I signed up for a local business expo last week. The booth fee was $250, and during checkout there was a checkbox for a "Certificate of Participation" for an extra $40. I assumed that was mandatory to get the certificate at all, so I checked it. Turns out the certificate was already included in the base fee and the extra $40 was just for a fancy frame. I feel like a total idiot. Has anyone else been caught by something like this? Did you just eat the cost or try to get a refund?
Vendor Fees
I paid extra for a certificate I thought was included
Classic upselll trick. They put it right at checkout when you're already mentally committed. I'd be annoyed too.
lol @ "fancy frame" being worth forty bucks. Did it at least come with a little stand?
I've seen this at trade shows before. The certificate itself is almost always part of the package; the add-on is just for the presentation. It's scummy but not technically fraud. If they don't refund, you can file a chargeback but honestly for $40 it might not be worth the hassle. Your time has value.
Disagree on the chargeback not being worth it. Small businesses get nickel and dimed by these little fees all the time. The principle matters. Call them out.
It didn't even come with a stand. Just a plastic frame. I emailed them this morning but no response yet.
Do you actually need the certificate?If it's just going on a wall in your office, take it out of the ugly frame and put it in a $5 one from Target. Write off the $40 as a stupid tax and move on.
Stupid tax is a great term. I paid it at a conference last year for a "priority listing" that was literally just my name bolder on a webpage that got 12 visitors.
The The event organizer here. We always include a basic certificate in the booth fee. We offer a framed version for people who want something nicer to hand on their wall. I can see how the checkout wording could be confusing, buut it's not a scam. Ask them nicely to cancel the upgrade and refund the $40. Most organizers will do it to avoid bad blood.
There's the solution, just ask. No need for a chargeback drama.
For the record, I didn't say chargeback first. I said call them out. But yeah, asking nicely is step one.
Update: they replied and said they'd refund the $40 but they can't cancel the frame since it's already been printed. So I guess I get the frame for free? I don't even want it. Anyone need a plastic frame