diapers.com apparently phasing out pricematching

[poohbear]

boo!
I was afraid it would come to this...
Apparently diapers.com is no longer pricematching. Seems to have gone away with the introduction of soap.com.
I've been a loyal diapers.com customer for a long time, but now with amazon offering free return shipping and free shipping on only $25, plus diapers raising their prices on many things, my patience with them is wearing thin...

ETA 7/18 - I changed the title of this post because after I called I was told that they are phasing out pricematching with no specified end date. But if you know you wanted to order something from them using a pricematch, I'd do it soon....

[arivecchi]

How did you find out?

[elektra]

Oh no! Bummer. :(

[WolfpackMom]

Maybe all the moms on here got too price and discount code savvy for them, bummer!

[poohbear]

How did you find out?

I read about it on another site and then went and checked on diapers.com where they used to have info on the best price guarantee. Sure enough, nothing on there that says anything about pricematching (I had noticed when I was looking on soap.com about pricematching that they didn't have anything, but didn't think to look at diapers...). I am going to call to confirm - just haven't had a chance yet....

I have a feeling they'll lose some business over this. I just wonder if it will be enough to bring it back... (or if they were just losing too much by pricematching - I'm sure it cut big into their margins...)

[ourbabygirl]

Yikes- that is a bummer! I never really used diapers.com until this summer, when I was able to price match a car seat & Cozy Coupe, which was awesome. Sad to know they're doing this, and I agree, I probably will use Amazon for future purchases unless there's another baby site that price matches.
Thanks for the heads' up!

[elektra]

But amazon doesn't price match right?

[newg]

ugh :32: ..........................I have totally been waiting to get my double stroller from them, knowing I was going to use pricematching. It's the only way DH has agreed to let me get a Bumbleride Indie Twin. Now what will I do.....

I have totally gotten screwed waiting this time around....between bing cash back and now this...............

[poohbear]

But amazon doesn't price match right?

No, but their prices are generally lower than diapers.com's prices.
The advantages to diapers.com over amazon.com used to be
a)bing 10% - GONE (though there is still fat wallet at 6% and ebates at 4%)
b) free shipping and returns - amazon now offers that and their free shipping is on $25 or more rather than $49 (though diapers does have 1-2 day shipping)
c) pricematching - GONE
d) great customer service - still an advantage
e) you can send in your coupons, but I've never done that - too much time and energy for me!

I'm not saying I won't shop there anymore, I'm just saying with no more pricematching and no more BING and I've noticed they've raised some of their prices, they're not making it so easy to stay loyal to them.

[scmama]

I'm so bummed. I loved their price matching! That was one of the reasons I've loved shopping with them.

[newg]

Do you think they will still do 10% for first time customers?

I was planning on doing a pricematch and then have DH buy the stroller as a first time customer to use the 10%.

[wellyes]

Nice while it lasted.

[ourbabygirl]

Just be sure to have your DH send it to a different address, or better yet, see if you can pay for it with a different credit card & address, like of a friend or relative. I was stupid and ordered diapers as my first purchase from them 2 years ago (like a little $50 order), and they have my name, address, and credit card in the system so they know that I've already done my first purchase and can't get the 10% off again. If I want to get a big ticket item from them eventually, I may have my mom order it and I'll pay her back. ;)

[arivecchi]

It probably was not viable for them anymore, but it stinks for us.

[poohbear]

Do you think they will still do 10% for first time customers?

I was planning on doing a pricematch and then have DH buy the stroller as a first time customer to use the 10%.

I don't know... I know they now have 15% off if you use a referral code, which the other day you could stack with 10percent for 10% off. You would have to have it shipped to a different address though....

[poohbear]

It probably was not viable for them anymore, but it stinks for us.

Yeah, I just wish they would have found a better way, like no stacking or eliminate the first time customer discount or get rid of the referral program or something...

[cicada]

I read about it on another site and then went and checked on diapers.com where they used to have info on the best price guarantee. Sure enough, nothing on there that says anything about pricematching (I had noticed when I was looking on soap.com about pricematching that they didn't have anything, but didn't think to look at diapers...). I am going to call to confirm - just haven't had a chance yet....

I have a feeling they'll lose some business over this. I just wonder if it will be enough to bring it back... (or if they were just losing too much by pricematching - I'm sure it cut big into their margins...)

I was just getting online to post about this. I emailed about a price match this evening and got the following response:

"Unfortunately we will not be offering the best price match guarantee program anymore. I understand that this may be a little inconvenient and apologize ahead of time for any inconvenience this may cause you. However, as a courtesy I will honor the price match. Please email us back with your email address used to create your account so we can place a coupon on your account. Once the coupon is placed on your account, it will be valid for 3 days. We look forward to servicing all of your babies needs in the future. If you have any further questions, comments, suggestions or concerns, please feel free to contact our friendly Customer Care team by phone (toll-free, 1-800-342-7377) or by email ([email protected]). We're now here to help you out 24 hours a day 7 days a week."

[Kitten007]

I was just getting online to post about this. I emailed about a price match this evening and got the following response:

"Unfortunately we will not be offering the best price match guarantee program anymore. I understand that this may be a little inconvenient and apologize ahead of time for any inconvenience this may cause you. However, as a courtesy I will honor the price match. Please email us back with your email address used to create your account so we can place a coupon on your account. Once the coupon is placed on your account, it will be valid for 3 days. We look forward to servicing all of your babies needs in the future. If you have any further questions, comments, suggestions or concerns, please feel free to contact our friendly Customer Care team by phone (toll-free, 1-800-342-7377) or by email ([email protected]). We're now here to help you out 24 hours a day 7 days a week."

Well super sucky! Between this and the Ontrac delivery service (sometimes delayed or missing or crushed shipments), I might not shop with them much anymore. I used to order a lot. :(

[conniez]

ITA this sucks & will probably shop Amazon (since they tend to have better prices most of the time) plus they now have free shipping on baby items.


Well super sucky! Between this and the Ontrac delivery service (sometimes delayed or missing or crushed shipments), I might not shop with them much anymore. I used to order a lot. :(

Kitten007- Re: Ontrac - You can ask Diapers.com to note on your account that you only want a "national shipper" (UPS or FedEx) to ship your products to you from Diapers.com. I wasn't happy with Ontrac leaving packages on my door & not attempting to deliver a package when I ordered my Graco Ipo so I told Diapers.com cs and they made sure only FedEx or UPS was used in the future.

[lmwbasye]

Bummer. They've already lost my business. I was about to order a seat today but without price match I'll stick with Prime that I have with my mom.

[newg]

DH called their CS last night and asked if they pricematch and the guy said "yes"....didn't say anything about doing it as a "one time thing" for us. DH emailed the pricematch info to this guy and he credited my account, so when we ordered the stroller, the coupon was actuomaticly applied.

So maybe if you go through a CS rep they will still do it?

[poohbear]

FWIW - called and asked a rep and was told it was being phased out, which is why the emailers are being told it's not being done, but it's being done as a courtesy.
Bottom line is, if you know you need something at a pricematch, don't wait because it is going away :)

[FieryOne1231]

Oh no! I think this is a terrible mistake on their part as they will surely lose a lot of customers. I certainly won't be shopping there anymore if they don't pm :thumbsdown:. Their customer service is still top-notch, but let's face it...it all comes down to price in the end, and they certainly don't have the best prices. Guess I'll be a more loyal amazon frequenter now.

[jjordan]

Chit Chat Baby just introduced price matching, FYI. On their Facebook page they recently announced that if you call with a competitor's price, they'll try to match and even beat it. I think they have free shipping and free return shipping too.

[poohbear]

Chit Chat Baby just introduced price matching, FYI. On their Facebook page they recently announced that if you call with a competitor's price, they'll try to match and even beat it. I think they have free shipping and free return shipping too.

Awesome! Thanks so much!!!! :)

[Kitten007]

Kitten007- Re: Ontrac - You can ask Diapers.com to note on your account that you only want a "national shipper" (UPS or FedEx) to ship your products to you from Diapers.com. I wasn't happy with Ontrac leaving packages on my door & not attempting to deliver a package when I ordered my Graco Ipo so I told Diapers.com cs and they made sure only FedEx or UPS was used in the future.

Wow!! Thank you for that! If I order again I will call them and tell them. Thank you so much for that! :bowdown:

[peanut520]

total bummer! that was the main reason i choose them over amazon.com, oh well.

i have had great success with Chit Chat Baby and their customer service is great and super knowledgeable.

[sweet_pea]

I also called and was still able to do a price match (yay!), although the rep did confirm that they will not be doing it anymore and that they will do it one last time as a courtesy. So, if you want something from diapers.com with a price match, you still can, but don't wait too much longer!

[njs]

I called today to ask a question about the price matching, and they told me they don't do that anymore! What a bummer! I wonder how much business they might lose over that :(

[mom2beofboy/girltwins]

Man that's a bummer. I usually find that unless somthing's majorly on sale that their prices are not very competive. I guess they're banking on the convienence factor....

[kellij]

I e-mailed and they told me they price match, but you can't use any other promotions on top of that.

[poohbear]

I e-mailed and they told me they price match, but you can't use any other promotions on top of that.

Again, the shenanigans. This is what has been frustrating me about them lately. They can't quite seem to get things straight amongst themselves. They tell one person they're not pricematching, then another rep tells someone else that they are.
Just my vent, because I have always been a HUGE diapers.com shopper and supporter, but seriously!

[JamieMK]

I just got a price match a week or two ago. I did it via e-mail. If they have discontinued it, that's news to me. I did have some problems with the price match this last time initially because they weren't timely about responding (very unusual for them) but they fixed the issue for me. That would stink if they don't price match anymore!

[kellij]

I guess if all they are doing is pricematching and you can't use any other codes, it's not that helpful anyway.

[cairo06]

I need to order a stroller for my sister and was debating whether I should give it a try or not, but if you can't use any codes then I'm not going to bother. I'll just go with Amazon. From what I read on past threads they have a good return policy now.

[tmahanes]

and acted like I didn't hear they were phasing it out and she gave it to me and did not say anything about phasing it out!

[robinsmommy]

Um, actually I suspect that we all knew that the price matching and code thing was too good a deal to last - how on earth could they stay in business? People were finding car seats(or other big ticket items) at a great deal, asking for a price match, and then using a code....how could any place stay in business that way? Not to mention that the car seat manufacturers would probably get upset about having their seats sold for such low prices...

If their quick shipping and paid returns are still in place, that makes them reasonably competitive in my eyes - ever needed a car seat emergency like? Lots of places want an arm and an leg for that kind of shipping. Not to mention having to pay for return insurance for other places.

[fedoragirl]

I detest them. I called them for a pricematch for an Ergo that babysteals was offering, and other moms here had gotten a pricematch from them for the same product during the same time frame. However, when I called, the rep refused to pricematch, and she was rude to me suggesting that I didn't know how to read the offer.
I have never shopped with them, and told her that I never will.
I love Amazon. They've given me 3 months of free Prime so I get 2-day shipping with any product in Prime. I also get free returns. I don't have to haggle because their prices are generally the lowest. I love their Subscribe and Save feature and I spend all my baby $$$ there.

[arivecchi]

I detest them. I called them for a pricematch for an Ergo that babysteals was offering, and other moms here had gotten a pricematch from them for the same product during the same time frame. However, when I called, the rep refused to pricematch, and she was rude to me suggesting that I didn't know how to read the offer.
I have never shopped with them, and told her that I never will.
I love Amazon. They've given me 3 months of free Prime so I get 2-day shipping with any product in Prime. I also get free returns. I don't have to haggle because their prices are generally the lowest. I love their Subscribe and Save feature and I spend all my baby $$$ there. You cannot price match to deal websites. No company does that.

[poohbear]

I just got a price match a week or two ago. I did it via e-mail. If they have discontinued it, that's news to me. I did have some problems with the price match this last time initially because they weren't timely about responding (very unusual for them) but they fixed the issue for me. That would stink if they don't price match anymore!

This is a new development within the last few days....
My guess is that by the end of the month, pricematches will be no more.
I hope it's not the case, but I'm guessing it is...
ETA - here's the thing - it's not anywhere on their website that I can find, and it used to be ALL OVER the place. So I think that's a big clue...

[malphy]

Um, actually I suspect that we all knew that the price matching and code thing was too good a deal to last - how on earth could they stay in business? People were finding car seats(or other big ticket items) at a great deal, asking for a price match, and then using a code....how could any place stay in business that way? Not to mention that the car seat manufacturers would probably get upset about having their seats sold for such low prices...

If their quick shipping and paid returns are still in place, that makes them reasonably competitive in my eyes - ever needed a car seat emergency like? Lots of places want an arm and an leg for that kind of shipping. Not to mention having to pay for return insurance for other places.


:yeahthat:

Next day shipping is very expensive. With amazon you get free regular ground, sometimes you get it quicker than others, but you can't even be sure you will get it in 2-3 days let alone next day.

What about free returns? I know for a fact that they will send you a replacement before you even send back the return. Who else does that? Usually you must send the item back and it must be recieved before you get credit or a replacement.

Diapers.com has excellent CS, if a little inconsistant. If you ask me it is because they are growing superfast and can't get everyone new up to their speed as quickly as we difficult bbers may want.

I am all about a bargain but common sense needs to prevail. Their prices may be slightly higher than a bm but you are paying for the convenience of getting your items shipped directly to your door and usually the next day. No driving around wasting gas looking for bargains, waiting in lines, dragging the little ones around. Point and click and you are done.

If every one is finagling to stack coupons and price match how can they even survive as a business?

OK, I am off my soapbox but I was getting a little tired hearing how awful they are when they really aren't.

[wellyes]

I am all about a bargain but common sense needs to prevail. Their prices may be slightly higher than a bm but you are paying for the convenience of getting your items shipped directly to your door and usually the next day. No driving around wasting gas looking for bargains, waiting in lines, dragging the little ones around. Point and click and you are done.

If every one is finagling to stack coupons and price match how can they even survive as a business?

There are scores and scores of online baby retailers that would be happy to save you the trouble of going to a B&M store. Diapers.com put themselves on the map here and at Slickdeals and other bargain sites with their coupons and price matching and famous new customer discount. It was a marketing ploy to differentiate themselves. And I suppose they feel they've achieved that goal.

I don't think they're awful. But I'm really tired of the online coupon and cashback merry-go-round. Just give me a good price, darn it, instead of making me jump through hoops and turning it into a game so I feel like I've worked hard to "earn" the sale price.

[malphy]

There are scores and scores of online baby retailers that would be happy to save you the trouble of going to a B&M store. Diapers.com put themselves on the map here and at Slickdeals and other bargain sites with their coupons and price matching and famous new customer discount. It was a marketing ploy to differentiate themselves. And I suppose they feel they've achieved that goal.

I don't think they're awful. But I'm really tired of the online coupon and cashback merry-go-round. Just give me a good price, darn it, instead of making me jump through hoops and turning it into a game so I feel like I've worked hard to "earn" the sale price.

I agree with you but D.com did not put themselves on slickdeals, we bargain/deal hunters did. The internet has changed the game so much. You would not get nearly as many people running to a b&m for the same deal you can point and click for.

I think they were shortsighted in not planning for the price matching and coupon stacking. Although, if you read their price match policy they were pretty clear about how it worked. They just don't like to say no and people caught on and shared with slickdeals therefore bringing on a maelstrom.

Case in point, how many of us have used multiple email address or credit cards to get the new customer discount?

I'm just saying.

[viba424]

I was on diapers the other day and noticed some of their prices were higher than their competitors too.

Ill miss their price match. They were probaby one of the last places doing it. They were probably losing their shirts over it.

[poohbear]

I just want to say that I dont' think people are saying diapers.com is awful. I have shopped there for a long time and will continue to shop there. Their fast shipping, free returns and great cs cannot be beaten. However they have raised prices as of late, whereas other sites like amazon, etc have not. But sometimes I don't have time to run out to get certain things, and I'm willing to pay for the convenience factor. But there are other options out there if you're not in a super hurry. Diapers.com used to be great for lots of reasons including their price matching, now they're great for less things, that's all.
This thread was not started to rip on diapers.com, just to make people aware of the fact that they're no longer price matching...

ETA - I do think that by diapers.com having the referral code system, they were encouraging their discounts to be made viral over the internet. Because with that system, customers were profiting from people shopping with them as well... Just look how many codes are on retailmenot (and you'll never see the same code twice)

[janine]

When I first discovered diapers.com--I did not get the hype. The initial new customer discounts were great but after that ....not so much. Prices were at market or higher, so why not go to BRU and use a 20%/$5 off coupon?

Then I discovered (through this site!), bing, price match, returning customer codes (rare but at least they showed up!) and the prices were then competitve! And the customer service was top notch..free returns and everytime something went awry, they'd give me a credit. So I think the customer service is what differentiates them BUT without competitive pricing that isn't enough.

However I did sometimes wonder how they made a profit, and had assumed it was based on volume (customer loyalty,etc). Perhaps their margins are too small now for that to be enough...guess my point is I see both sides (although for me, I likely will shop elsewhere if there are no promotions).

[kevinsmama]

Diapers.com probably have had to raise their prices b/c too many people were taking advantage of their system by creating multiple accounts etc. to get new customer discount. Those who do things like that may say, "well, other people do it /it went through fine online/the system didn't reject it etc" but the fact of the matter is, you're still taking advantage of the system and if it gets posted on BBS and hundreds of other people do the same thing, the discount/referral system just won't make sense for the vendor anymore.

Same thing with price matching. People started posting on BBS about price matching + coupon stacking + other codes (or price matching to "deal of the day" sites) and some Diapers.com CS reps were too nice and let some pass in the past, and hundreds of others started demanding the same thing.

I'm sure Diapers.com will lose some business from their decision to drop PM, but I'm sure they'd rather lose business with demanding customers who have no common sense or who continually take advantage of the system than to keep dealing with them.

[fedoragirl]

You cannot price match to deal websites. No company does that.

I was informed of the pricematch of the same product by many moms on this very board. They claimed that they had gotten diapers.com to pricematch. I wouldn't have known otherwise.

[janine]

Diapers.com probably have had to raise their prices b/c too many people were taking advantage of their system by creating multiple accounts etc. to get new customer discount. Those who do things like that may say, "well, other people do it /it went through fine online/the system didn't reject it etc" but the fact of the matter is, you're still taking advantage of the system and if it gets posted on BBS and hundreds of other people do the same thing, the discount/referral system just won't make sense for the vendor anymore.

Same thing with price matching. People started posting on BBS about price matching + coupon stacking + other codes (or price matching to "deal of the day" sites) and some Diapers.com CS reps were too nice and let some pass in the past, and hundreds of others started demanding the same thing.

I'm sure Diapers.com will lose some business from their decision to drop PM, but I'm sure they'd rather lose business with demanding customers who have no common sense or who continually take advantage of the system than to keep dealing with them.
Seriously? I wouldn't go that far in making your point. We live in a consumer based society and its not about getting annoyed with "demanding" customers, it's about marketing (which can happen in form of competitive pricing, customer service, promos) and making a profit at the same time. I highly doubt they would want to lose any customers, demanding or not. They must be having a tough time turning a decent profit, so are HOPING customer base will stick around. Only time will tell on that one. As for demanding customers, please, in any market the consumer will take advantage of a gaps in price and seek out the lowest option. If it goes through, that's not the customer's issue, that's called an educated customer looking for the best deal. Nothing wrong with that.

[arivecchi]

I was informed of the pricematch of the same product by many moms on this very board. They claimed that they had gotten diapers.com to pricematch. I wouldn't have known otherwise. They did PM to regular websites that offer the same exact product such as Amazon, Babycatalog and Albee Baby. No website PMs to deal of the day sites like mamabargains, etc. If someone got a PM to a deal of the day website, it was probably a mistake and they got lucky.

I will still purchase from them if there is not a big price difference as I love their CS, love the fast shipping and free returns and loathe buying items at a B&M store. PM is really worth it IMO for big ticket items like car seats and strollers and I guess they are betting that people will still buy those items from them due to the great CS and free return policy. I had to do a couple of returns with Amazon and it is more of a hassle.

[poohbear]

[/COLOR]
Seriously? I wouldn't go that far in making your point. We live in a consumer based society and its not about getting annoyed with "demanding" customers, it's about marketing (which can happen in form of competitive pricing, customer service, promos) and making a profit at the same time. I highly doubt they would want to lose any customers, demanding or not. They must be having a tough time turning a decent profit, so are HOPING customer base will stick around. Only time will tell on that one. As for demanding customers, please, in any market the consumer will take advantage of a gaps in price and seek out the lowest option. If it goes through, that's not the customer's issue, that's called an educated customer looking for the best deal. Nothing wrong with that.

:yeahthat: THEY are a company trying to make a profit. They are not a homegrown local business. They are a big business. I don't think we should lose sight of that. I do think one of the problems is that there are people that abuse customer service by calling and see what they can get, but hey, diapers.com is willing to do it, so that's not the customer's fault either. That's their business model and their choice. Again, they are a BIG company. Big enough to launch a whole other site. So I'm not crying any tears for them losing money. I'm sad that they are taking away something that has benefitted us (pricematching). I'm sad if it happened because customers abused it. Its unfortunate that they couldn't just make it so you couldn't pricematch and not stack. But they're making business decisions. It is what it is. And as a consumer, I'm going to make consumer decisions. And I'm not going to look at a company as a person. Because it's not.

[fedoragirl]

They did PM to regular websites that offer the same exact product such as Amazon, Babycatalog and Albee Baby. No website PMs to deal of the day sites like mamabargains, etc. If someone got a PM to a deal of the day website, it was probably a mistake and they got lucky.

I will still purchase from them if there is not a big price difference as I love their CS, love the fast shipping and free returns and loathe buying items at a B&M store. PM is really worth it IMO for big ticket items like car seats and strollers and I guess they are betting that people will still buy those items from them due to the great CS and free return policy. I had to do a couple of returns with Amazon and it is more of a hassle.

I am glad you had/have a wonderful experience with diapers.com. I, however, did not. It was not just that they didn't pricematch, especially since they did it for other mommies on this board (please note: not one mommy, but several. You can dig up the thread), but because their CS rep. was rude to me.
I don't tolerate that from diaper.com or from any company that chooses to denigrate me.
Do not bash my opinion or experience just because yours was different. I prefer Amazon because I haven't had issues with them. However, it's perfectly reasonable for you to have a different opinion because of your experience with them.
This is not about which company is better; it's about different experiences as consumers.

[arivecchi]

I am glad you had/have a wonderful experience with diapers.com. I, however, did not. It was not just that they didn't pricematch, especially since they did it for other mommies on this board (please note: not one mommy, but several. You can dig up the thread), but because their CS rep. was rude to me.
I don't tolerate that from diaper.com or from any company that chooses to denigrate me.
Do not bash my opinion or experience just because yours was different. I prefer Amazon because I haven't had issues with them. However, it's perfectly reasonable for you to have a different opinion because of your experience with them.
This is not about which company is better; it's about different experiences as consumers. I was not bashing your opinion at all. The first part of my comment was directed at your comment. The second part was my general comment on the issue and was not directed at you.

[poohbear]

Fedoragirl, one of the issues many of us have had with diapers.com is that different reps tend to give different answers (this is also common in other retail outlets and I believe it is a training issue). Unfortunately if you had called and spoken with a different rep, you may have gotten a different result. This is what I refer to when I refer to their "shenigans"

Also, with the ergos on babysteals back in March, they were matching earlier in the day and then decided that babysteals was not an "authorized dealer" and stopped later in the day. Perhaps that was part of your issue. But I understand your frustration. Though for the most part, it is the policy of stores not to pricematch deal of the day sites or any sites that require membership (Costco, BJs, Sams Club, Gilt, totsy, etc)

Overall though, like Arivecchi I have been pretty happy with diapers.com and their customer service, and if their price is the same as Amazon's or another site's, I will order from them. I will not order from them if it's higher unless I'm placing a big order and the price difference is negligible or it's inconvenient for me to order elsewhere (just like if I was at Target).

I did have a negative experience with a rep, and I asked for a supervisor (just like I would in a retail store) and the issue was promptly resolved to my satisfaction. That would be my advice to anyone who experiences a rude cs agent in any call.

[wellyes]

I'm sure Diapers.com will lose some business from their decision to drop PM, but I'm sure they'd rather lose business with demanding customers who have no common sense or who continually take advantage of the system than to keep dealing with them.

I don't agree with this. I believe catering to code-stackers was / is their business model. I've seen plenty of retailers caught unawares by the Slickdeals Phenomenon and they've either canceled orders or (probably) lost money on a particular deal. Diapers.com was sending out codes and pricematching for many, many months. And they're STILL sending out codes.

I personally have not tried to take advantage of the New Customer Discount more than once. I like to find bargains but I do not "cheat".

[malphy]

:yeahthat: THEY are a company trying to make a profit. They are not a homegrown local business. They are a big business. I don't think we should lose sight of that. I do think one of the problems is that there are people that abuse customer service by calling and see what they can get, but hey, diapers.com is willing to do it, so that's not the customer's fault either. That's their business model and their choice. Again, they are a BIG company. Big enough to launch a whole other site. So I'm not crying any tears for them losing money. I'm sad that they are taking away something that has benefitted us (pricematching). I'm sad if it happened because customers abused it. Its unfortunate that they couldn't just make it so you couldn't pricematch and not stack. But they're making business decisions. It is what it is. And as a consumer, I'm going to make consumer decisions. And I'm not going to look at a company as a person. Because it's not.

They are local to NY/NJ and homegrown and not a huge corporation. Just 2 dads who were friends and had a smart idea. They started out of a garage.

I believe in karma and what goes around comes around. I try not to take advantage by looking for loopholes. lord knows I could use the money, but I am afraid it will come and bite me in the behind later, kwim

[fedoragirl]

I was not bashing your opinion at all. The first part of my comment was directed at your comment. The second part was my general comment on the issue and was not directed at you.

Ahhh...the nuances of the internet...I am glad they won't be replaced by RL communication anytime soon. KWIM?
Since I jumped the gun on this one, please accept my apologies.

[poohbear]

They are local to NY/NJ and homegrown and not a huge corporation. Just 2 dads who were friends and had a smart idea. They started out of a garage.

I believe in karma and what goes around comes around. I try not to take advantage by looking for loopholes. lord knows I could use the money, but I am afraid it will come and bite me in the behind later, kwim

True, but now they are a big company - in fact I believe they are the largest internet retailer of baby products. Soap.com was billed as the "largest launch in retail history" They are no longer a small company. My guess is they did pricematching because it was a good way to drum up business when they were starting out and needing to grow a customer base. They no longer need it. They're focusing on other things. It's great that it's two dads and I realize that it was once a homegrown business, but make no mistake about it - it's not a mom and pop operation anymore. (Just like Microsoft and Apple were founded by Bill Gates and Steve Jobs respectively but you wouldn't call them homegrown operations)

Also, I don't think anyone was ever advocating taking advantage of loopholes. If you look back at most of the threads and most of the deals they were "if you're a new customer, get a price match, use 10% off, use bing, and get the magazine rebate" Those aren't loopholes. Diapers.com had a partnership with bing and with parenting magazine. I will be honest, I don't know how the relationship with bing works, but when I got my rebate from parenting magazine, parenting magazine was on the check, and when I got my bing rebate, bing was on the check... And I only used the first time user once. But I used bing MANY times.... And I will continue to use ebates.

[arivecchi]

Ahhh...the nuances of the internet...I am glad they won't be replaced by RL communication anytime soon. KWIM?
Since I jumped the gun on this one, please accept my apologies. No worries. This is where smilies come in handy. ;)

[arivecchi]

I think the PM strategy was a calculated risk to gain market share. They have the market share now so they are discontinuing it. Diapers is not a mom and pop shop anymore. It is a huge business at this point.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/diaperscom-parent-company-previews-soapcom-and-gears-up-for-one-of-the-biggest-launches-in-retail-history-2010-06-03

http://www.nj.com/business/index.ssf/2010/06/diaperscom_with_180m_in_annual.html

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/03/out-of-toothpaste-or-toilet-paper-buy-it-online/?ref=technology


This seems to be their main strategy:

"No one’s going to beat us on the bread and butter of what new moms need,” added Bharara, 39, the firm’s chief operating officer. He said Diapers.com is among a handful of dot-coms that — thanks to improvements in shipping technologies — are selling bulky commodity items at prices low enough to compete with big-box retailers, and shipping them overnight to customers for free. They credit the company’s success to warehouses that function on robotics and algorithms, an obsession with customer service and the sheer novelty of an online-only baby gear retailer."

[janine]

Of course it's a business! Business is business and insinuating this is some form of cheating or poor ethics is rid-ic-ulous! Stacking of codes or finding a way to get a lower price based on THEIR policy is smart shopping. If they decide to abort their practices to close the loop holes (if in fact they were holes--I'm of the belief they were well aware of it and let it continue because of the # of orders it was bringing in), that's their choice as well and our choice to shop elsewhere! That's the beauty of an open market and society.

I don't see anyone up in arms about sharing of GTG points for pampers. It's the same deal.

[tnmomva]

Just got diapers.com to do a price match on a BJCM to Baby and me boutique. I know you guys have said they are stopping this but it worked for me. got a great deal with pm and referral code and diapers gift certif from gits to grow points!

[satchnbucky]

Just got diapers.com to do a price match on a BJCM to Baby and me boutique. I know you guys have said they are stopping this but it worked for me. got a great deal with pm and referral code and diapers gift certif from gits to grow points!

FWIW - I just got this response to a pricematch request:
"Hi xxxxx,

We would be more than happy to help you price match your xxxx. I have applied a coupon for $xxxx to your account which will automatically be applied to your order. Please be advised that this coupon will expire in 3 days.

Just to be aware we are discontinuing the price match policy sometime in the near future,however, we are more than happy to continue accepting price match requests.

If you have any further questions, comments, or concerns please feel free to contact us at 1-800-DIAPERS or [email protected].

Thanks for at shopping at Diapers.com and have a great day!

Sincerely,
xxxx
Customer Care Team"

Which basically means exactly what the thread title says - they're phasing it out. So yes, you can still get one. But like OP and other posters said, it is stopping and it's not forever, so if you want something price matched, just do it soon ;)

[kellij]

Of course they are doing it a little bit now that the prices aren't down as low on the Frontiers! Arrrrgggg!!

[FieryOne1231]

Well, this is quite a debate that's going on :tongue5: I'm just chiming in to say that I was a bit disappointed when I called to get my final pm. The csr told me they would do it as a last time courtesy, but she was going to calculate in walmart's shipping even though I could get free site-to-store. I asked if same goes for pming Amazon because I have Prime, and she said yes :thumbsdown:. They did not calculate any shipping costs when I price-matched from Amazon before. Guess I'll be ordering from Amazon then. I really wanted to continue to give them my business if possible, but unfortunately, their great customer service and fast shipping is not enough to keep me as a loyal customer. For most of the items I'm interested in, I don't find their prices to be that competitive without the pming. I can find better prices, fast shipping, and even easier returns through Amazon. I love that you can get UPS to pick up your package when returning through Amazon too :thumbsup:. Diapers.com...you have been good to me, but so long :waving4:

[FieryOne1231]

Just a little update...when I realized this morning that duh :duh:...shipping would be free with Amazon regardless of having Prime because it's over $25, I called back. The rep. I got last night just must not have been familiar with amazon. I got a diff. person this morning, and they gave me the pm with no shipping calculated :thumbsup: I could've just got it through Amazon without any hassle I suppose, but I like that I have more time for a refund through diapers.com if the car seat doesn't end of fitting in the bag.

[arivecchi]

That's great Fiery! FWIW, I have had diapers.com set up UPS pick-ups for returns as well.

Generally speaking, I like that I can call diapers.com anytime and get a person right away as oppossed to having Amazon call me back during their business hours. I also love being able to e-mail diapers.com CS anytime as opposed to having to go through the online form with Amazon. I shop a lot with both but definitely prefer diapers.com so far.

I basically buy from Amazon if diapers does not have the item or is OOS. :)

[FieryOne1231]

Oh cool..I didn't know diapers did the UPS pick up too. You know it's a hassle to bring my beast out :p

[Wondermom]

For anyone trying to get the first-time customer discount by having your spouse set up new account, you cannot use any credit card that's billed to the same address as your current account, regardless of where you're getting the items shippped, regardless of whether it's a different credit card.

I made the mistake of trying diapers.com the first time on just diapers and a few other items, probably less than $75 worth, total, and "wasting" my first-time customer discount on that purchase. When I had my husband try to set up a separate account to get a discount on a tripp trapp, the rep stated clearly that he is not considered a new customer because the billing address on his separate credit card was to the same address.

Just thought I'd share for all those who're trying to take advantage of the PM one last time or as long as it's still available.

I agree that the fast shipping and free returns are great advantages, as is good customer service, but these features, AND the price matching are true advantages on big-ticket items you might have to return. If I'm buying just necessities, like diapers, why would I buy from them unless they also had the best price? So as they phase out PM, they would be smart to start giving out more return-customer coupons/discounts. Otherwise, they will lose a lot of business from smart shoppers like the ones on this board who'll do their comparison shopping and go with whoever can give them the best deal. JMO

[poohbear]

That's great Fiery! FWIW, I have had diapers.com set up UPS pick-ups for returns as well.

Generally speaking, I like that I can call diapers.com anytime and get a person right away as oppossed to having Amazon call me back during their business hours. I also love being able to e-mail diapers.com CS anytime as opposed to having to go through the online form with Amazon. I shop a lot with both but definitely prefer diapers.com so far.

I basically buy from Amazon if diapers does not have the item or is OOS. :)

:yeahthat: Sometimes good customer service is worth a few extra bucks, especially on a big ticket item. And the thing is, in the meantime, though they may be phasing it out, they are still pricematching.
As for the charging shipping, they calculate that based on the cost the site charges to ship to your home, so walmart.com must have charged shipping to your home (because obviously they do not have a site to store option). That actually doesn't bother me. If they're going to do pricematch, they're going to match apples to apples...
Hopefully they'll realize how much their customers like having price matches and will continue doing it. Maybe it will just become a not-so-well kept secret.
As for getting the new customer discount more than once, I've never done it. I purposely saved mine for a big ticket item because my first purchase was during a sitewide sale and they couldn't be stacked. The nice cs person just told me I could use it later. It makes sense that all addresses (billing/shipping/email) have to be different - basically you would need to be a new customer. I think it's a bummer that they really only offer good discounts to new customers, but that's their shtick and it is what it is.
Like I have said throughout this thread. I don't like it if they're phasing out pricematching, and I don't like that they raised some of their prices, but I still fully intend to shop with them. Just probably not as much or as often.
Just my 2 cents....

[TwoBees]

I really wish they would jump on the "free ship at $25" boat. With their new higher prices and no more price matching, I'm losing interest FAST. Especially since I have to pay tax. :32: So many times I have browsed, filled up my cart, and then walked away because I don't hit the $49 limit.

[janine]

I think Amazon.com will start swooping up their customers. They are doing a big push into the diaper biz (with the coupons etc. to advertise) and do offer free ship over $25.

[lovebebes]

btw-my first post-:waving4:

So yea, I got Diapers.com to price match yesterday (to Walmart). I acted as though I did not hear anything about them "phasing it out" and then once I knew she was ok doing the price match I asked- by the way, what is those rumors I hear you may not be price matching anymore and she said:

"Well, we are in the process off re-working the way price matching will work. We will offer price matching to our top customers, and until we implement this new system we will still be doing price matching."

Now, when I did this price match I was already a current customer (had joined the week before and bought a Britax and a few other things). So I was not a new customer at the time of the price match.
Interstingly, the week before when I was buying the above mentioned Britax I tried to get them to price match about 3 times and 3 times the reps told me "We no longer do it for new customers, only for existing". I thanked them and called again-on 4th time I got the price match with no problem, but at the end it turned out they had a 20% off Britax code so it wasnt considered a price match after all.

From so many different things we have all heard it sounds like the reps themselves have conflicting information..some sound sure about it, some not, and others don't know anything yet. Some make it seem like PM is totally over...
PM was definitely a great marketing move to build a client base, and I think that many of the existing clients (myself included) will go on to purchase from them. And even though I have stocked up on my bigger ticket items for now, I may need some bigger ticket items in a year or so and at that time I will definitely shop around for the best deal. However for smaller essentials Diapers def. has my business-they make it pleasant and easy.