JORGENSEN Clamps

"<<<___ Bob ___>>>" <[email protected]> wrote:


>Woodcraft promoted this as a retailer .. .. NOT Jorgensen .. .. I have to
>question the motives of any retailer who stocks 5 minutes worth of a high-demand
>item thinking it would be adequate for a day-long sale .. .. ..

First of all, where does this 5 minutes come from? My order, dated
00:29:24 is shipping. Second, Woodcraft clearly misjudged the demand,
but to attribute such ulterior motives as many have is pretty
unfounded. They say that they sold a 5 years' worth of normal volume
in less than one hour, so it's hardly like they planned to "stock only
5 minutes' worth".


>WOODCRAFT CORPORATION in general .. .. .. it was a scam from the beginning .. ..
>.. they KNEW they couldn't meet the demand but they continued with the scam.
I disagree.

>They even sent me an e-mail at 7:00AM "ANNOUNCING" the big sale !! !! !!
That is poor performance, and customers who missed the sale have a
right to be pissed about that.


>> So you missed your chance for cheap clamps. There weren't very many to
>> go around and there was a lot of demand. Why do you have to blame
>> someone? Have some imagination and sympathy, smile and move on.
>
>I didn't simply "MISS" a good deal as on e-Bay or something .. .. .. we were all
>scammed into believing this was a legitimate SALE, which it obviously was not ..
>.. .. it was a scam .. pure & simple.

You're wrong. Mine will be here Tuesday. I'm not saying that to rub
your nose in it, but rather to say that your claim that it was a scam
is unfounded.

I'm sorry you didn't get the deal you wanted. Suck it up and move on.
--
Alex
Make the obvious change in the return address to reply by email.

I think he means under the order history.

"Mike in Mystic" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hey Bob,
>
> Not sure what's up with that. I got the normal "Purchase Confirmation"
> message and an order # reference, as well as the email to confirm my
> purchase. As far as I can tell it's a done deal, with no "order approval"
> pending. Did you use a new credit card or something that might cause a
> hiccup?
>
> I have no less than 5 direct relatives that are attorney's, so if they try
> to BS their way out of giving me the clamps after confirming my order,
> they'll be hearing from someone hehe. Honestly, I've never had even one
> problem with ordering from WC, so I don't expect anything to go wrong.
>
> Mike
>
>
> "bob" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > So did mine. Order status is "waiting for order approval". See my post
> for
> > more details.
> >
> > Bob
> >
> > "Bob Gramza" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> > news:[email protected]...
> > >
> > > "Rob V" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> > > news:[email protected]...
> > > > Who got them?
> > > >
> > > > Looks like there site was pretty much pegged!!
> > > > I was able to finally get my order thru - I guess Ill find out if it
> > > > actually went thru if they show up in a few days.
> > > >
> > > > Good luck to all.
> > > > -Rob
> > > >
> > > >
> > > My order went thru....
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
>
>

So did mine. Order status is "waiting for order approval". See my post for
more details.

Bob

"Bob Gramza" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "Rob V" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > Who got them?
> >
> > Looks like there site was pretty much pegged!!
> > I was able to finally get my order thru - I guess Ill find out if it
> > actually went thru if they show up in a few days.
> >
> > Good luck to all.
> > -Rob
> >
> >
> My order went thru....
>
>

>
> But probably not too late to negotiate more at the sale price so that
> they could back order for customers.
>

It is likely that Adjustable is giving these clamps to the retailers. All
the proceeds from the sale are probably going to Woodcraft, and I suspect
they did not spend a dime for the merchandise. I cannot imagine that
Woodcraft's margin is more than the approx. 57.5% discount (base on 36"
model) given on these clamps. Given that, what leverage do you think
Woodcraft had to demand more (free merchandise)?

Cheers,
Eric

Now .. to add insult to injury .. .. .. I just received this "SHIPPING
CONFIRMATION"

We have shipped your Order Number 2990XXX

You may check on the status of your order from our web site,
http://www.woodcraft.com using the Order History tab.
If the carrier (FedEx, USPS, etc.) offers online tracking, you'll
find a link to your shipment on this page.

Questions? For an explanation of Invoice Codes, Shipping Methods,
Tracking Options see our help page at http://www.woodcraft.com
respond to this e-mail or call 800-535-4482.
Woodcraft Customer Service

Invoice Number: 3495XXX


Invoice Date: 10/17/03

SHIP TO
PRODUCT NUMBER/ (SEE QUANTITY QUANTITY UNIT
DESCRIPTION BELOW) ORDERED SHIPPED PRICE STATUS

145324 1 4 0 14.99 ITEM CANCELED
CABINET MASTER 24"
145336 1 4 0 16.99 ITEM CANCELED
CABINET MASTER 36INCH
145348 1 4 0 17.99 ITEM CANCELED
CABINET MASTER 48 INCH

Merchandise Net: 0.00

Tax Amt: 0.00
Shipping Amt: 0.00

Total Amt: 0.00

Payments:
Balance: 0.00


WHAT A BUNCH OF BOZO's !! !! !!

Used to be, I'd go out of my way to visit a Woodcraft store if I drove
anywhere near one .. .. .. now I doubt I'd go there ever again .. .. ..

If this marketing scheme was supposed to bring them store loyalty or any
increase in business, I fear they sorely failed .. .. ..

I was online at 12:00 midnight just waiting for the new prices to show up
.. .. .. as soon as they did, I placed my order .. .. it was accepted and
confirmed, but by 5:00 AM it was "CANCELED" and now, the "CANCELED" order
has been shipped !! !! !! I don't think I want to be doing business with
a company that's run like this .. .. .. they have surely strengthened my
"STORE LOYALTY" .. .. .. I'll pay a bit more and stick with Highland
Hardware for B&M or AMAZON.COM for mail-order .. .. .. Woodcraft can go
scratch .. .. .. they've seen the last of my money .. .. ..



Abe wrote:

> In article <[email protected]>,
> [email protected] says...
> > > Who got them?
> >
> > Uh, I did - walked into my local Woodcraft at about 11:00 am
> > and they had one box of 24" (2 clamps) and 3 boxes of "36" -
> > so I got the 24's and two boxes of the 36's. The guy said
> > it was zoo this morning. People were waiting. Good for them -
> > more business to the store - most of these are franchises
> > and anything to get more help to the store's would be
> > great. Tho, not sure how much 'ancillary' business they
> > got tho. After spending $100 or so for my clamps - I didn't
> > pick up anything else.
> >
> > The area woodshow is in a couple of weeks - will load up on
> > Bessy's then, from one vendor or another.
>
> That's my plan too. I got an order in online last night, then received
> a "shipping confirmation" email today that gave ZERO as the quantities
> being shipped. Bastards. If I'd known they were going to cancel my
> order I'd have stepped out from work this morning to visit the local
> store. Anyway, having used both I'd say the Besseys are quite a bit
> better (though certainly not twice as good, which was the price
> difference for a brief instant), and for a tool with about a 20 year
> expected life the extra $$ for the Besseys isn't that big a deal.
>
> Still, the pump-fake ordering shenanigan -- and especially the harpoon-
> twisting "shipping confirmation" -- has really pissed me off. No more
> business for Woodcraft!
>
> Cheers,
> Abe
>
> --
> A numeral would be more efficient than spelling out "ONE" in an email
> addy, don't you think?

--
I AM NOT PARANOID .. .. .. but EVERYONE thinks I am !! !! !!

<<<__ Bob __>>>

<<<___ Bob ___>>> wrote:
> Used to be, I'd go out of my way to visit a Woodcraft store if I drove
> anywhere near one .. .. .. now I doubt I'd go there ever again ..

This must be why so many other retailers passed on the opportunity to
offer the promotion: idiot customers will blame retailers for something
that was obviously beyond their control.

> If this marketing scheme was supposed to bring them store loyalty or any
> increase in business, I fear they sorely failed .. .. ..

If was Jorgenson's marketing scheme, not Woodcraft's. Woodcraft
management has hinted more than once that they weren't looking forward
to this and wished the whole thing would just go away.

> I was online at 12:00 midnight just waiting for the new prices to show up
> .. .. .. as soon as they did, I placed my order .. .. it was accepted and
> confirmed, but by 5:00 AM it was "CANCELED" and now, the "CANCELED" order
> has been shipped !! !! !! I don't think I want to be doing business with
> a company that's run like this .. .. .. they have surely strengthened my
> "STORE LOYALTY" .. .. .. I'll pay a bit more and stick with Highland
> Hardware for B&M or AMAZON.COM for mail-order .. .. .. Woodcraft can go
> scratch .. .. .. they've seen the last of my money .. .. ..

So who are you really pissed off at? The poor bastard who had to stay up
all night to hand-edit a bunch of orders? The e-commerce system that was
overloaded and unable to handle a large number of simultaneous orders?
Woodcraft's CEO, for not calling you personally to apologize? If you
were in charge what would you have done?

So you missed your chance for cheap clamps. There weren't very many to
go around and there was a lot of demand. Why do you have to blame
someone? Have some imagination and sympathy, smile and move on.

Martin

P.S. Even Amazon's system, probably the most heavily invested
direct-to-consumer ecommerce technology in the world, was not able to
handle the clamp sale gracefully, and some people had their orders
cancelled.

Martin Frankel wrote:

> This must be why so many other retailers passed on the opportunity to
> offer the promotion: idiot customers will blame retailers for something
> that was obviously beyond their control.

Where did you or anyone hear that "OTHER" retailers passed on this deal ?? ??
?? I'd like to know why you consider me and others to be idiots .. .. AND why
do you think for a moment that this was beyond their control ?? ?? ?? WOODCRAFT
orchestrated this "SALE" .. .. .. they bought stock of an item, they negotiated
pricing with their vendor, they initiated this huge sale promotion, they wouldn't
deliver. What part of this process was beyond their control ?? ?? ??

> If was Jorgenson's marketing scheme, not Woodcraft's. Woodcraft
> management has hinted more than once that they weren't looking forward
> to this and wished the whole thing would just go away.

Woodcraft promoted this as a retailer .. .. NOT Jorgensen .. .. I have to
question the motives of any retailer who stocks 5 minutes worth of a high-demand
item thinking it would be adequate for a day-long sale .. .. ..

>
>
>
>
> So who are you really pissed off at? The poor bastard who had to stay up
> all night to hand-edit a bunch of orders? The e-commerce system that was
> overloaded and unable to handle a large number of simultaneous orders?
> Woodcraft's CEO, for not calling you personally to apologize? If you
> were in charge what would you have done?

WOODCRAFT CORPORATION in general .. .. .. it was a scam from the beginning .. ..
.. they KNEW they couldn't meet the demand but they continued with the scam.
They even sent me an e-mail at 7:00AM "ANNOUNCING" the big sale !! !! !!

>
>
> So you missed your chance for cheap clamps. There weren't very many to
> go around and there was a lot of demand. Why do you have to blame
> someone? Have some imagination and sympathy, smile and move on.

I didn't simply "MISS" a good deal as on e-Bay or something .. .. .. we were all
scammed into believing this was a legitimate SALE, which it obviously was not ..
.. .. it was a scam .. pure & simple.

>
>
>
>
>

--
I AM NOT PARANOID .. .. .. but EVERYONE thinks I am !! !! !!

<<<__ Bob __>>>

TT <[email protected]> wrote:

>On Sat, 18 Oct 2003 14:13:25 GMT, alexy <[email protected]>
>wrote:
>
>>"<<<___ Bob ___>>>" <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Woodcraft promoted this as a retailer .. .. NOT Jorgensen .. .. I have to
>>>question the motives of any retailer who stocks 5 minutes worth of a high-demand
>>>item thinking it would be adequate for a day-long sale .. .. ..
>>
>>First of all, where does this 5 minutes come from? My order, dated
>>00:29:24 is shipping. Second, Woodcraft clearly misjudged the demand,
>>but to attribute such ulterior motives as many have is pretty
>>unfounded. They say that they sold a 5 years' worth of normal volume
>>in less than one hour, so it's hardly like they planned to "stock only
>>5 minutes' worth".
>
>Agreed - my order was posted at 00:24 and the clamps just arrived 5
>minutes ago via Fed-X. I don't think they counted on the massive
>demand that was created, and even if they had a hint by watching what
>happened with the Amazon sale a few weeks ago, it was probably too
>late to order more from Adjustable.

But probably not too late to negotiate more at the sale price so that
they could back order for customers.

If I were Woodcraft management and could run this sale again with the
benefit of 20-20 hindsight (which many on this thread think they
should have had<g>), I would probably have sold by lottery, on all
orders placed within a 24-hour period. Clear up front that acceptance
or rejection of an order would be random, and would not be known until
Saturday, with orders withdrawable any time before then.
--
Alex
Make the obvious change in the return address to reply by email.

"Eric Lund" <[email protected]> wrote:

>>
>> But probably not too late to negotiate more at the sale price so that
>> they could back order for customers.
>>
>
>It is likely that Adjustable is giving these clamps to the retailers. All
>the proceeds from the sale are probably going to Woodcraft, and I suspect
>they did not spend a dime for the merchandise. I cannot imagine that
>Woodcraft's margin is more than the approx. 57.5% discount (base on 36"
>model) given on these clamps. Given that, what leverage do you think
>Woodcraft had to demand more (free merchandise)?

Yeah. Even have one of those messages that you want to take back as
soon as you hit "send"?<g> This was one for me. While I doubt that the
clamps were free for Woodcraft, I'm sure they were WAY below normal
wholesale, and negotiating greater quantities at that cost would be
difficult if not impossible.

--
Alex
Make the obvious change in the return address to reply by email.

> Who got them?

Uh, I did - walked into my local Woodcraft at about 11:00 am
and they had one box of 24" (2 clamps) and 3 boxes of "36" -
so I got the 24's and two boxes of the 36's. The guy said
it was zoo this morning. People were waiting. Good for them -
more business to the store - most of these are franchises
and anything to get more help to the store's would be
great. Tho, not sure how much 'ancillary' business they
got tho. After spending $100 or so for my clamps - I didn't
pick up anything else.

The area woodshow is in a couple of weeks - will load up on
Bessy's then, from one vendor or another.

MJ Wallace

What specific features, characteristics, etc. do you find better about
the Bessey's?

Renata

On Fri, 17 Oct 2003 22:54:38 GMT, Abe <[email protected]> wrote:
--snip--
> Anyway, having used both I'd say the Besseys are quite a bit
>better (though certainly not twice as good, which was the price
>difference for a brief instant), and for a tool with about a 20 year
>expected life the extra $$ for the Besseys isn't that big a deal.
>
>Still, the pump-fake ordering shenanigan -- and especially the harpoon-
>twisting "shipping confirmation" -- has really pissed me off. No more
>business for Woodcraft!
>
>Cheers,
>Abe

smart, not dumb for email

Mine finally went through, took forever. 12 clamps on their way

hda

"Rob V" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Who got them?
>
> Looks like there site was pretty much pegged!!
> I was able to finally get my order thru - I guess Ill find out if it
> actually went thru if they show up in a few days.
>
> Good luck to all.
> -Rob
>
>

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] says...
> > Who got them?
>
> Uh, I did - walked into my local Woodcraft at about 11:00 am
> and they had one box of 24" (2 clamps) and 3 boxes of "36" -
> so I got the 24's and two boxes of the 36's. The guy said
> it was zoo this morning. People were waiting. Good for them -
> more business to the store - most of these are franchises
> and anything to get more help to the store's would be
> great. Tho, not sure how much 'ancillary' business they
> got tho. After spending $100 or so for my clamps - I didn't
> pick up anything else.
>
> The area woodshow is in a couple of weeks - will load up on
> Bessy's then, from one vendor or another.

That's my plan too. I got an order in online last night, then received
a "shipping confirmation" email today that gave ZERO as the quantities
being shipped. Bastards. If I'd known they were going to cancel my
order I'd have stepped out from work this morning to visit the local
store. Anyway, having used both I'd say the Besseys are quite a bit
better (though certainly not twice as good, which was the price
difference for a brief instant), and for a tool with about a 20 year
expected life the extra $$ for the Besseys isn't that big a deal.

Still, the pump-fake ordering shenanigan -- and especially the harpoon-
twisting "shipping confirmation" -- has really pissed me off. No more
business for Woodcraft!

Cheers,
Abe


--
A numeral would be more efficient than spelling out "ONE" in an email
addy, don't you think?

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] says...
>
> "alexy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > TT <[email protected]> wrote:
> >
> > >On Sat, 18 Oct 2003 14:13:25 GMT, alexy <[email protected]>
> > >wrote:
> > >
> > >>"<<<___ Bob ___>>>" <[email protected]> wrote:
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>>Woodcraft promoted this as a retailer .. .. NOT Jorgensen .. .. I have
> to
> > >>>question the motives of any retailer who stocks 5 minutes worth of a
> high-demand
> > >>>item thinking it would be adequate for a day-long sale .. .. ..
> > >>
> > >>First of all, where does this 5 minutes come from? My order, dated
> > >>00:29:24 is shipping. Second, Woodcraft clearly misjudged the demand,
> > >>but to attribute such ulterior motives as many have is pretty
> > >>unfounded. They say that they sold a 5 years' worth of normal volume
> > >>in less than one hour, so it's hardly like they planned to "stock only
> > >>5 minutes' worth".
> > >
> > >Agreed - my order was posted at 00:24 and the clamps just arrived 5
> > >minutes ago via Fed-X. I don't think they counted on the massive
> > >demand that was created, and even if they had a hint by watching what
> > >happened with the Amazon sale a few weeks ago, it was probably too
> > >late to order more from Adjustable.
> >
> > But probably not too late to negotiate more at the sale price so that
> > they could back order for customers.
> >
> > If I were Woodcraft management and could run this sale again with the
> > benefit of 20-20 hindsight (which many on this thread think they
> > should have had<g>), I would probably have sold by lottery, on all
> > orders placed within a 24-hour period. Clear up front that acceptance
> > or rejection of an order would be random, and would not be known until
> > Saturday, with orders withdrawable any time before then.
> > --
> > Alex
> > Make the obvious change in the return address to reply by email.
>
>
> It was fine the way it was. Anyone going into the sale should have had some
> inkling that I had better get in fast because it is a limited sale and a
> crap-shoot. I am not guaranteed to get anything. It is limited to stock on
> hand and no backorders. It's not unlike any other type of moonlight madness
> sale that goes on in retail. Until I see a shipping notice of a carrier pick
> up I never assume anything is mine whether it is a regular order or a

I think everyone realized going in that it was a crap shoot. But when
you place your order at five seconds after midnight, enter in all your
shipping information, and get a confirmation of the order display on the
screen, you should have a pretty good expectation that you actually got
the darn order.

If their site was set up correctly, the initial order request should
have flagged the inventory database to hold the items. If the order
fails for some reason like a bad credit card, you reset the flags. That
way everyone that got an order requested would have it fulfilled, and
those too late would know right off the bat they missed out. I'm just a
lowly application coder, so I don't know much about web applications.
My coworker in the cube next to me is however, and it is apparently
quite easy to set things up that way, and is actually the way to go.

My order went through. A gloat at $272 in savings.

But I'm puking my guts up at how the Red Sox preserved the f***ing curse.

what a way to ruin a good gloat......


"Rob V" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Who got them?
>
> Looks like there site was pretty much pegged!!
> I was able to finally get my order thru - I guess Ill find out if it
> actually went thru if they show up in a few days.
>
> Good luck to all.
> -Rob
>
>

I got in one order of 12, went back to place a second order of 4 more 36"
clamps, they were sold out at 12:35 am

hda
"Rob V" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Who got them?
>
> Looks like there site was pretty much pegged!!
> I was able to finally get my order thru - I guess Ill find out if it
> actually went thru if they show up in a few days.
>
> Good luck to all.
> -Rob
>
>

> Where did you or anyone hear that "OTHER" retailers passed on this deal ??
??
> ?? I'd like to know why you consider me and others to be idiots .. ..
AND why
> do you think for a moment that this was beyond their control ?? ?? ??
WOODCRAFT
> orchestrated this "SALE" .. .. .. they bought stock of an item, they
negotiated
> pricing with their vendor, they initiated this huge sale promotion, they
wouldn't
> deliver. What part of this process was beyond their control ?? ?? ??
>

Actually, I don't think Woodcraft had any say in the sale price. The
company, who's name slips past me at the moment, is offering this sale
throughout the Fall to celebrate their 100th Anniversary in business.
That's what the folks at their booth told me at the AWFS Woodworking show in
August. I would guess that the limited supply was based on how many
discounts Jorgensen was willing to pay for, since that is the source of the
discount.

I guess the bottom line it that Woodcraft's online ordering system was not
really up to handling this sort of deal. Unfortunately, a lot of people got
burned and are blaming Woodcraft. Considering the sluggish behavior of the
website, I was rather expecting a backlash. C'est la vie.

I'm glad they did not offer this only through the stores. We have a local
Woodcraft. I dropped by yesterday, and the painter said he was not sure
exactly when they were going to open for business. I got my clamp shipping
confirmation when I logged on this morning.

Cheers,
Eric

"Mike in Mystic" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hey Bob,
>
> Not sure what's up with that. I got the normal "Purchase Confirmation"
> message and an order # reference, as well as the email to confirm my
> purchase. As far as I can tell it's a done deal, with no "order approval"
> pending. Did you use a new credit card or something that might cause a
> hiccup?
>
> I have no less than 5 direct relatives that are attorney's, so if they try
> to BS their way out of giving me the clamps after confirming my order,
> they'll be hearing from someone hehe. Honestly, I've never had even one
> problem with ordering from WC, so I don't expect anything to go wrong.
>
> Mike
>
>

If you go back and click on your order number, it takes you to your purchase
tracking page. I'd be surprised if it said anything other than "Waiting for
order approval". That probably takes a human touch, which may not happen
until tomorrow morning (This morning for some of you).

Cheers,
Eric

where you guys ordering them from?
"Rob Walters" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "Rob V" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > Who got them?
> >
> > Looks like there site was pretty much pegged!!
> > I was able to finally get my order thru - I guess Ill find out if it
> > actually went thru if they show up in a few days.
> >
> > Good luck to all.
> > -Rob
>
> All gone. Couldn't get through fast enough I suppose. Guess I'll be in
> line in the morning.
>
> A hearty "you suck" to all of you who got through :)
>
> Rob
>
>

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected]
says...
> <<<___ Bob ___>>> wrote:
> > Used to be, I'd go out of my way to visit a Woodcraft store if I drove
> > anywhere near one .. .. .. now I doubt I'd go there ever again ..
>
> This must be why so many other retailers passed on the opportunity to
> offer the promotion: idiot customers will blame retailers for something
> that was obviously beyond their control.
>

You're not getting off to a good start in your argument here. You
indicate this was something beyond Woodcraft's control, yet then
indicate that other retailers passed on the opportunity to offer the
promotion. Therefore, this debacle was clearly not beyond Woodcraft's
control, they too could have either passed on this "promotion" or
negotiated different terms -- and Woocraft is big enough to negotiate
terms with their vendors.

Who's the bigger idiot, a customer that orders an item on special at
12:00 am when the offer is first valid and gets shut out in less than 5
minutes, or a retailer that cannot offer quantities of a sale item that
last longer than 5 minutes once the sale starts and then expects that
this is going to maintain customer loyalty?



> > If this marketing scheme was supposed to bring them store loyalty or any
> > increase in business, I fear they sorely failed .. .. ..
>
> If was Jorgenson's marketing scheme, not Woodcraft's. Woodcraft
> management has hinted more than once that they weren't looking forward
> to this and wished the whole thing would just go away.
>

... and where did they hint this? Do you have inside information?
Did Woodcraft management make any such statements on their web page or
in any of the ads offering this "deal"?


> > I was online at 12:00 midnight just waiting for the new prices to show up
> > .. .. .. as soon as they did, I placed my order .. .. it was accepted and
> > confirmed, but by 5:00 AM it was "CANCELED" and now, the "CANCELED" order
> > has been shipped !! !! !! I don't think I want to be doing business with
> > a company that's run like this .. .. .. they have surely strengthened my
> > "STORE LOYALTY" .. .. .. I'll pay a bit more and stick with Highland
> > Hardware for B&M or AMAZON.COM for mail-order .. .. .. Woodcraft can go
> > scratch .. .. .. they've seen the last of my money .. .. ..
>
> So who are you really pissed off at? The poor bastard who had to stay up
> all night to hand-edit a bunch of orders? The e-commerce system that was
> overloaded and unable to handle a large number of simultaneous orders?
> Woodcraft's CEO, for not calling you personally to apologize? If you
> were in charge what would you have done?
>

Since you asked: knowing the buying habits of woodworkers (they are a
cheap-!@#$%% lot :-) ), I would anticipate that a 50% off sale,
especially on clamps would generate a significant surge in sales on
those clamps and determine whether the quantity being offered by the
vendor would match the anticipated demand. I would examine what past
sales of that item had been, take into account the price-point being
generated, look at that relative to other sales on things such as the
"wood of the month" promotions offered in the past several years. If I
was being offered a quantity of x clamps to spread across 50 states
worth of business, and x was a small number relative to my other
estimates, I would then either have purchasing get with the vendor and
negotiate a number that would be more in line with my anticipated needs
or tell the vendor that I would not participate. After all, it's not
going to be Jorgenson that suffers the wrath of 10,000 sleep-deprived
woodworkers when my *automated* ordering system tells them at 12:10 am
all quantities are sold out, it's going to be me and my other bazillion
products that are going to suffer a sales downturn.


> So you missed your chance for cheap clamps. There weren't very many to
> go around and there was a lot of demand. Why do you have to blame
> someone? Have some imagination and sympathy, smile and move on.
>
> Martin
>

The irritation probably stems from the much-anticipated opportunity,
the promotion itself (it was a prominent header on the web page for
example) and the expectation that although "supplies are limited" means
exactly that, a reasonable size supply was expected. This is too much
like the sleazy auto-dealer tactic of offering an unbelievable price on
a certain car model, only to find that only one of those units was
ordered for the entire dealership, the rest are $10k more.

Truth to tell, it really doesn't matter whether the anger being
expressed is justifiable or not -- it's real. A good retailer would
have anticipated this kind of reaction -- again, especially in light of
the amount of promotion this particular sale was getting. It doesn't
matter whether your customers are pissed off for a rational reason or an
irrational reason, they still aren't buying from you. It doesn't bother
Jorgenson nearly as much as it is going to affect Woodcraft.


> P.S. Even Amazon's system, probably the most heavily invested
> direct-to-consumer ecommerce technology in the world, was not able to
> handle the clamp sale gracefully, and some people had their orders
> cancelled.
>
>

How quickly did Amazon run out?


BTW, I don't have a dog in this fight. Although the price seemed
pretty good, I have other things more important right now (like getting
my dust collection ductwork upgrade completed and my shop
reconfiguration done), so I didn't plan to participate in this promotion
anyway -- it just irks me when customers are referred to as "idiots".

In article <[email protected]>,
Eric Lund <[email protected]> wrote:
>I'm glad they did not offer this only through the stores. We have a local
>Woodcraft. I dropped by yesterday, and the painter said he was not sure
>exactly when they were going to open for business. I got my clamp shipping
>confirmation when I logged on this morning.

I read someplace that they were going to open the Monday after the Costa
Mesa Woodworking show, which would be Nov 10th.


--
Mike Iglesias Email: [email protected]
University of California, Irvine phone: 949-824-6926
Network & Academic Computing Services FAX: 949-824-2069

Eric Lund <[email protected]> wrote:

: It is likely that Adjustable is giving these clamps to the retailers.

I doubt it. The Woodworker's Source had exactly the same sale in August,
and I know (from talking to the manager of the Tucson location) that they
bought their clamps from Jorgenson. Yes, it was a special deal, but they
weren't free.

Woodworker's Source has three stores in AZ, and I believe they ordered
from Jorgensen something like half the total number of clamps that
Woodcraft did in the recent sale. They were taking orders well in
advance, and everyone was happy with the way the sale went, staff and
customers included. A nicely managed sale.

- Andy Barss

Damn, I went to the Rockville MD store and the guy said he heard something
about a sale but didn't get any in. He logged in for me to tell me they were
all gone.Which of course I knew which is why I drove to his store....Oh
Well.



"js" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> where you guys ordering them from?
> "Rob Walters" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> >
> > "Rob V" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> > news:[email protected]...
> > > Who got them?
> > >
> > > Looks like there site was pretty much pegged!!
> > > I was able to finally get my order thru - I guess Ill find out if it
> > > actually went thru if they show up in a few days.
> > >
> > > Good luck to all.
> > > -Rob
> >
> > All gone. Couldn't get through fast enough I suppose. Guess I'll be in
> > line in the morning.
> >
> > A hearty "you suck" to all of you who got through :)
> >
> > Rob
> >
> >
>
>

On Sat, 18 Oct 2003 14:13:25 GMT, alexy <[email protected]>
wrote:

>"<<<___ Bob ___>>>" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
>>Woodcraft promoted this as a retailer .. .. NOT Jorgensen .. .. I have to
>>question the motives of any retailer who stocks 5 minutes worth of a high-demand
>>item thinking it would be adequate for a day-long sale .. .. ..
>
>First of all, where does this 5 minutes come from? My order, dated
>00:29:24 is shipping. Second, Woodcraft clearly misjudged the demand,
>but to attribute such ulterior motives as many have is pretty
>unfounded. They say that they sold a 5 years' worth of normal volume
>in less than one hour, so it's hardly like they planned to "stock only
>5 minutes' worth".

Agreed - my order was posted at 00:24 and the clamps just arrived 5
minutes ago via Fed-X. I don't think they counted on the massive
demand that was created, and even if they had a hint by watching what
happened with the Amazon sale a few weeks ago, it was probably too
late to order more from Adjustable.

"alexy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> TT <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >On Sat, 18 Oct 2003 14:13:25 GMT, alexy <[email protected]>
> >wrote:
> >
> >>"<<<___ Bob ___>>>" <[email protected]> wrote:
> >>
> >>
> >>>Woodcraft promoted this as a retailer .. .. NOT Jorgensen .. .. I have
to
> >>>question the motives of any retailer who stocks 5 minutes worth of a
high-demand
> >>>item thinking it would be adequate for a day-long sale .. .. ..
> >>
> >>First of all, where does this 5 minutes come from? My order, dated
> >>00:29:24 is shipping. Second, Woodcraft clearly misjudged the demand,
> >>but to attribute such ulterior motives as many have is pretty
> >>unfounded. They say that they sold a 5 years' worth of normal volume
> >>in less than one hour, so it's hardly like they planned to "stock only
> >>5 minutes' worth".
> >
> >Agreed - my order was posted at 00:24 and the clamps just arrived 5
> >minutes ago via Fed-X. I don't think they counted on the massive
> >demand that was created, and even if they had a hint by watching what
> >happened with the Amazon sale a few weeks ago, it was probably too
> >late to order more from Adjustable.
>
> But probably not too late to negotiate more at the sale price so that
> they could back order for customers.
>
> If I were Woodcraft management and could run this sale again with the
> benefit of 20-20 hindsight (which many on this thread think they
> should have had<g>), I would probably have sold by lottery, on all
> orders placed within a 24-hour period. Clear up front that acceptance
> or rejection of an order would be random, and would not be known until
> Saturday, with orders withdrawable any time before then.
> --
> Alex
> Make the obvious change in the return address to reply by email.


It was fine the way it was. Anyone going into the sale should have had some
inkling that I had better get in fast because it is a limited sale and a
crap-shoot. I am not guaranteed to get anything. It is limited to stock on
hand and no backorders. It's not unlike any other type of moonlight madness
sale that goes on in retail. Until I see a shipping notice of a carrier pick
up I never assume anything is mine whether it is a regular order or a
special promotion.

"Rob V" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Who got them?
>
> Looks like there site was pretty much pegged!!
> I was able to finally get my order thru - I guess Ill find out if it
> actually went thru if they show up in a few days.
>
> Good luck to all.
> -Rob
>
>
My order went thru....

Hey Bob,

Not sure what's up with that. I got the normal "Purchase Confirmation"
message and an order # reference, as well as the email to confirm my
purchase. As far as I can tell it's a done deal, with no "order approval"
pending. Did you use a new credit card or something that might cause a
hiccup?

I have no less than 5 direct relatives that are attorney's, so if they try
to BS their way out of giving me the clamps after confirming my order,
they'll be hearing from someone hehe. Honestly, I've never had even one
problem with ordering from WC, so I don't expect anything to go wrong.

Mike


"bob" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> So did mine. Order status is "waiting for order approval". See my post
for
> more details.
>
> Bob
>
> "Bob Gramza" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> >
> > "Rob V" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> > news:[email protected]...
> > > Who got them?
> > >
> > > Looks like there site was pretty much pegged!!
> > > I was able to finally get my order thru - I guess Ill find out if it
> > > actually went thru if they show up in a few days.
> > >
> > > Good luck to all.
> > > -Rob
> > >
> > >
> > My order went thru....
> >
> >
>
>

"Rob V" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Who got them?
>
> Looks like there site was pretty much pegged!!
> I was able to finally get my order thru - I guess Ill find out if it
> actually went thru if they show up in a few days.
>
> Good luck to all.
> -Rob

All gone. Couldn't get through fast enough I suppose. Guess I'll be in
line in the morning.

A hearty "you suck" to all of you who got through :)

Rob