Newbie Question: What's up with SmartHome prices?

dslocum423

New Member
Sorry if I'm out of place here, but I see the need to discuss this...

I just got the Summer 2007 SmartHome catalog and went to place an order online for their Insteon Keypadlinc. It was listed at $59.99 ($69.99 list) which is a good price. My catalog had a code that said I could get an additional 10% off if I mentioned it.

There appeared to be no way I can get that price online even with the discount code at checkout, so I called Smarthome customer service. After several minutes waiting and explaining my point, I got a person who told me that the "disclaimer" says that they can change the price at any time. While I understand the need for this sort of thing, I finally got the CS rep to reduce the price to $59.99 but she would not allow the additional 10% discount. What's up with that???

As I said, I understand that things change and that mistakes are made, but that kind of tactic, if intentional, is certainly not above board. Should I be careful of dealing with them in the future? Anyone else have a similar problem???

Regards,

Doug
 
Sorry if I'm out of place here, but I see the need to discuss this...

I just got the Summer 2007 SmartHome catalog and went to place an order online for their Insteon Keypadlinc. It was listed at $59.99 ($69.99 list) which is a good price. My catalog had a code that said I could get an additional 10% off if I mentioned it.

There appeared to be no way I can get that price online even with the discount code at checkout, so I called Smarthome customer service. After several minutes waiting and explaining my point, I got a person who told me that the "disclaimer" says that they can change the price at any time. While I understand the need for this sort of thing, I finally got the CS rep to reduce the price to $59.99 but she would not allow the additional 10% discount. What's up with that???

As I said, I understand that things change and that mistakes are made, but that kind of tactic, if intentional, is certainly not above board. Should I be careful of dealing with them in the future? Anyone else have a similar problem???

Regards,

Doug

I had a similar occurance with SH CS on Saturday and mentioned it in another post. I had the catalog a mere 2 hours and the prices were no longer valid by over 15% in some cases. It wasn't worth argueing. I like the fact that their distributors have better service (much better) and sometimes better prices. Check out automated outlet etc.

Many people love SH and will pay any price. I guess SH counts on that.

EDIT: I heard a rumour that there may be a substantial price increase in Insteon products June 1st. I HAVE NO WAY TO VALIDATE THIS. IT MAY BE TOTALLY INCORRECT. But it you are thinking of placing a big order you may want to keep that in mind.
 
I for one have had it with Smarthome. Price "flexibility," defectives, indifference. The last straw was their shabby handling of Daylight Saving Time in "legacy" products.

In October 2006 I inquired about support for the new DST dates. One "Joseph, Technical Support Rep., SmartHome, Inc." said, "Thank you for your e-mail. The current version of SmartHome Manager will set itself for daylight savings."

Wrong. They acknowledged the problem -- after the fact, of course -- but they did not fix it. No support, no explanations, no apologies.

I will go out of my way to avoid doing business with SmartHome. You should too.
 
I for one have had it with Smarthome. Price "flexibility," defectives, indifference. The last straw was their shabby handling of Daylight Saving Time in "legacy" products.
Why do you expect a manufacturer to incur expenses modifying a previous design because of this change? DST was the same for many many years. Then our legislators forced this ill-advised change down our throats, ignoring the problems it would cause.

Jeff
 
Why do you expect a manufacturer to incur expenses modifying a previous design because of this change? DST was the same for many many years. Then our legislators forced this ill-advised change down our throats, ignoring the problems it would cause.
For hard-coded products, no! But for software such as SH Manager, then yes I would expect them to do something.
 
I for one have had it with Smarthome. Price "flexibility," defectives, indifference. The last straw was their shabby handling of Daylight Saving Time in "legacy" products.
Why do you expect a manufacturer to incur expenses modifying a previous design because of this change? DST was the same for many many years. Then our legislators forced this ill-advised change down our throats, ignoring the problems it would cause.

Jeff
Jeff,
You are majorly wrong on this one. If manufacturers and businesses didn't correct for DST, there would have been huge problems. I work for a huge financial services company and we went through a few months of hell meking sure all our software was patched. And even then there were problems.

People using SH products should expects things to work properly, given that they had 2 years to remediate their software and firmware after congress passed the bill.
 
I for one have had it with Smarthome. Price "flexibility," defectives, indifference. The last straw was their shabby handling of Daylight Saving Time in "legacy" products.
Why do you expect a manufacturer to incur expenses modifying a previous design because of this change? DST was the same for many many years. Then our legislators forced this ill-advised change down our throats, ignoring the problems it would cause.

Jeff
Jeff,
You are majorly wrong on this one. If manufacturers and businesses didn't correct for DST, there would have been huge problems. I work for a huge financial services company and we went through a few months of hell meking sure all our software was patched. And even then there were problems.

People using SH products should expects things to work properly, given that they had 2 years to remediate their software and firmware after congress passed the bill.
 
I for one have had it with Smarthome. Price "flexibility," defectives, indifference. The last straw was their shabby handling of Daylight Saving Time in "legacy" products.
Why do you expect a manufacturer to incur expenses modifying a previous design because of this change? DST was the same for many many years. Then our legislators forced this ill-advised change down our throats, ignoring the problems it would cause.

Jeff
Jeff,
You are majorly wrong on this one. If manufacturers and businesses didn't correct for DST, there would have been huge problems. I work for a huge financial services company and we went through a few months of hell meking sure all our software was patched. And even then there were problems.

People using SH products should expects things to work properly, given that they had 2 years to remediate their software and firmware after congress passed the bill.

I don't suppose that few months of hell patching software was free. Any software change costs money. How much depends on whether the original programmer is available, and how large the change is. If the DST change is hard-coded into firmware, it could be a significant issue, especially for a small company with slim margins.

It would be nice if the Panasonic DVR we purchased last year worked through the DST change, but its clock had to be reset twice. Another older unit that was set to get its time from the cable system went totally bonkers, and screwed up both the date and time. There is a lot of legacy stuff out there that will remain a pain for years to come. Thank our legislators for that. And from what I read, energy consumption actually increased because people took advantage of the extended daylight to do more driving.

Jeff
 
It would be nice if the Panasonic DVR we purchased last year worked through the DST change, but its clock had to be reset twice. Another older unit that was set to get its time from the cable system went totally bonkers, and screwed up both the date and time.


PM me some model numbers and I'll see what I can do for you.
 
Ooops, I heard "Panasonic DVR" and jumped the gun. ;)

I can't help you much with consumer stuff, or home theater gear. :(
 
I don't suppose that few months of hell patching software was free. Any software change costs money. How much depends on whether the original programmer is available, and how large the change is. If the DST change is hard-coded into firmware, it could be a significant issue, especially for a small company with slim margins.

It would be nice if the Panasonic DVR we purchased last year worked through the DST change, but its clock had to be reset twice. Another older unit that was set to get its time from the cable system went totally bonkers, and screwed up both the date and time. There is a lot of legacy stuff out there that will remain a pain for years to come. Thank our legislators for that. And from what I read, energy consumption actually increased because people took advantage of the extended daylight to do more driving.

As stupid as I think this change is, and as annoying I found updating servers and fixing software, and as mad as I was at the legislature for doing it, I admin, they did it and the fixes had to be done. That's an obligation a company that deals with software or firmware has. Yes, it costs money. It's a cost of doing business.
 
QUOTE(Mike Boulanger @ May 8 2007, 05:49 PM)
Microsoft charged $4000 for the Exchange 2000 patch...


Really? Where did you read/hear that?

I didn't just hear/read it, I experienced it with some of our clients.

Just Google "exchange 2000 dst $4000" and I'm sure you'll find plenty of articles.
 
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