and genuine replacements (e.g. motherboards) for a fraction of the cost from 3rd party places. I suppose they are trying to take advantage of "technophobes" who would not know what to look for. The OP went and found it cheap online, I am surprised he even went to the sony store. Dunno if he is a regular here but I would have thought anybody who has glanced at the ripoff forum would know to go online for stuff like that.

Are Sony Stores all linked to an Irish Sony Distributor ?

I hear they are franchises, and I think they guys who own peats own them. I was surprised, I always thought sony owned them and that they were sort of considered show rooms, they are usually quite roomy & well laid out. I would go to view there and then buy in power city! like I know girls who go to BT to test perfumes etc, then buy in the pharmacy next to them.

Rockshamrover

rubadub wrote: »

Yes, I was explaining that the process is not always as simple as people think, even the people who have to do it (i.e. the machinist who said "5 minutes")

I also said "If I had to order in an off the shelf part from another company for £40 from a UK site to sell on (like in this case) we would probably be asking for more than €150". I would not have expected them to stock adaptors for laptops. I also would not go to dell for spares, you can get generics and genuine replacements (e.g. motherboards) for a fraction of the cost from 3rd party places. I suppose they are trying to take advantage of "technophobes" who would not know what to look for. The OP went and found it cheap online, I am surprised he even went to the sony store. Dunno if he is a regular here but I would have thought anybody who has glanced at the ripoff forum would know to go online for stuff like that.

I hear they are franchises, and I think they guys who own peats own them. I was surprised, I always thought sony owned them and that they were sort of considered show rooms, they are usually quite roomy & well laid out. I would go to view there and then buy in power city! like I know girls who go to BT to test perfumes etc, then buy in the pharmacy next to them.

Yes, I am a regular here. I usually buy my tech stuff online. In this instance I was out in Dundrum on another mission. So I called in expecting to pay maybe €50.00. This would have been a borderline reasonable price in my opinion.

I posted here so that other boardies could avoid this potential rip off (It's only a rip off if you buy it)

Sony are great for the big stuff, quality products at fair prices but not so good on Adapters.

Guy:Incognito

Rockshamrover wrote: »

The one I ordered is generic and they are a UK company so I am not to worried:)

Thats not comparing like for like though is it?

I used to work in an electronics store. We sold generic camcorder adapters for a lot less than ordering a the OEM one from Sony. Wasnt really the same thing though.


Getting Sony's help if he generic one does damage will be impossible too.

Rockshamrover

Thanks for those words of wisdom.

Rockshamrover

Just an update on this.

I have had my replacement adapter for over a week now. Running perfectly, no issues. Cue doom merchants.

The moral of the story is, shop around and don't be a mug.

Now all I need is a product that gets rid of the smell of burning rubber:D

Rockshamrover

Rockshamrover wrote: »

Just an update on this.

I have had my replacement adapter for over a week now. Running perfectly, no issues. Cue doom merchants.

The moral of the story is, shop around and don't be a mug.

Now all I need is a product that gets rid of the smell of burning
rubber:D

Still working;)