Wedding ponies on Kmart site.

[kamakazee82]

i filed a Better Business Bureau report.  Included my order, my confirmation, and what they tried to pawn off on me, pictures of the customer service counter and all ... with their copy of "what i ordered" that is clearly NOT what i ordered at all!

bait and switch. totally 9billion percent illegal in any and all states. should not matter if it's the same SKU or whatever. they know that very well. an entire assortment is a sku, what we order is the ceratain product number, PART of the SKU assorment. if they could read and had a brain cell actively engaged they would know that. i worked retail for 10 years i dealt with this daily for ten years. it isn't rocket science. it's bait and switch.
 
ETA: and i also included at least three other instances of this same exact thing through kmart over the years ...

[gabumon]

thanks for filing with the BBB.  Hasbro doesnt seem to care.

[kamakazee82]

hasbro can't do anything, they don't control Kmart, and it's kmart shooting themselves in the foot.

this was the reply i got from kmart "customer service"

"Thank you for contacting Kmart.com regarding your order number ############.

We owe you an apology for any inconvenience that we are unable to fulfill your order. We know that your time is valuable and we appreciate the fact you took the time to give us feedback on our performance.

Your order was canceled due to the item being out of stock (you chose a very popular item). While our inventory is updated, our website serves customers throughout the entire country, it is typical that several customers will have the same item in their cart. Inventory is again verified after the order is submitted. It can happen that more orders are submitted than we can complete.

We would like to inform you that you have not been charged on the order.

The feedback that you have provided today will be taken into consideration as we continue to enhance our services to meet the needs of our customers going forward.

We want to make you happy. Please take our survey to tell us how we're doing.

Sincerely,
Pitts G. (kgalaha)
Kmart Customer Care
[email protected]
1-800-733-7249 "

no crap that i wasn't charged! it's still on my card waiting for them to refund it! and it wasn't about that at all! it's about them STILL having them up on their website AND still saying there are in stock at several stores around me even after we're all being told "nope, don't have em"
 and the survey was just in regards to the poor person "helping" me by telling me they can't do anything because i chose a popular item, that still isn't in stock even though it clearly says it is!

[saply]

I'm curious to see how the online shipping orders are fulfilled. It doesn't surprise me that all of the store pickups are being cancelled; after all, if KMart JUST "got these in" at their warehouses, it doesn't even make sense for them to already be in stores. They had to have gotten those box images from SOMEWHERE, though...

[gabumon]

yeah, last time this happened with the wedding
ponies, my local one didnt even have the luggage ponies, they just barely got them last week.

ah well , gonna keep waiting for my Kroger store , it usually is first for new stuff in my town.

[Icicle]

I'm curious to see how the online shipping orders are fulfilled. It doesn't surprise me that all of the store pickups are being cancelled; after all, if KMart JUST "got these in" at their warehouses, it doesn't even make sense for them to already be in stores. They had to have gotten those box images from SOMEWHERE, though...

I believe that Hasbro supplies them with those images? Which then makes Kmart go "Oh, new images, we must have these in, cool" without even checking first (maybe assuming if Hasbro is giving them the images they must also be sending the stock). If that isn't the case though then Kmart is really messed up for somehow having images they shouldn't have, then in turn selling items they do not have (since, as was already pointed out the SYSTEM (which is just numbers) claims they have it because of the assortments).

I have to assume this is why other retailers don't deal with brushables online.. because them all sharing a SKU/other number to keep track of their stock (Remember, the stores have the tag for MLP Assorted).. they probably would do the same thing Kmart is doing. Granted, doesn't mean the people packing these boxes/filling the orders shouldn't read the darn boxes (really, how hard is it to compare).. but still.

[Bergamot]

Most eCommerce systems charge credit cards immediately. Perhaps being told that your card was "not charged" isn't entirely correct, but at least the refund's on its way. I do not believe that Kmart is intentionally screwing people over, but I can see that this must be very frustrating.

These toys were slated for a fall release, weren't they? Their listing on the website is likely an error made by somebody along the line... Perhaps Hasbro provided them with the promotional support graphics and some intern* put them live or something. Who knows? There's a lot that could have gone wrong between the source and the website.

The fact that many of the MLP products appear to share UPC codes is certainly not Kmart's fault, either. UPCs are provided by the manufacturer. In retail situations, products are dealt with almost exclusively by their UPC number, so... I can imagine that it's quite frustrating and difficult for them to deal with My Little Pony orders and requests. You're seeing "Trixie," a very specific character, and they're seeing "Blue Pony Toy." Folks buying things for their kids don't care quite as much as collectors about these things, I'm sure!

It is a shame that some folks have gone out of their way to buy these products, only to find that they aren't actually available! Though this whole situation can be very frustrating, make sure you're patient with the people you talk to along the way. Besides the fact that it's good to be nice... Who knows what kinds of connections you could get for new releases?

 
* Bergamot whole-heartedly acknowledges that interns are not always problematic, and are in fact very necessary in making the world go round. Rock on, interns!

[mshesha]

SKU numbers? What about the Kmart item# and model# displayed on the website? Don't they mean anything?  For example: Kmart Item# 004W089313611066  Model# A0078 (SUNNY RAYS).
The suspense is building up... I'll let you all know when I receive my online order (hopefully) tomorrow...

[xkappax]

Yeah, I should be receiving mine tomorrow, too. This should be interesting.

[Wardah]

Kmart needs to fix their broken system.

[scarletjul]

So, my question of the moment is. . .  who usually gets new ponies first?

I don't trust their website because they have a bad track record of fulfilling specific orders with the correct ponies that people have requested.  But I'm wondering: wouldn't it be sort of weird if kmart is the first place to have these ponies, before Target and TRU and Walmart?  Or do they all get them around the same time? 

I honestly don't know the answer to this question, as there aren't any Kmarts near me and I tend to shop almost exclusively @ Target.

[teresat]

So, my question of the moment is. . .  who usually gets new ponies first?

I honestly don't know the answer to this question, as there aren't any Kmarts near me and I tend to shop almost exclusively @ Target.

From my very limited experience, Big Bad Toystore on-line seems to get the ponies first. They have pre-orders with pretty accurate arrival dates but they also sell-out the pre-orders.

I also tend to shop @ Target quite a bit. I do make the occasional run to TRU. And they seem to have varied selections between the 2 when there is new stuff out.

[Dragonflitter]

When I first started collecting G3's I was surprised to see one of the tiny chainstores here, a mom-and-pop type deal with mostly camping gear, lawn equipment, and a small toy section, usually got the new G3's before any of the big stores lol. But things could have changed since then.

[mshesha]

got Feathermay, Plumsweet, Honey Buzz and Snowcatcher instead.  Not surprised.

[ShortyBoo]

I really hate how K-Mart is going downhill so badly. I barely go to the one near me anymore, even though it's closer than Target and Wal-Mart. I used to shop there almost exclusively, but the sales aren't as good anymore and they tend to be more expensive than Wal-Mart (by quite a bit) and with the toys, they tend to have really, really old stock. Toys in the shelf are at least 2 years old. Their Rewards program is about all they have going for them. We've gotten lots of free stuff using those points. But their stock, prices and not so great customer service keep us away most of the time.

The reason we try to support them is because my grandpa was a manager at one until he retired and he had stock as well for quite awhile before he finally sold it. I worked there for awhile as a teen and so did my brother. Then my brother worked at the K-Mart Distribution Center for quite awhile as well. My uncle currently works at the Sears Warehouse and has been there for 15+ years. But because of how K-Mart and Sears' sales have been, he's barely getting any hours anymore and had to leave 1st shift to switch to a later one to get more hours. Now he's not so sure he'll have a job much longer.