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I had seen advertised that Go Outdoors had opened a branch in Bedford so we decided to drive over to have a look this morning. They seem to have a comprehensive range, particularly for campers. However I was somewhat puzzled by their pricing policy in that in order to buy anything at anywhere near normal price you have to have what seems some sort of membership card which costs £4. All tickets are marked with a highly inflated price for non card holders and a lower price if you have a card. Now I could understand a membership scheme if they were selling their products to members at greatly reduced prices but they are not and I could go elsewhere and buy most things cheaper. Clearly not a store for the casual shopper, or have I got it wrong?

David

I agree with you.  Having visited our new Go Outdoors and compared prices with our nearest camping shop they really aren't any cheaper.  It is a good place to waste some time browsing though,

Homebird

We found the same  when we went into the new Norwich store, we can get what we want cheaper from Towsure. so will not be using Go Outdoors.

Margaret

Although they do have a lot of sales, percentage reduction weekends and offers

If you hold out for these you can normally bag a bargain

And you always have the price match option

Quote: Originally posted by Francophile1947 on 23/11/2010

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I agree - the new store in Norwich is nothing special. I didn't notice anything that my local Norwich Camping don't do just as cheaply

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I am glad I am not alone in thinking it strange! I can see the point about marketing but what about people like me who is unlikely to become a regular customer, because of distance, who may well have made a one off purchase but did not want to get involved with cards etc. They must loose far more than they gain. Perhaps the worse thing for them is that I am likely to ignore them when thinking about making purchases in the future and they have not done this because of poor service but just the way they want to do business. I am sure they have looked into the legality of what they are doing but the price without the card is shown in a very much smaller font than the with card price so you could get a nasty shock when you get to the till! Hardly fair and transparent trading.

David

Oh is it that time again already !! Thought it had been a bit quiet on the Go Outdoors members card front for a while

Look I dont work for Go nor do I suggest for one minute that they always advertise the cheapest prices but what the members card does offer you is regular special clearance events via their monthly magazine which gets posted out, but above all it is this point more than any other that that you have to take into account :

AS A CARD HOLDER, IF YOU CAN FIND AN ITEM BEING SOLD ANYWHERE ELSE FOR LESS THEN GO OUTDOORS THEY WILL MATCH THAT PRICE PLUS GIVE YOU A FURTHER 10% OFF OF THAT PRICE !!!!

So how how how, please tell me, can anywhere be any cheaper ???

Quote: Originally posted by PinkPanther on 23/11/2010

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Just wanted to say that I happily handed over my £4 for a Go Ourdoors membership card last August. Trotted off to their Wigan branch and took full advantage of their "Find it cheaper and we will price match AND take a further 10% off". Having researched the net I had printed off screen shots of the tent, carpet and footprint that I had found cheaper elsewhere. I handed the printouts to the girl at the till who price matched and knocked an additional 10% off without barely blinking. I ended up saving around £160 off their advertised members prices and saved around £45 off the competitors prices that I had found.

To get the price match the item needs to be IN STOCK with the competitors (online or if instore they may phone to check), bring evidence and it is as easy as that. They match it and knock a further 10% off which is a good discount if you are spending a few hundred quid on a tent. The offer seems to apply to everything in store.

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The price guarantee is ten percent off the competitor's advertised price PLUS competitor's carriage charge, then plus their own carriage charge (unless you are collecting in store). It might get them the sales, but doesn't necessarily mean you'll get the item much cheaper than elsewhere.

For example, I found an item at £70 plus £6 carriage (am rounding up, here) ie £76 total, delivered, from competitor. The same item was about £120 from GoOutdoors, but they agreed to price match, at £76 less ten percent (£68.40), plus their own carriage charge of £4.99 takes price back up to £73.39 (so a real difference of £2.61).

Then I found the competitor would actually deliver next day for the £6 delivery charge, where Go offered standard delivery (ie 3-5 days). If I wanted a like-for-like service, I'd have to pay an additional sum for delivery in 1-2 working days, which then made any price difference negligible.

I've already got a Go discount card (cost £4) but, if I hadn't, I'd have had to buy one to qualify for the Price Guarantee, which would actually have made the item more expensive than the competitor.

I'm not saying it's a bad offer, just that it doesn't always work out quite as well as you think it will.

Quote: Originally posted by erroutdoors on 23/11/2010

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The price guarantee is ten percent off the competitor's advertised price PLUS competitor's carriage charge, then plus their own carriage charge (unless you are collecting in store). It might get them the sales, but doesn't necessarily mean you'll get the item much cheaper than elsewhere.

For example, I found an item at £70 plus £6 carriage (am rounding up, here) ie £76 total, delivered, from competitor. The same item was about £120 from GoOutdoors, but they agreed to price match, at £76 less ten percent (£68.40), plus their own carriage charge of £4.99 takes price back up to £73.39 (so a real difference of £2.61).

Then I found the competitor would actually deliver next day for the £6 delivery charge, where Go offered standard delivery (ie 3-5 days). If I wanted a like-for-like service, I'd have to pay an additional sum for delivery in 1-2 working days, which then made any price difference negligible.

I've already got a Go discount card (cost £4) but, if I hadn't, I'd have had to buy one to qualify for the Price Guarantee, which would actually have made the item more expensive than the competitor.

I'm not saying it's a bad offer, just that it doesn't always work out quite as well as you think it will.

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Their price beater offer always works for us. Even if you don't have a nearby store they do it on line as well. Wife just obtained a Bergaus Paclite for £94 when the normal price is around the £160 level.

Having got our name and address we then get the usual marketing material, which, for folks a long way from Go Outdoors, we do find helpful.

Go Outdoors have quality gear and much that is of a lower quality standard. Depends what you want and the nature of your outdoor activities. If you want better quality, particularly on walking gear, then perhaps Cotswolds is the shop for you, but you need the money!! Having said that Cotswolds offer discount cards for folks who are members of a wide variety of organisations e.g Ramblers Assoc

Horses for courses isn't it. We think the £4 is worth it

Phil

I have a Go outdoors card on the basis that if you can not beat them join them. I will only use it for things that are so far below the normal price as to be ridiculous. So I bought a new aquaroll from them in July and paid £29.50 for it which together with the £4 for the card was still cheaper than buying it from anywhere else. Then in August I bought a Berghaus  GTX coral jacket ( goretex ) from them for £60 where they were £140. I will only buy from them if I see something I want at a price that is worth the effort to go to their store to buy it.