Grainger/Miller Welder deal thread
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Underdog
Well-known member
Grainger simply screwed up.
OK guys lets turn the table: You list a Miller Syncrowave 250DX on CL for $2500, but its late at night your tired, you make a MISTAKE and the ad comes out as $250. Next day you guys get a ton of calls "I want the welder".
Now how many of you are going to honor the price and sell for $250??
So exactly where did Grainger try to sell you something else?......
They offered me a $9xx.** Miller 180, have it saved in my voicemail box in Vonage. I'm looking up NC bait and switch laws as well. The laws exist for a reason, companies use them to their fullest, why not consumers?
Yesterday, June 9th.
They can make a mistake, the issue is they are turning around and offering another welder for 2x the price for the same unit.
The Hobart deal will not work that way at all. $549 is still available but I just left TS store #1380 without product after the Assistant Manager assured me that I could not stack the 10% coupon on top of the $549 price. He did offer to take the $50 off deal away, and apply my coupon on the $599 normal in-store price.
I am disappointed, I have a helmet, gloves, clamps and projects waiting.
Buckgnarly
Well-known member
That is messed up if they are pulling that **** with people....they really should admit the mistake, or offer the welders at close to their cost...that's not even a good deal!
I'd have no problem with them admitting the mistake, but trying to sell another thing is another story.....go get em!
Underdog
Well-known member
Thats some serious BS. I can only think that the sales persons don't know what to say and are making things up on the run. Time for Mgt. to email all branch's on the correct protocol.
les_garten
Banned
I thought this was a real deal because the $395 number was not just stated, but was in RED, it was offset and said sales price. Stuck out as a sale. Not a mis typed number.
Ship.
I get an "access denied" when clicking "order status" now. Guess maybe it means I don't have any orders pending. *shrug*
les_garten
Banned
Where do you guys see order status?
I only see order history?
EDIT: I see it, it says unauthorized, which is strange
What do you have in order history?
Sale price was typed in incorrectly. The red and marked as sale was automatic, thats how websites like that work, its all done by a computer once a human enters the price in the database.
les_garten
Banned
Tanshanomi
Well-known member
I jumped on this even though I haven't owned a welder previously*, but I'd like to think I have some idea what I'm buying and what I'll use it for. I work on vintage motorcycles, and my wife and I both took a welding class at the local community college a couple of winters back, in preparation for getting a welder. We've got the gloves, the helmets, etc, but I could never quite justify spending $500-600 for a decent MIG: it takes a lot of practice before you can do the sort of skilled welding projects that justifies the cash outlay, but you can't get the experience until you have a unit at your disposal.that's what stuck out with me. people who had no idea what they were buying, what the specifications meant, what accessories were needed, or even what they would do with it. it was some kind of surreal frenzy. not sure i've seen anything quite like it.
the nicholson deal was similar i guess, but those were only a few dollars and just bout anyone can put a file to good use at one time or another.
I knew better than to buy the sort of cheapo 90 AMP HF welder you can get for this kind of money. So I've been watching CL for a used deal for over a year, and as everybody's been saying, the prices for good used ones are pretty close to new.
So, yea, I'm a welding newbie, but it's really important to me that this 140 comes through.
*Actually, I did own an ancient Mongomery Wards buzzbox for a while that I picked up for $80 at a garage sale years ago. But I sold it without ever using it because I never got around to having the garage wired with 240v, and I got sick of tripping over it. The reality was that I knew I'd never subject any of my bikes to gobby, spattery stick welds anyway.
les_garten
Banned
What do you mean by no "body"
It has a details link to the right that gives order details.
I am confused why the status doesn't work??
Just an FYI this is about $100 more, but very similar to the Miller 140 I believe. Use the 10% coupon, as it's not on sale, so price before tax is around $430. I believe Miller makes Hobart as well, and is also Made in the USA.
dabirdguy
Well-known member
1. "lets switch the tables....." I call bullcrap.
A. If anyone at a Corporate America company that large can post a price on their own on the company website without review, that company is in deep trouble.
B. IF they did, they AND their manager have just lost his/her jobs.
C. A company that is concerned about their image does not say "Sorry" and walk away when they mess up.
D. This is NOT the first time this has happened. And with a similar product. It indicates a pattern of behavior.
E. There is a requirement for public corporations under the Sorbane-Oxley laws that requires seperation of duties. That means that there have to be checks and balances to prevent an employee from doing this sort of thing maliciously or for profit.
Yes, perhaps they made a mistake. AGAIN. Second offenders need to be more contrite and to make better amends to their customer base. This is NOT someone selling on Craigs List and nodding off at the keyboard.
A. If anyone at a Corporate America company that large can post a price on their own on the company website without review, that company is in deep trouble.
B. IF they did, they AND their manager have just lost his/her jobs.
C. A company that is concerned about their image does not say "Sorry" and walk away when they mess up.
D. This is NOT the first time this has happened. And with a similar product. It indicates a pattern of behavior.
E. There is a requirement for public corporations under the Sorbane-Oxley laws that requires seperation of duties. That means that there have to be checks and balances to prevent an employee from doing this sort of thing maliciously or for profit.
Yes, perhaps they made a mistake. AGAIN. Second offenders need to be more contrite and to make better amends to their customer base. This is NOT someone selling on Craigs List and nodding off at the keyboard.
OK, I am WRONG about the Hobart deal. Apologies that I doubted you guys.
You CAN take the 10% coupon off of the $549.00 price at your local Tractor Supply store - the POS (Point of Sale) rings it up without even needing a manager's code to override. Item 3807126 - $494.99 before tax and after coupon + discount.
I was so excited to test to see if this worked, that I purchased an actual welder inadvertently and then brought it home. And I have not held a welding gun in about 27 years, and that was stick work so - I happily qualify an a noob in the MIG world. Noob haters start your cowering and your loud carping now.
Once exception: You cannot do this if your local TS is store #1380 is Glenpool, OK and you get help from the (acting) Assistant Manager. That young man won't even try ringing the sale up - he will simply tell you that you can't use your coupon in HIS store. So, if you want to spend money you should probably stay away from TS Store 1380 on Highway 75.
Linky: http://www.tractorsupply.com/weldin...welders/hobart-handler-reg-187-welder-3807126
Underdog
Well-known member
All I'm saying is give Grainger a break. If it wasn't for Grainger I'd be SOL. Needed a large capacitor this week for my 3hp chop saw. Only place I could of got it locally is a AC supply house, that probably didn't have it anyway and would not of sold it to me since I'm not in the "Business" of AC repair. Called Grainger and had it UPS next day $12. All you complainers might get better service from Harbor Freight (They Sell Welders).
You make some good points, I would add that this special was not a "clearance item" in any way. It was, however purposely featured in the "Hot deals" section. Items for sale don't magically move themselves into the Hot deals area - a human chooses to highlight them and updates the master data record for that item to have the portal pick it up (I did some research on the down-low).
So this had to involve a lot of successive mistakes at the best.
Please point this situation out to whomever does your purchasing at work. When we classify vendors, fulfillment success % is often a factor corporate-wide. Please make sure that this failure gets noticed if you purchased one of these welders for your workplace.
les_garten
Banned
I agree. Grainger's Catalog is like 4" thick. Lot of Catalog entries there.
I got no issue with the mistake, if that's what it was.
The different stories is a different matter though. Some of it is ******** for sure.
It's like everyone is being told something different, so basically that's called a lie. That's why folks are pissed a little.
Do we know for sure whether or not ANYONE is truly going to get a welder at the low price? Ie, was this a deal they ran out of? Or was it a mistake from the get go? Last I heard, we didn't know for sure?
Is everyone making these comments assuming it was a mistake from the get go? Or would you be just as angry if it was a legit deal but the website did not properly reflect current inventory? Or is it just the inconsistent stories that get your goat?
Is everyone making these comments assuming it was a mistake from the get go? Or would you be just as angry if it was a legit deal but the website did not properly reflect current inventory? Or is it just the inconsistent stories that get your goat?
Did you use the printed (off the internet) 10% coupon by chance?
bmrisko
Well-known member
In 2008 Grainger did in fact clear out older model Miller welders for ridiculously cheap and they had very limited quantities. From my understanding, Grainger actually had under 10 at this price and sold out very fast.
Home Depot also did a similar thing 2-3 years ago when they were clearing out older model Lincoln 115v and 220v MIG machines in the $300 range.
While it may have not been a pricing mistake, their inability to monitor real-time inventory is the real issue. Also, they should not be feeding BS lines to customers after cancelling orders. I'd much rather see them say, "Hey, it was a special sale w/ limited quantities and our inventory monitoring system was overwhelmed and failed. Here is a 10% off coupon for your troubles."
Home Depot also did a similar thing 2-3 years ago when they were clearing out older model Lincoln 115v and 220v MIG machines in the $300 range.
While it may have not been a pricing mistake, their inability to monitor real-time inventory is the real issue. Also, they should not be feeding BS lines to customers after cancelling orders. I'd much rather see them say, "Hey, it was a special sale w/ limited quantities and our inventory monitoring system was overwhelmed and failed. Here is a 10% off coupon for your troubles."
I used a coupon that they emailed me. I clinked on the coupon it loaded an HTML page (not a PDF?!?) in a browser window that I printed. I did not get the coupon from the 'net, but form a link that TS sent me the other day based on my being singed up for the email newsletter.
I simply don't know if they sold any, if it was a mistake or what. The person I talked with a Customer Service assured me that the low price was 100% all a mistake.
I really want to believe what I am told, and trust companies in situations like this, but the different stories make me wonder what the truth is.
filtered
Well-known member
I haven't been called or emailed from Grainger at all. If my order has been cancelled oh well. Sure it would have been great to get a good 230v welder for less than $425. I could really use one. Looks like that isn't going to happen though. I'm not going to sit around an whine about getting nothing for nothing or say i'm going to sue them for not selling it to me at that price. I'm a grown up and i'm going to do what grown *** men do, **** it up and move on with life.
I was looking at that Hobart deal the day before this whole Miller thing came up. If it wasn't for 6% sales tax, i'd be out buying one. Although I do have a friend going to Delaware some time soon.
I was looking at that Hobart deal the day before this whole Miller thing came up. If it wasn't for 6% sales tax, i'd be out buying one. Although I do have a friend going to Delaware some time soon.
Can you post the link?
I PMed you the URL that my email linked me to. I am not sure that it works multiple times, you can see the URL for yourself and decide.
babzog
Well-known member
My order status says unauthorized, but the order is still in my history.
babzog
Well-known member
The order details you're referring to also gives me a not authorized error.
Ok I spoke with miller today, And it wasnt one of the peons answering calls. I also spoke with grainger at the local branch. I made her call the higher ups and get the true story. Both stories matched.
Basically grainger was clearing out the miller 180s and 140s. I was told miller is discontinuing them. Neither could tell me how many they actually had at that price though. I was told it could have been just one or 1000. Basically they received so many orders at once for the deal, it couldnt keep up. Apparently it has no way of tracking real time stock supplies. My free version of quickbooks can do that but the system of 2 giant corporations is unable to do so. Go figure, Doesnt give me much faith in any of their supplies now, "do they have it ? or has the computer not updated yet" scenario.
She said she was unsure of the status of my order. Couldnt tell me if it was canceled or shipped. She said it was odd, never seen that before. I ordered late wed night/thurs morning around 12:30. My credit card was and still is charged. Its past the pending stage. I have received no cancellation notices yet. My order still shows up at graingers website and has the status of "order approved".
Im not holding my breathe, As someone else mentioned this reaks of HF compressor deal. With the exception that the people are absolutely a pleasure to deal with on the phone. Their customer service is top notch. The ******** excuses were most likely because no one knew wtf was going on. It you cant make it, fake it.
If my deal falls through, Im going to try to get a discount on another machine from them. I actually am on the hunt for another welder and still want one. If I can get a new machine near the price of a used one from CL Im gonna jump on it.
For those of you threatening lawsuits...grow up. Seriously, you have got to be kidding me. Its not bait and switch, its called a mistake and people (even corporations)are allowed to make a few. You also have to present a pattern of the tactic if you expect to get anywhere with that suit. Once 4 years ago is hardly a pattern. You also have to prove they didnt have any to sell at the advertised price, good luck with that. You are the reason that grainger doesnt like to deal with the public I dont blame them.
LawnDart79
Well-known member
I called my local Grainger store this afternoon to ask about the status of my order...was first told, after some banter between employees on their end, that they couldn't sell the welder to persons in the state of Illinois. I was put on hold then told by a different person that the website pricing was a mistake and that they cancelled my order.
They did however tell me I could still buy the welder for $1100 if I still wanted it. I guess the $1100 welder is okay to sell to Illinois residents.
They did however tell me I could still buy the welder for $1100 if I still wanted it. I guess the $1100 welder is okay to sell to Illinois residents.
les_garten
Banned
If you end up getting a welder, color your eyes on that wild *** avatar red!
Thanx for that update!
Consistently Inconsistent!
Don 18
Well-known member
I got an email telling me that my order was cancelled because "Stock has been depleted and we can no longer order this particular welder from our vendor"
I emailed Miller Customer service about this and they told me they had the welder in stock. I sent a courteous reply to Grainger to please reinstate my order and included a copy of the email from Millers' customer service.
I won't be bent if it doesn't go through, it would have been a great deal. Just tell the truth about it. I created an account, placed an order with a cc to commit to the sale, got a confirmation and then get cancelled the next day with a bogus excuse. I'm curious to see if anyone gets one.
I emailed Miller Customer service about this and they told me they had the welder in stock. I sent a courteous reply to Grainger to please reinstate my order and included a copy of the email from Millers' customer service.
I won't be bent if it doesn't go through, it would have been a great deal. Just tell the truth about it. I created an account, placed an order with a cc to commit to the sale, got a confirmation and then get cancelled the next day with a bogus excuse. I'm curious to see if anyone gets one.
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