iPad mistake at Sears...

http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/web/07/16/sears.ipad/index.html

So it looks like Sears accidentally advertised an iPad for $69 dollars...a bunch of people "bought" one after the price went viral...Sears puts out a statement saying that the deal price was a mistake and that all money will be refunded (seems fair to me, and c'mon, $69 bucks for an iPad...something's too good to be true...). Article ends with a quote from a mother who has a son with a form of autism saying that... "They are a huge company I thought I could trust and rely on...But if they don't honor this, I won't ever shop at Sears again. I just want my order honored."

1.) Mistakes happen, I think that Sears is doing right by refunding the money. 2.) I don't see the relevance of the quote from the mother aside from the author trying to make Sears look like a bad guy for not allowing an autistic child the chance of a super-affordable iPad. 3.) You know the saying; If it seems to good to be true...

American Airlines slipped up about a year and a half ago: round trip to England from JFK for $24. Yup, $24. IIRC, about 30 tickets were sold before the sale was caught. They honored the price and the tickets. Soooo....

Sounds similar to the Grainger welder deal that was discussed on all the automotive web boards a month or so ago - they had a Miller MIG listed for an insanely low price on their website, and news spread across the Internet like wildfire. Of course, it turned out to be a mistake; a lot of people were complaining that they should have honored the price but I figured it was just one of those things. Like you said, if it seems too good to be true...

I purchased an Eagles jersey through the Eagles online shop during a mistake sale, they honored the price, but it wasn't like they took a huge hit on it compared to an Apple product. Honestly, if they honored the price, it would probably cause an issue with Apple, as I believe their products are set prices regardless of the retailer.

reminds me of when Target had Mobile1 on sale for $1.88/qt

I ended up with 80 qts of oil that day

Seems to be a periodic occurrence at Sears and other retailers. Read the fine print in their Terms, they do not have to honor errors. Most likely they will offer discounts on similar or other items to those affected. Like others have said, if it's too good to be true... Not a big deal, move on.

I believe Mi says if it is shown at a price, it must be sold as that.

GrTech is right. Here in MI, if it's in print (or on the web) it's honored.
Mopar made a mistake a few years back when the Liberty was released. They were offering Cherokee parts to dealers at HUGE discounts. They published the price for the roof-top mounted spare tire carrier. I picked up about 12 of them for I think $30 each. I put them on ebay. They were getting between 80 and 110 each.
Nice.

Sears is notorius for doing this. I know they have been fined in both NJ and MD for doing this.

DrBoost wrote: GrTech is right. Here in MI, if it's in print (or on the web) it's honored.

Most states have laws like that. They also are tend to be so full of loopholes they may as well be made out of swiss cheese. MI's included unless it's been revised since I lived there.

Back when I was working in newspaper ad design, we ran regular weekly correction notices for a major electronics retailer (~cough~ Future Shop ~cough~) for "errors" in their flyers. Pretty sure those errors weren't mistakes...

i ordered a 7" touchscreen from visions electronics for $100, onsale from $500. It was a mistake, but they honored the price anyway. Changed the price on the unit within 12 hours.

A guy I used to work with saw windshield washer fluid priced at "0.99 cents" at his local gas station, so he went in, took a jug up to the counter, put down a penny, and invited the clerk to keep the change. The conversation went downhill from there. It would have been different if my friend had been talking to the manager, but this was 3:00 in the morning. It's no fun if the other party can't understand what you're talking about.

Lesley wrote: Back when I was working in newspaper ad design, we ran regular weekly correction notices for a major electronics retailer (~cough~ Future Shop ~cough~) for "errors" in their flyers. Pretty sure those errors weren't mistakes...

There's a place you want to avoid at all costs on Boxing Week. They even shut off their online inventory checks during that time - bait and switch anyone?

I don't feel sorry for sears. It's not the first time I have seen them post a scam price for something just to get attention (the other instance was an online only price for a tool box, but you could only pick it up in a store for a way higher price). I think expecting a $69 iPad is a little silly, but I can see why people might get annoyed.

I understand the bait and switch fears...

but honestly If a finger slips while I post a CL ad and way I want $1000 for a car and meant $10,000... don't think for a second that I'm going to accept $1000... even after someone demands I honor my ad... (obviously i'd rush back to fix it at that point)...

guess it's a fine line between bait and switch vs a genuine mistake :-/

Yeah, there is no real way to prove if it was an honest mistake, or a "mistake" to get people looking at their site in the hope that they will buy something else.

I got a K&N filter cleaning kit at Auto Zone for a penny. I wish they had more than one! I think Best Buy offered a 50" TV last year for stupid cheap and it took a few hours to catch on.

donalson wrote: I understand the bait and switch fears... but honestly If a finger slips while I post a CL ad and way I want $1000 for a car and meant $10,000... don't think for a second that I'm going to accept $1000... even after someone demands I honor my ad... (obviously i'd rush back to fix it at that point)... guess it's a fine line between bait and switch vs a genuine mistake :-/

I had that happen to me once. I was selling two cars, one at $500 and one at $1500. I accidentally listed the $1500 car for $500 on one craigslist site and didn't realize it until someone came to buy it. They weren't too happy but there was no way I was going sell it for that.

In reply to Stealthtercel:

I used to love pointing out the 0.99 cents mistake, but I do not do it anymore because a large majority of the people do not understand the mistake and have no concept of why I am trying to buy something for a little less than one penny. They think I am the one that is mistaken. There is a place down the street from me with 0.00 cent wing specials. Just think of the fun there. 25 wings for a quarter. They would never get it. Just makes me feel bad for them so I don't even bring it up anymore.

Dell has had the same issues with their online parts...occasionally they will accidentally offer a external TB hard drive for $19.99 instead of $199.99, or I remember clearly from my time working there an occasion where they accidentally listed a blue ray drive for notebooks for $9 by accident. Within 6 minutes we received 6k orders from all over the world when someone posted it to facebook. Dell shipped about 30 orders before the factory realized they had received way more orders tahn usual, found the error, and notified sales. It was removed from the online ad and orders that had not been shipped were refunded. Those 30 lucky folks got a good deal, Dell never went back after them...But basically, with the right legal-ese in their disclaimer, a retailer has no obligation to honor those typos. I personally dont feel they should have to. Shame on that hack writer for posting that stuff. Have some integrity.

fasted58 wrote: Read the fine print in their Terms, they do not have to honor errors.

This is true for any retailer, just because it is in print doesn't mean they have to honor it. It protects them from hackers and disgruntled employees advertising ridiculous prices, in addition to genuine typographical errors. Even in-store, people can swap price tags or grab a forgotten price gun and change prices. But stores often honor the mistake for the good PR or good will it creates if it is reasonable, but $69 iPads are not reasonable. Neither was the $9,999 Kia Optima I called about. They forgot the 1 before the 9 in the print ad, and yes, they got a few calls.

Stealthtercel wrote: A guy I used to work with saw windshield washer fluid priced at "0.99 cents" at his local gas station, so he went in, took a jug up to the counter, put down a penny, and invited the clerk to keep the change. The conversation went downhill from there. It would have been different if my friend had been talking to the manager, but this was 3:00 in the morning. It's no fun if the other party can't understand what you're talking about.

awesomesauce!

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote:

That's MY handwriting! I thought I was the only adult who still printed like a first grader.