Shopping Morality Thread

Just wondering on how everyone feels here if they saw something in an ad say latptop that normally runs for $1999.99 without rebates is shown in the ad for $999.99 without rebates. Knowing for a fact that this is an error, but to the customers advantage, would you go to the store and try to get it for that price, ignore it because you know the manager will fight you for it or just don't give a fuck?

I know stores have to honor there ads and if they price match other stores, they have to honor it to. What do you guys think?

Also is there a law that states that if a store catches the misprint, then all they have to do is post a sign saying the misprint and then there hands are clean or do they still have to honor there price?

Now the laptop mis print is just a sample, your situation can be anything else.
 
[quote name='ITDEFX']Just wondering on how everyone feels here if they saw something in an ad say latptop that normally runs for $1999.99 without rebates is shown in the ad for $999.99 without rebates. Knowing for a fact that this is an error, but to the customers advantage, would you go to the store and try to get it for that price, ignore it because you know the manager will fight you for it or just don't give a fuck?

I know stores have to honor there ads and if they price match other stores, they have to honor it to. What do you guys think?

Also is there a law that states that if a store catches the misprint, then all they have to do is post a sign saying the misprint and then there hands are clean or do they still have to honor there price?[/QUOTE]
1. I wont fight for it becuase the difference is $1000. Seeing how much trouble they usually give you for $50 why bother.
2. They wont PM because the difference is $1000. They would certainly call to confirm the price.
3.They just need to post a sign.
 
Are mispints in ads really the stores fault though? Or the newspapers? If its the newspaper go and ask them for the 1000.00 THEY fucked up on.
 
If people didn't take advantage of other people's mistakes, there wouldn't be much repercussion to goofing every once in awhile. It sounds harsh... because it is.
 
hell if people who needed to buy laptops were the only one to use this there might be a good chance of getting it honored. But theres that whole group who buys it just to turn around and ebay it. They horde and ruin most deals/clearances/mistakes out there.
 
I haven't tried to get a match based on an incorrect price in a long time, but I definitely wouldn't fight for it. I don't want to be "that guy".
 
Given that you're aware that this is price is a mistake, and a 1000 dollar mistake no less, wouldn't you consider it to be blatantly immoral to take advantage of another person's error? This isn't cutting 10 bucks into the store's margin dollars, this is likely to cause the retailer to lose most if not all of that thousand.

Other stores will call the place when they realise that they're selling you a laptop at about 1000 dollars under store cost.

If the store posts a sign, I think they're okay.
 
What if you're not in the know about a products price? What about mom and pop or grandparents that hardly know computing. They walk in and want what is advertised. I'm sure most of us worked retail at some point in our lives, do you remember how pissed off older people can get? Hell, some start saying it's their patriotic right to that price cause they were a vet.

What I'm saying is that we're answering above if it was us. Most people out there aren't CAG's or even people with decent knowledge of computers/electronics. I say the company should have a proof of the ad that they approve of before it goes to print. If there's a mistake after that, well, that's the cost of doing business.
 
[quote name='pimpinc333']Are mispints in ads really the stores fault though? Or the newspapers? If its the newspaper go and ask them for the 1000.00 THEY fucked up on.[/quote]

It's the company who lays out the ad and sets the prices, so it's the company that screws up.

As for this, if they won't honor, I just take a ad and go to some other store that will price match the ad.
 
Given today's high gas prices at least a "SORRY" 10% off coupon is in order for these types of mistakes. As of recently there have been alot of price mistakes and lame door buster deals .
 
It depends. If the ad is OBVIOUSLY a misprint or mistake, I'll give it a shot, but I won't press it. People have to remember it's no false advertising if it's a mistake, and usually there's a disclaimer in the ad about errors and changes.
 
I think these misprints SHOULD be honored. Isn't it ilegal for them not to be? Like false advertising? What if misprints are just a pig ploy to get people into the store?

That's what I think...
 
saying they have to honor misprints. If you look at fine print of the ad then you will see that prices are subject to change/ mistakes are at managements discretion yada yada yada. Now what is illegal is something called bait and switch where they show you the price of something and you get to the store and they don't have any. This was much more common 20 years ago when you had smaller regional mom and pop stores. What BestBuy and Wal-Mart and other retailers do to avoid looking below board when they throw bait out there (499 laptop) is require each store to carry a minimum amount for each sale (usually in ad fine print). This can sometimes be confused with ad misprints where you can't find what you are looking for but it is not the same.

Happy hunting and be grateful if they give you 10% off or some kind of sorry discount. It is still better than nothing


ALSO- if you do feel a shop is continually making "mistakes" in ads to get foot traffic in thier store then a pattern could be seen as illegal and the store could be subject to major fines. If that is the case then you need to do 3 things

1-start a thread- it will get others to document thier experience and help develop a pattern

2-contact the Better Business Bureau - everything from thier lending rate to investigations will be tied to this

3-contact your states Attorney General's Office - reference 1 and 2 above so the investigators can establish a track record of offenses. these guys can make life miserable for anyone and doll out harsh punsihment to offenders.
 
I think that ad mistakes should be honored unless an official correction is posted at the store of the misprint. If corporate doesn't force this change I don't think individual managers should be taking it into their own hands to do so. I understand the importance for managers to maintain corporate policy and try to protect the bottom line, but there is also something called customer service and that is something that several stores are starting to lack in my opinion.

I also have a hard time imagining that the final copy of the ad isn't examined by a series of people who are supposed to proof read them for errors. Any company that isn't thorough enough to catch something as simple as a pricing error should enforce it to keep good on their word (and help the customer service part of business) and then fire the fool(s) who were responsible for the creation and approval process of the ad.
 
best buy has done this on several occasions, but not as bad as Compusa, with CC following 3rd.

Anyways.. seems that whenever I am looking for a classic cartoon series to come out on dvd and its listed as coming out on a certain date, and BB has it in there ad, I go to the store and bam, either the employees can't find it or its still on the truck for days :( Sometimes it doesn't even show up on the shelf for weeks or MONTHS.

Then there is that "Minium XX copies per store" From what I understand that means they have NO LESS then that amount in each store...but the employees take it as the minium means we have XX and thats it..so if the ad says 20 minimum , better believe that they only have 20 or less copies of that item, which is utter bullshit.
 
If the difference isnt to much (like a thousand dollars) the store that made the mistake should honor it at least untill corporate tells them and then I think they should pull them off the floor untill the ad is corrected and posted. (Like when Sears posted the 360 hard drive for $14.99) Thats just part of doing business. Its not like they dont overprice items all year long, like when they have a psp game for $9.99 on clearance but have been selling it for over a year at $39.99. I dont think other stores should have to price match items if it is the other stores mistakes,
Just my two cents
 
The thing is is that it STILL gets you in the store. I'm pretty much tired of trying to argue what bait and switch is, becuase obviously people are willing to let companies and corporations walk all over them.

Theres not a god damn thing stopping a store from priniting an ad, and when you get in there, over half the items are "mispriced", with the retarded "correction" all over the place
 
[quote name='HumanSnatcher']The thing is is that it STILL gets you in the store. I'm pretty much tired of trying to argue what bait and switch is, becuase obviously people are willing to let companies and corporations walk all over them.

Theres not a god damn thing stopping a store from priniting an ad, and when you get in there, over half the items are "mispriced", with the retarded "correction" all over the place[/QUOTE]


hey can you give us a personal example? I haven't had many B&S types, either I go in for what I want or leave....... if I ask for a rainchecks, I am given this bs excuse about it how they don't know how to do it or I have to go to CS for it.
 
[quote name='ITDEFX']hey can you give us a personal example? I haven't had many B&S types, either I go in for what I want or leave....... if I ask for a rainchecks, I am given this bs excuse about it how they don't know how to do it or I have to go to CS for it.[/QUOTE]

Officemax in my area does this on a weekly basis, $10 512MB thumb drive sold out by 11am(doors open) that Sunday morning of the Ads release. BB does this with the on sale computer memory on a weekly basis. It's a waste of time to even roll out of bed. Now if one of us was to ride the legal line like BB and all these other stores do with their bait and switch tactics the stores would have us kicked out of the store for life.
 
i just thought of one....... from 2 years ago when Star Trek: Generations 2 disc special edition came out.... it was in there ad........ walked in looked for it, the media guy said its still on the truck (and this was on a friday, when it should have been on the shelf on Tuesday)...anyways came back later, still not on the shelf so I asked for a rain check since they couldn't find it...got a raincheck but was told "it was recalled!" Later I found out paramount recalled all discs because of the mislabel that the movie had the movie trailer with it when the disc didn't. Months later I find the movie at that same best buy with the mislabel!!! Bought it anyways.

Blade 2 when it came out in 2002 on dvd.. I think best buy had an offer, buy blade 2 and get blade 1 for free? I knew that store had plenty of blade 1's the day before. Anyways went to get my blade2 with blade 1 for free, and guess what? they didn't have any blade 1's!!! however they did have the blade 1 and 2 TWO PACK for sale (for more money of course) and they did offer me that, but not at the blade 2 price.. bait and switch or I bought it too late in the day?
 
But the thing is is that it doesn't look too good for a company when they decide to kick someone out for point out illegal tactics.

ITDEFX, what happened with Blade 2 is a prime example of bait and switch...
 
[quote name='HumanSnatcher']But the thing is is that it doesn't look too good for a company when they decide to kick someone out for point out illegal tactics.
[/QUOTE]



I'm SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TEMPTED TO SCREAM GAMESTOP/EB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
its too bad bestbuysux.org employee's stories don't mention jack shit about these B&S Scams...all they bitch about is how they are treated as an employee and thats it.
 
I will fight to get a price mistake honored at the store with the ad misprint, but I will not try to PM it. Why should other stores pay for the mistake?
 
[quote name='Michaellvortega']Officemax in my area does this on a weekly basis, $10 512MB thumb drive sold out by 11am(doors open) that Sunday morning of the Ads release. [/QUOTE]


I kind of feel this way when CC puts up there ad for clearance games and has pictures of what the games that are on clearence, but when you get there, they are gone...on a sunday, at 11am!!! This is mostly due to early ad leakage and exact title name listings so people can hoard them days or even weeks before leaving jack shit for everyone else.
 
Yeah, I used to work at a Circuit City and constantly felt like a real douche bag when I was forced to tell innocent people that the entire reason they drove all the way out to the store was a misprint. The entire point of an ad is to get people to come shop in your store by displaying your current prices on things. If someone is enticed to come shop at a certain retailer, they should honor the price mistake, and if its a huge difference, at least give them some sort of incentive to come back to the store in the form of a coupon or something. How about these retailers pay someone to DOUBLE CHECK THE ADS before they go to print, seems like it would save everyone else a hell of a lot of trouble...
 
If they have a sign up when you enter the store and/or where the item is on the shelf notifying customers of the mistake, then I won't bitch about it. If not then I'd definitely give it a shot. Doesn't hurt to give it a try.
 
CompUSA has some what I would consider HORRIBLE Bait and Switch practices (Maybe not bait and switch but incredibly sketchy none the less). They would post a tremendously low price for a game, then have like 3 copies of it at the start of the sale. Two examples that come to mind were GTA San Andreas for XBox for 29.99 the week it came out (or the week after, I don't remember completely) and Half Life 2 for 19.99 (This was also not long after it came out) Both times I simply took the ad to Wal Mart and they price matched. Now I don't even bother going to CompUSA when they print a sale like that, I just go to Wal Mart
 
Sears does give out "incentives" when they have somthing like a misprint... basically... if a price in the register is higher then it's marked at... then we'll give you.....

not gonna say... cuz that spoils all the fun :)

but the trick is.. you gotta know that we do it... cuz nobody does it ever... unless the buyer knows what they get... but none of them ever do... but it's put in a pretty ironic place... so you look and see...
 
[quote name='makito']Sears does give out "incentives" whent hey have somthing liek a mis print... basically... if a price in the register is higher then it's marked at... then we'll give you.....

not gonna say... cuz that spoils all the fun :)

btu the trick is.. you gotta know that we do it... cuz nobody does it ever... unless teh buyer knows what they get...[/quote]

Dude, take the kiddie guessing games back to the sandbox...
 
wow 45 people said they would fight for it in my poll... If you show a little frustration, then they will let you have it.. If you let them win, then of course they are going to keep this shit up.
 
[quote name='makito']ummm... a few of the posts from the original misprint thread got missed.. so now I look like an Jerk...[/quote]
If the shoe fits.... ;)
 
[quote name='anomynous']:shame:
You sound like a cry baby, and going to to joystiq to complain was very bitch like of you.



why the fuck dont you leave this site then if you complain the morality of deals?[/quote] (shotgun cocking noise) BURN!:hot:
 
Stores, especially big stores like K-Mart, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Target, etc. Have thought through the implications of price matching and the like. They are not victims in any way.

If you attempt to pricematch a typo, the store ought to call up the other store and find out for themselves. If these measures aren't taken by the store, they are only victims of themselves.

As for returning games to other stores w/o a receipt, it depends on whether or not you are breaking the store's rules. If the store forbids returning games from other stores, then you are lying to the store when you return it. If it accepts game returns from other stores, that's their own business.
 
How about something new like the TRU thread about people buying two games to get a third one for free and returning the first two games to keep the free one?

I know that this idea is always talked about whenever a deal like this comes around. I think that's a waste of time, but I guess it is slightly better than shoplifting it.
Another side might say that it is the store's policy error for allowing people to return games that were part of this sale. I want to know if this idea is a bad one or an acceptable one.
 
I would be really mad if i drove out to circuit city for something and it turned out to be a price mistake, i actually did drive out to circuit city for something recently, a 23.99 DS game that was 34.99 at every other store, it was worth it and it was not a price mistake, but if it was a price mistake and was not posted on the website ad that i check before i leave the house to make sure its not an error, then i would be so mad because circuit city is 45 min to an hour away from my house in heavy traffic.

When i went there to get the item they had a whole bunch of printouts hung up on the ad stand correcting price errors, that disturbed me, the printouts were in small print that i could hardly see.

Another thing about CC is their prices are only in their ad, they dont put up a sign or put the sale merchandise in obvious places, you just bring it up to the register and hope it rings up for the ad price. They dont even price the items correctly for the sale, at least over here.

Thankfully ive never run into an actual bait and switch.
 
[quote name='anotherpoorgamer']How about something new like the TRU thread about people buying two games to get a third one for free and returning the first two games to keep the free one?

I know that this idea is always talked about whenever a deal like this comes around. I think that's a waste of time, but I guess it is slightly better than shoplifting it.
Another side might say that it is the store's policy error for allowing people to return games that were part of this sale. I want to know if this idea is a bad one or an acceptable one.[/QUOTE]

It's very simple.

If you told the store you were doing this, would they let you?

No. They wouldn't. 'Cuz what would stop someone from getting endless free games? It might not necessarily be immoral or illegal, but it can still be considered shady.

BTW, I thought most stores wrote this sort of thing in on a receipt. Like it would say "promo" for the price, or possibly even zero cents, meaning you couldn't get a refund or credit. 'Course I'm sure you can sweet talk your way around it.

Just because someone or something doesn't think it all the way through doesn't give you free reign to exploit those holes in their armor. I mean, I could run people over in the street because it's their fault they have their fat asses in a road to begin with, but that doesn't make it right.
 
Seems like it would be too easy to return a game from a TRU when you bought it for B2G1, they do mark it on the reciept as a "promo" and as 0.00. But what if you have an honest return, like someone got you a game as a gift, and you already had the game, and the person who bought you the gaem handed you the reciept from the b2g1, what are you supposed to do then. Surely TRU must have a procedure for returning games from the b2g1 free sale???

The whole purpose of the b2g1 is to purchase games for gifts ahead of time, so its quite possible that someone could come in with a return from one of these sales after christmas.
 
[quote name='SaraAB']Seems like it would be too easy to return a game from a TRU when you bought it for B2G1, they do mark it on the reciept as a "promo" and as 0.00. But what if you have an honest return, like someone got you a game as a gift, and you already had the game, and the person who bought you the gaem handed you the reciept from the b2g1, what are you supposed to do then. Surely TRU must have a procedure for returning games from the b2g1 free sale???

The whole purpose of the b2g1 is to purchase games for gifts ahead of time, so its quite possible that someone could come in with a return from one of these sales after christmas.[/QUOTE]

Very simple, they let you exchange it for a different game as long as it wasn't opened.
 
Interesting so far what I have read, I wouldn't personally take part in this activity, but now that SaraAB has pointed a possibility out. I didn't even think about it that way. I would have to say that so far returning one for her reason is more acceptable as opposed to the intent of getting a free game.
I have never bought new games and recieved the third one for free at TRU before. I remember a long time ago, asking one of the employees at Gamestop about their Buy 2 Get 1 free on used games, what would happen if my free used one was defective. The employee said I could return it easliy, even though it said free promo whatever on the reciept. I don't think they would have let me return the other two and kept the free one though.
 
[quote name='greendj27']Very simple, they let you exchange it for a different game as long as it wasn't opened.[/quote]

Though, from TRU perspective this would just allow people to take advantage of the sale by swapping for games that weren't out at the time of the sale (Gears of War)
 
what about the ps3? Is it right to resell a system on launch day? what kind of gamer would sell thier game system before they play it? I dont mean to hijack this thread but my thread was closed and i was told to go here. so here i am. What do you think will happen when the launch price ebay bubble bursts? what kind of repercusions could this have on the game industry?
 
[quote name='White-Wolf']what about the ps3? Is it right to resell a system on launch day? what kind of gamer would sell thier game system before they play it? I dont mean to hijack this thread but my thread was closed and i was told to go here. so here i am. What do you think will happen when the launch price ebay bubble bursts? what kind of repercusions could this have on the game industry?[/QUOTE]

This happens every time a system launches. It has little effect on the game industry in the long run. I don't think there is anything wrong with someone buying something to re-sell when demand is high. It might be annoying to people who want to play one right away, but in the long run, the price will go back to normal.
 
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