“Rare and hard to find”

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GlamarousBarbie

Sofa King Banned
Sep 8, 2023
580
1,314
#1
Yesterday, something happened which really irritated me with an online SA contacting me about some pieces. She started with saying “we have your wishlist and we thought we would let you know that some hard to find pieces are available” and she then proceeded to mention 0 items which were even on my wishlist. The only items I had were white gold, besides one piece which was the Kate Middleton earrings. She then said “I can see you love yellow gold” whilst my spending history has zero yellow gold purchases. She then proceeded to tell me the “rare and hard to find” piece was a tigers eye 20 motif and a carnelian 20 motif, which I’ve seen on the website for the last few weeks and in store several times. I told her that information and she was like “oh! I didn’t know that, thanks for letting me know” and then the conversation ended.

Is anyone else just over the “rare and hard to find” push from sales associates? I don’t care about rarity, I care about what I like. The fact that this lady was just straight up lying bothers me!

I purchased a ring recently because of the “rare and hard to find” lie and I ended up not even liking it and FOMO’d myself. I’m going to exchange it for something I actually like now, partially my fault for not knowing the sales tactics, but now im stuck with credit on my account.
 
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#4
jellyv said:
Their job is to sell, and and they use techniques to do so. Being an educated client is a great start to see through the smoke. But if you've also bought when you didn't really feel it, that's on you--chalk it up to experience and be cautious going forward.
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I heavily disagree. I’ve never spoken to this person before, she said that it seems that you “love yellow gold” whilst I have zero yellow gold pieces. The point of the post is to be fed up of the lies, this lady called me and told me about pieces which weren’t even on my wishlist and said they were. I never put myself on a wishlist for that piece and she acted like I did. This isn’t even a selling technique, because she sold nothing and I was completely confused to what she’s even talking about.
 
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#5
waterlily112 said:
I recalled seeing this phrase popped up very often around the holiday pendant time, especially from the SA's in Asia, but I wouldn't be surprised if SA's around the world use the scarcity tactics to some degree.
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They do, but my point was that she called me randomly and lied about me being on a wishlist for these items which I was never even on a wishlist for, just in attempts to make a sale with fake scarcity.
 
#6
GlamarousBarbie said:
They do, but my point was that she called me randomly and lied about me being on a wishlist for these items which I was never even on a wishlist for, just in attempts to make a sale with fake scarcity.
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Yeah that's really odd...maybe that SA from the online boutique was having a bad day or desperate to meet the monthly sales goal so she calls around to see if anyone will take the bait.
 
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#7
waterlily112 said:
Yeah that's really odd...maybe that SA from the online boutique was having a bad day or desperate to meet the monthly sales goal so she calls around to see if anyone will take the bait.
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I agree! It was very odd, I thought it was a spam call but it wasn’t, it was an online sales associate. Very bizarre! I thought I’d just share this incase others start experiencing this….
 
#10
Personally, if any SA contacted me in that way, if I don’t want to deal with him or her, I just ignore the person. I buy want I want, when I want it. If it’s the last one (for real or not), and I’m not ready to buy, then I say: it’s okay, I’m still not sure and you can sell it to someone else if they want it. :smile:

I say this for my longtime SA’s well. At the end of the day, I know what their job means and I know what they need to do. I always tell them that regardless of what I end up deciding on if you need to make that sale go make that sale. This is just me being honest with them.
I also know what type of shopper I am. I am very picky. Quite slow to decide unless it’s an instinctive I-know-this-is-the-one purchase. It can take months or even years for me to decide to buy something and I know that no one is going to wait for me for that long lol.

I am not saying that it is acceptable or OK to use sales tactics that involve lying. I understand the feeling, anger and frustration of being lied to and sleazy sales tactics. And if necessary, I am very quick to call it out. However, tbh, it’s too much of a hassle to deal with something that is not exactly a priority for me. And I really don’t want to waste my energy or emotions on someone who I probably don’t really care about in the long run.
Just ignore (or block) and move on. :smile:
 
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#13
caruava said:
I wonder if there was a mix up in profile or mistake.
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I’m sorry this happened to you. It sounds to me like a mix up. But, I assume your SA would know your taste.

ETA: just realized you specified e-commerce. it’s always been my understanding that e-commerce is separate from the boutique. Sadly they are not trained the same way. Nor do they have the same protocols re operation. If you shop on line, and don’t have a dedicated SA, and it isn’t a mix up, most likely the e-commerce division has asked their reps to make cold calls. I wouldn’t take what amounts to a cold call personally. IMO it would be very different if my own in-person boutique SA was trying to gaslight. I agree with the post above that advised to simply block the call. It’s a pity that some TPFers have also reported crappy in person service at the actual boutiques. Doesn’t seem luxurious at all.

I have also occasionally purchased something due to FOMO (not on line and not luxury bc I only buy those items in person from my personal SAs who know my taste). I agree with the post above that withstanding FOMO is something all of us need to practice trying to avoid. It is a necessary lesson for all of us

JMO based on my boutique experience. I don’t have any personal e-commerce experience; these observations are simply what my various premier big brand SAs have told me.
 
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