Koala Mattress - Beware of Price Hi-Jacking

LMkaric on 12/09/2018 - 10:56

I just wanted to let other potential consumers know that I have had a run-in with Koala in regards to their price hi-jacking prior to major sale events.
I have been eyeing their mattresses for a while and noted that their Queen mattress is priced at $1050
In June, they had EOFY sale and were offering a discount of $200 so decided it was time to purchase. To my dismay, the Queen mattress price had been raised to $1150, meaning I would be paying $950. I asked their support team at the time why the price of the mattress had increased & was told it was due to a rise in manufacturing costs.
Fast forward to September and they are now having a birthday sale with $150 off or 2 free pillows. I went to have a look & noticed the price of the Queen mattress was now back at $1050 ($900 after the discount code) which means I paid $50 more even though I had a $200 discount code.
Not impressed and not something I would have expected from such a reputable company that everyone raves about.

Home & Garden Koala (brand) Mattress

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Comments

  • HighAndDry on 12/09/2018 - 11:01
    +5

    Thanks for the tip - can never have too many reminders to "disregard discounts, look at only the final price".

    Having said that…. I don't know why people put so much importance on discounts as opposed to the final price. You do that and "price jacking" becomes irrelevant.

    • dasher86 on 12/09/2018 - 11:43
      +3

      However it doesn't stop the promotion being a scam and misleading consumers..

      • HighAndDry on 12/09/2018 - 12:13
        -1

        and misleading consumers..

        It doesn't to anyone who's rational - it's still: "You pay $X, you get a mattress."

        Ergo: "look at only the final price".

  • Ocker on 12/09/2018 - 11:41
    +2

    Call the ACCC

    • pernunz on 12/09/2018 - 12:48
      +1

      https://www.accc.gov.au/business/pricing-surcharging/display…

      Statements such as 'Was $150/Now $100' or '$150 Now $100' are likely to be misleading if products have not been sold at the specified 'before' or 'strike through' prices in a reasonable period immediately before the sale commences.

      If a business has a policy or practice of discounting goods when not on sale and uses two-price advertising in relation to sale periods, there is a significant risk that the use of two-price advertising will involve conduct that is misleading. The business would be representing to consumers that they will make a particular saving if they purchase the item during the sale period, when this is not necessarily the case.

      If things are as the OP has claimed, it definitely sounds like the ACCC would want to investigate, and if I was OP and I had the support tickets documented I would go to them.

  • Diji1 on 12/09/2018 - 11:47
    -1

    such a reputable company that everyone raves about.

    Where?

    Many large businesses in Australia are criminals. eg banks, telcos, pricejackbay

    • chumlee on 12/09/2018 - 14:15
      +2

      Not sure why the negs. Royal commission is showing how frequently companies will break the law to put revenue over ethics and customers

      • havebeerbelywillsumo on 12/09/2018 - 14:59
        +1

        "negs" warranted or not (the negging), I think it is a case of cries wolf incessantly.

  • lambo100 on 12/09/2018 - 12:43
    +5

    They have a 120 day return policy. If you bought it in June then it should still be in this window. Just return yours for a refund and buy it again on sale and get your extra $50 off.

    • apptrack on 12/09/2018 - 13:46

      They usually give the mattresses to homeless shelters too! Win Win

    • John Kimble on 12/09/2018 - 17:27
      +1

      Surely one can't just keep buying and returning, otherwise people would just do that forever and there would be an excess of mattresses at homeless shelters…

  • foxmulder on 12/09/2018 - 13:00
    +3

    ok, here is what I can see of the pricing trend for Koala Queen Mattress:

    Early Apr $1050 with $150 discount to $900
    May … no data
    Late Jun $1150 with $150 discount to $1000
    Mid July $1150 with $150 discount to $1000
    Aug $1150 with $150 discount to $1000
    Sep $1050 with $150 discount to $900

    Business can surely change their prices, they may increase their prices sometime after that April promo and the very least Koala stays at $1150 for 3 months (or longer) before then they drop to $1050 on September. To me, they may not be in the wrong of rising price due to production cost increase - from one of the ozb post, it may be due to new model, but they surely need to be cautious of price increase with their discount scheme. On September they drop their pricing may be due to it has been 3 months from that new model released.

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