88 replies to this topic

[zorg]

msy are expanding thier premises in malvern see thier website to include dedicated areas for each type of service.

[dvduser]

themachine, on Nov 6 2005, 07:06 AM, said:

harvey norman isnt the one you should worry about... retrovision in world square has a sales person in there selling standard def plasmas as high def ... i watched him say the same thing to a number of different people about this sd plasama selling it as a hd..... ACCC is on the case now

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

After posting in every thread around here last night - get a LIFE !!!

[electguy]

technocat, on Oct 22 2005, 06:23 PM, said:

I agree,  their tired old ads and the screaming voice over put me off years ago and I haven't been in a H.N. store going on ten years.  You would think Jerry Harvey would wake up to himself.   Retrovision get my business.

glad i found this site. some info for you all.
good guys was set up by ex harvey's man, so they are also geared to make money. none of their stuff is on consignment like harveys, so retail may be cheaper sometimes but profit the same. retravision's buying group has gone bankrupt, so now you are seeing crazy prices and some stores shutting down. no store no warranty. one thing to remember too is working in retail is not the same as having an interest in specific goods. if anyone expects one person to know every detail of all products tvs video avs whitegoods then its them who should be there selling them not the kid who probably has been in the job for a week.
come on guys, if you are in business you are there to make money, not lose it. show me any business that has been set up to give stuff away and still be around. oh by the harveys now operates in australia, new zealand, singapore, slovenia, ireland and soon to be europe.
go the tall poppy

[qurious]

electguy, on Apr 16 2007, 06:33 AM, said:

glad i found this site. some info for you all.
good guys was set up by ex harvey's man, so they are also geared to make money. none of their stuff is on consignment like harveys, so retail may be cheaper sometimes but profit the same. retravision's buying group has gone bankrupt, so now you are seeing crazy prices and some stores shutting down. no store no warranty. one thing to remember too is working in retail is not the same as having an interest in specific goods. if anyone expects one person to know every detail of all products tvs video avs whitegoods then its them who should be there selling them not the kid who probably has been in the job for a week.
come on guys, if you are in business you are there to make money, not lose it. show me any business that has been set up to give stuff away and still be around. oh by the harveys now operates in australia, new zealand, singapore, slovenia, ireland and soon to be europe.
go the tall poppy

electguy,  welcome to the forum.  Just some clarification on your Post.

The Goods Guys franchise system is owned by a gentleman called Andrew Muir.  Mr Muir's father started Mighty Muir's, an electrical retailer which evolved over time and was branded "  The Good Guys " as they rolled out their stores and expanded.  They are not ex Harvey people and have no commerical relationship with HVN.  The only small link between the two retail organisations is that some TGG franchisees are ex HVN franchisees who have left HVN and purchased TGG franchisees.

Neither in HVN nor TGG will you find their goods on consignment.  No Major manufacturer or distributor in australia provides this type of trading arrangement.  Some small no body supplier may do it to get their foot in the door,  but consignment in this industry does not happen.  None of the top 10 brands do it which would account for 95% + of their turnover.

Meile is the only major manufacturer who operates this type of arrangement but it is an agency system and not consignment.

Retravision has not gone bankrupt.  The NSW state office which provides the financing and central accounting for the NSW sub branch of retravision has folded,  due to the debts it was left with by the fall of two of their largest members - HomeZone which was operated by a gentleman called Milton Etkind,  and Valtel which was operated by Mr Adrian Conti.  It is estimated that the collapse of these two retailers left Retravision NSW LTD with bad debts of approximately $16m.

This affects no other state where retravision operates.  As for individual members of retravision NSW, they have been offerred trading arrangements under either the Vic or QLD operation.  Some have decided to use the opportunity to call it quits and as such have closed,  and others have chosen not to renew their retravision membership and have switched to other industry buying groups such as HVN,  Narta,  BSR and others.

Warranties are the ultimate responsability of the manufacturer - so if the retailer goes bust,  so long as you have purchased a product sold by the manufacturer to an authorised dealer (not some dodgy grey market or ebay private import)  the manufacturer on providing proof of purchase will honour your warranty.

Reading your post I thought it neccessary to clarify these points.  The forum should be used to educate and inform,  not mis lead.

Back on to topic,  I believe it is within every business's right to make money,  and one customer paying more than another should not be considered being "ripped off".  Every consumer has the opportunity to research their purchase decision and make an informed choice on a product and its justified price.  Don't blame HVN or any retailer for trying to extract the maximum price - they are there to make a profit.

But,  as to the much talked of HVN 100% price promise,  if they print it,  put it in writting and promote it,  they should honour it and follow through everytime

ACCC - where are you  ?

Look at Flight Centre.  They used to advertise "Lowest Price.  Guranteed !"

They were forced to remove this by the ACCC as they could not show that each and every time they had the lowest price,  so it was deemed false advertising.  They now advertise "Price Beat Gurantee"  stating they will beat prices,  but not saying they are the cheapest everyday.

[CollinsRick]

Majority of the time not only my self, but also my parents have only ever shopped at a particular Harvey Norman store in Canberra. I understand that there pricing isn't usually that competitive. When I purchased the computer package i wanted i knew it was $57 more than most other places even the domayne store down the road. But like my parents who shop at the same store with the same sales person since the store opend from what i beleive, we found that the information provided by a particular sales person and his service (John i beleive), was outstanding and i was prepared to spend that extra. Im now very happy to go back and buy either the 42" hitachi plamsa or toshiba LCD from their. Sometimes its not always about the best price and the product i guess, like someone previously posted.

[geekmatic]

Andrew S., on Oct 21 2005, 12:12 PM, said:

I'm chasing prices on the new Sony DSTHD500 HD STB.
Recommended retail is $699 as shown on both this site and the Sony website.

Harvey Norman @ Bundall here on the Gold Coast just quoted me $799.

I had to ask a salesperson the price because of all the STBs piled up on the floor this was the only model not showing a price.

Congratulations HN the Legend lives on..

  its very funny you say that. The harvey norman legend does live on! Quite strong at that! Its the only electrical/computer retailer that is DEBT free. I wonder why that is?? Ripping everyone off? NO! Because its a company that understands the meaning of business, and customer service. Is harvey norman was as bad as you bunch of fools thought, it wouldnt be the power house it is today... Choke on that!

[FMB]

geekmatic, on Oct 5 2009, 10:36 AM, said:

  its very funny you say that. The harvey norman legend does live on! Quite strong at that! Its the only electrical/computer retailer that is DEBT free. I wonder why that is?? Ripping everyone off? NO! Because its a company that understands the meaning of business, and customer service. Is harvey norman was as bad as you bunch of fools thought, it wouldnt be the power house it is today... Choke on that!

There is no doubt that Gerry Harvey is very good at what he does and makes lots of money as a result
However he does so by preying on the gullibility of people
HN's marketing is carefully targetted at those who are most likely to fall for it
Take the whole premise of "We won't be beaten on price" campaign
There are a great many people out there who trust that this line is accurate and won't bother to shop around
I have seen countless examples of HN's ticket prices at well in excess of RRP
They then offer a discount which brings the price back to RRP
Gullible customer thinks they're getting a good deal when in fact they could get it cheaper elsewhere
Sorry, but Gerry never gets my business and if I'm ever in a store and see someone being ripped off
I have no hesitation telling them so
I've cost HN quite a few sales over the years
I stand by the statement I tell everyone I know
HN is the best place to shop, but the worst place to buy
Thank you Gerry for giving us well stocked showrooms in which to browse
But once I've decided, I'll buy it elsewhere thanks
Choke on that geekmatic

[Chopsus]

geekmatic, on Oct 5 2009, 11:36 AM, said:

  its very funny you say that. The harvey norman legend does live on! Quite strong at that! Its the only electrical/computer retailer that is DEBT free. I wonder why that is?? Ripping everyone off? NO! Because its a company that understands the meaning of business, and customer service. Is harvey norman was as bad as you bunch of fools thought, it wouldnt be the power house it is today... Choke on that!

Curious that a HN supporter would drag up such an old thread ... then again, it;s about the average age of most of HN's stock.

[FMB]

Chopsus, on Oct 5 2009, 12:08 PM, said:

Curious that a HN supporter would drag up such an old thread ... then again, it;s about the average age of most of HN's stock.

Well spotted Chopsus
I hadn't noticed the date of the quoted post
Also worth noting that this was geekmatic's first post
Curiouser and curiouser

[diesel]

FMB, on Oct 5 2009, 12:07 PM, said:

HN is the best place to shop, but the worst place to buy
Thank you Gerry for giving us well stocked showrooms in which to browse
But once I've decided, I'll buy it elsewhere thanks

Nicely said FMB

That is exactly what I use HN for also.

I just bought about an hour ago a fridge, cooktop, oven, microwave and dishwasher from CP. HN had all the models I wanted to look at in one store and offered some good advice, but CP had stock (which I needed ASAP) out the back and were much keener on price.

Thanks HN for the advice. I gave your guy last call, but after 2 hours of waiting for him to call me back I rang the CP guy, got him to knock another $400 off and I was SOLD!

[FMB]

An excellent example diesel
I have to wonder whether geekmatic will ever show his face in here again

[nang3]

the only time i use harvey norman is if my mates cant get the product im after and i just walk in and lowball the hell out of them.. most of the time HN will say OK... so they arent all bad hahaha..
their RRPs are crackpipe prices though, in there the other day and they had G25 logitech wheels for $600 still !!! an old model over double the price of most other shops!!!

[johndee]

HN will occasionally meet other retailers prices, but ONLY if you have a written quote, a verbal one is not good enough.
Like Diesel I have just bought  a cooktop (Induction), oven, rangehood, fridge and microwave. The best price was Retravision, HN would come close, but Retra seemed to have better service, and they put themselves out for me chasing the cooktop. They also faxed the cooktop competition details through for me later since I am told we had won.
JB

[diesel]

nang3, on Oct 5 2009, 04:28 PM, said:

their RRPs are crackpipe prices though

Part of the reason they are so successful?

johndee, on Oct 5 2009, 04:40 PM, said:

HN will occasionally meet other retailers prices, but ONLY if you have a written quote, a verbal one is not good enough.

That's too funny  
HN were the only ones not to give me a written quote, which was valid only for that day (yesterday)