Unfortunate

[100 Percent]

CPAPcom clearly states on their website that they offer 100% price guarantee. This is a quote from their website:

CPAPcom 100% Price Protection
We want you to be confident that when you shop with us, you are receiving the best value available. If within 7 days of your CPAPcom purchase your item goes on sale or you spot an online or retail competitor with a lower price on the exact item, let us know and we will credit you the difference.
Lower prices include published prices or price lists emailed to customers of minimum advertised price restricted online or retailer competitors. Auction websites and websites that do not regularly answer their telephones during normal business hours are excluded from this guarantee.



This is not true. They do not offer the price guarantee for certain products.
Despite explicitly stating that they guarantee pricing, they do not. Pathetic. Shameful. Dishonest.

I would warn anyone purchasing supplies from CPAPcom to reconsider other more honest retailers.

[Goofproof]

And youhave no proof or is it too much trouble to document. Jim

[brucifer]

I'm with Goofproof, you have only made accusations and have provided no proof. If you're not going to provide evidence, then it would better that you hold your peace altogether.

[carolyngoodman]

Howdy,

Another cpaptalker originally marked this post as spam when it was first posted by an unregistered user. I was just about to bring it back and respond when I saw you registered and reposted the same post.

Thank you for registering for the forum. 

I just talked with our Customer Service Manager, who believes she just talked with you. I believe you have not made a purchase and were looking to purchase from us.

The product you want price matched is a product that is controlled by a manufacturer price policy. If you see this product for less, they are selling it for below the price the manufacturer dictates that we sell it for. We are not allowed to sell the product for below that price.

I am sorry we cannot match the price for that product. Believe me, we would love your business and I would like nothing more than to match their price.

Our hands are tied by the manufacturer. You can read about manufacturer pricing policies in many posts on this forum from other CPAPtalkers. 

These policies also usually include a clause that says we cannot actually say the products are under a pricing policy. This is why that is not included on the price match policy. 

I am sorry you were upset by this, it was not meant to mislead you. We used to include a part that referenced these policies, and it was requested by a manufacturer to be removed. 

After this, I am going to update it with a more general statement to refer to this type of situation.

Regards,
Carolyn Goodman
Marketing Manager, CPAP.com

[Pugsy]

Thanks Carolyn,

Pretty much confirms what I had thought had happened. I wouldn't be surprised if the manufacturer in question begins with a R and ends with a D.

[brucifer]

It is unfortunate how some manufacturers price fix. It hurts the honest retailers who are abiding by their contract terms, and it puts them in an awkward situation with their customers and potential customers as it has done here. I bought a weather station a few years ago, and I was surprised to see that several online retailers had a Call for Price option for the product. When I called, I found out that the actual sales price was much lower than the advertised prices I had seen elsewhere. I was told that they were not allowed to advertise a price lower than retail. Geeeez, what happened to the good old days when retailers could sell and price products at their own discretion?

[nanwilson]

It was me, I reported it as spam. I noticed 2 posts exactly the same this morning by two different names, one was CPAPLIES and SHAME. I figured it was our "friend" trying to start another thread to discredit our hosts and us. Since I believe, as do the rest of us, that Cpap.com is the best site available to supply anyone that has sleep apnea and definitely the best forum for us to give and receive help, I reported it as spam. I apologize to the Goodmans and the rest of you for being too speedy on the spam trigger finger.
Cheers
Nan

[chunkyfrog]

One cannot expect a legitimate retailer to match an "illegal" price and maintain a supply line from the manufacturer.
If one chooses to patronize a seller with the non-sanctioned low price, he/she does so at their own risk.
Good luck with that.

[carolyngoodman]

Nanwilson - That is no problem. No reason to apologize. I am glad you like CPAPtalk. I mentioned the other posts, so 100 Percent knew that we did not remove the original posts out of censorship. Free speech is a corner stone of this forum and that includes posts that are critical of CPAP.com. It allows us to address issues and ultimately fix problems.

100 Percent - I am sorry you felt mislead, that was not our intention. We have updated our Price Match Policy to include a new paragraph at the bottom. We will see how long this wording holds.

- Carolyn Goodman

[100 Percent]

Good afternoon.

I am sorry to report that although reasonable, as I understand certain manufacturers engage in illegal price fixing, your explanation for not honoring your printed 100% price match guarantee is unacceptable.

If you make a claim, stand by it. If you need to, modify the terms of your guarantee to prevent further confusion. Anything less is dishonest, and it is why I will not deal with your company.

As for me, I'll take my business elsewhere.

[squid13]

As for me, I'll take my business elsewhere.

Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

[Uncle_Bob]

I'm glad I'm Resmed free. It certainly makes things easier and cheaper

[BlackSpinner]

Good afternoon.

I am sorry to report that although reasonable, as I understand certain manufacturers engage in illegal price fixing, your explanation for not honoring your printed 100% price match guarantee is unacceptable.

If you make a claim, stand by it. If you need to, modify the terms of your guarantee to prevent further confusion. Anything less is dishonest, and it is why I will not deal with your company.

As for me, I'll take my business elsewhere.

Good riddance. Expecting a company to do illegal stuff means you would be a crappy customer and a waste of time.

[TalonNYC]

I'm a Mac guy (yes, it's a cult, we have jackets and special badges) and run into this all the time. Apple, as you may know, sets minimum prices that retailers are bound to for as long as that particular piece of hardware is available for sale from Apple themselves. That's why you never see huge sales on *current* Apple gear. It sucks, but there is a flipside that at least I know I'm not going to find out it's on sale for 1/2 price the day after I bought it. Apple also doesn't publicize the fact that they price fix, but I've never seen them go so far as to break a vendor who tried to tell anyone about it. R****D seems to be going even farther than Cupertino - which is saying a lot!

I have seen Apple gear advertised below market on some sites. The horror stories about counterfeit goods, refurbished models sold as new and tons of other shenanigans would make your hair stand on end. If an offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

I dislike this price fixing (let's call it what it is) but it is most definitely not our host's fault. They're bound by the rules just like every other manufacturer. They *will* and do price-match to any vendors legitimate sales price. It isn't their fault a vendor is either shilling used/counterfeit goods as new, or just stupidly risking their ability to ever sell R****D goods if the company finds out (because they broke their sales contract terms). They'll still match the *real* sale price on 100% of their items.

Nope, it's not fair at all, to you or our host. But that's how this end of the retail game works. Also, our hosts are not the only game in town.

They are, however, my choice for anything that I am not forced to buy from my DME due to insurance reasons. Those who know me will tell you that's saying something indeed. I don't pick online vendors quickly or easily. Those I find that I trust, I keep.

[100 Percent]

Thanks TalonNYC for at least understanding the topic...I was beginning to lose my faith in humanity.

And yes...price fixing is what is going on...it is shameful if not illegal...and the only person it seems to hurt is the consumer.

My gripe with CPAPcom is the fact that they advertize a 100% price guarantee, yet they do not stand by that statement. They should (and have decided to according to the comment from their marketing director above) revise their guarantee to include clear language about limitations of that guarantee. As a consumer, if I can't trust the validity of an online retailers 'guarantee' then how am I supposed to trust them with my money?

Honestly CPAPcom has lost an opportunity to gain a customer, and they are hiding behind and scapegoating the manufacturer. The manufacturer forces their hand in what they can charge, but the manufacturer did not write their price match guarantee. They should have eaten the $30 bucks as a loss and gained a customer for life...instead they chose to be short sighted and lose a customer.

A particularly NOISY customer.

And...one who has been using a BROKEN MASK for a few days now and is not as friendly as one who is getting his proper sleep.