Your thoughts: Respectable waitlist etiquette??

butterfliie

aka Jenn
O.G.
Jan 1, 2007
1,216
0
Recently there have been several situations in which a highly coveted and/or hard to find bag has popped up and a kind PF'er has alerted us all in hopes that someone in the Chanel forum can snag the bag. I'm sure that we're all polite enough to "line up" for first dibs, but I find it difficult to discern what the acceptable wait time should be before it's the next person's "turn" to claim the item. It seems like an even harder decision for SAs, who are caught between making a sale (which is their job), versus respecting the original person who placed the bag on hold. Most companies do not allow items to be held past a certain time limit, which adds yet another layer of complexity.

For example: Let's say that a gray 2.55 reissue size 227 magically appeared at Saks and someone started a thread to let us all know. A PF'er (or anyone else for that matter) then places it on hold but doesn't confirm whether she has purchased it or passed. Personally, I'd feel torn between wanting to grab the bag yet wanting to be respectful since I know I wasn't first in line and it's not my "right" to. I struggle with if it's even kosher for me to call and place another hold on the item!

Maybe I'm overanalyzing things. Is it such a moral dilemma or am I just thinking too much? What do y'all think?? :shrugs:
 
Honestly, I think when a person calls and puts a bag on hold she runs the risk of the s/a selling it to a serious buyer. I have placed hard to find bags on hold and specifically asked the s/a the timeframe in which I have to purchase the bag before she moves on to the next customer. I don't assume it will be held for 24 hours or until the end of her workday.

Bottom line, once the bag is on hold the s/a reserves the right to honor the hold or sell the merchandise before the hold time expires. I have even had s/a's call to let me know a buyer is interested and give me first right of refusal as the holder of the bag.
 
Honestly, I think when a person calls and puts a bag on hold she runs the risk of the s/a selling it to a serious buyer. I have placed hard to find bags on hold and specifically asked the s/a the timeframe in which I have to purchase the bag before she moves on to the next customer. I don't assume it will be held for 24 hours or until the end of her workday.

Bottom line, once the bag is on hold the s/a reserves the right to honor the hold or sell the merchandise before the hold time expires. I have even had s/a's call to let me know a buyer is interested and give me first right of refusal as the holder of the bag.

Thanks roey. One of the reasons I posted was because I felt dishonest calling Denise yesterday to place a second hold on the bag after reading your page to Jenny. I am deathly afraid of somehow snubbing a fellow PF'er in my own interest.
 
I've thought about that too. At some point, I may be in direct competition with another PF'er, for a bag. I'm curious to read everyone's thoughts! :yes:
 
This is good food for thought and sorting out - at some point we all might find ourselves in that position. I was lucky with the 2.55 reissue navy patent - my SA held it for a number of days before I had a chance to go by and see it / then I bought it. I told her I did not want to ring it on cc until I saw it and couldn't make it until a certain date. She guarded it for me - very sweet. But she knows even if she has to hold something for a number of days - when I say I will be there - I will. But this situation with multiple holds and tpf'ers is quite a challenge..... Look forward to seeing what code of conduct is accepted by all.
 
i think it's up to the sa. if they have calls they determine how long they can hold something if someone else wants it or even if they don't.

i know i was on the waitlist for a red jumbo before they came out. i was number two. i knew there was at least one person after me. when the call came in i called them back and asked if they could hold it til the next day for me to get in touch with my mother to see if she wanted it. i was going to call the next day no matter what so if i didn't get it the next person could. i also pmed the other person i knew who was waiting so she could call if i didn't get mine or to ask if the person before me passed.

but people who waitlist or hold things also have to be reasonable. you need to ask how long you have and be upfront about how much time you need to decide. we all know how hard it is to get certain items and how much our fellow purse lovers want the same things as us.

i know for another brand (not chanel) there was a bag i was dying for but i wanted until saturday to decide. which was about a week away. they said they could not hold it at all. finally my sa said if it wasn't sold by friday he would hold it friday to saturday. i called friday and it had sold thursday. i was very sad but i understood. they need to make a sale and someone else who truly loved that bag got it. another bag will always come along.
 
sometimes because we're here online we forget that there are people walking in to the stores every day. it's one thing to hold it for someone who's calling but what about someone who walks in and wants to buy it on the spot? kwim?

i think it also might be ok to call and say listen, i know the bag is on hold, can you let me know if it's purchased or if you can try and find me annother one? that might be a win win for all. the original person gets their bag and maybe the sa can find another one and get a second sale.
 
in the perfect world, people would back off so their online/virtual friend could get the bag.
But to me, and I know I'll not make friends by admitting this, it's fair game.
Just like eBay.
If you post "I want this bag on eBay!!" w/ a link, you should be prepared that you just exposed that auction to 10's of thousands of people and can't get bitter if it sells to someone else.
KWIM?
 
i think it's perfectly fine for anyone to call and put themselves on the "waitlist" of an item that's on hold, in case the original holder doesn't end up buying it....maybe i'm being over-sensitive here, but in my case, I had called within the 24 hours htat was originally promised to me, and asked if it was okay to extend the hold and was then promised that it would be on hold for another 24 hours.

I had every intention of getting the bag, long story short, i even offered my CC information to show that I was serious about the bag. But the bag was sold prior to the expiration of my "extended" hold. Anyways, I am not upset at the person who got it, but, I am disappointed at the fact that the SA promised to extend the hold, would sell it to someone else before my hold expired
 
ITA with Swanky. If there is a bag I really really want, I contact my assorted SA's and tell them to charge it as soon as it arrives. I have YET to have the same bag be charged more than 1 time. I then let the SA's know I already have the bag. This way, it is open to the next person.

What goes around comes around. There will always be another bag around the corner. I believe I'm playing fair; I know I have received a few bags because the person who had it on hold NEVER came in, NEVER returned phone calls and I was there, cash in hand.
 
This is really tricky. I think more goes on behind the scenes too. Such as, some SA's removing holds and selling to their customers. Some stores put so much pressure on their associates to sell a certain amount. I think it's difficult, if a customer comes in, ready to purchase, and there is one left...and it's on hold, no firm committment. I'm with Swanky...if I really want it...I give my info, and ask that it be charged when it comes in.
 
I think that if an SA puts it on hold for a customer, he/she should specify a time frame, and within that time frame if someone else asks for the bag, they could be put 2nd on hold. At the very least, the SA could call the first person on the wait list to confirm if he/she still wants the bag.

What's really terrible, is I once saw a bag put on hold for a customer by SA #1 and then five minutes later another customer picks it up and her SA #2 just sells her the bag (even though the bag was meant for someone else).
 
Well, the other side of the coin is... walking into the store, with CC in hand, asking to purchase something, only to be told it's on hold for someone else and will be for a few more days. Either buy it or don't buy it... so frustrating!
 
ITA with evychew. That's the way a good SA can earn trust and business from his/her customers.

As for us - bag addicts - what we can do is propose a reasonable time frame for holding a bag, for the convenience of other buyers and SA. Personally, I think one day sounds good, 2 days maximum.