Amazon.de did it again

[MrNase]

I just bought the Lord of the Rings Collection (Special Edition with 3 books, special cover (leather and gold)) at amazon.de for 3.98 EUR (5.27 USD)

Somebody did a mistake, the normal price would be 398 EUR (527 USD)


Iam quite sure Amazon will react and send me an eMail telling me they can't sell it für 3.98 EUR but a German court once told an online shop must send their products even if they did a mistake

[Colin F]

I know the Swiss right says that actually if a store advertises a product for the wrong price, they have to sell it for that price as well.

There are exceptions to that though, meaning if you as consumer know that the price has to be wrong, you can't buy it to that price. Of course you could always act really stupid, saying you have no idea what something like this goes for these days

[MrNase]

That's what we are going to do

A friend of mine just received an eMail from Amazon telling him his order was cancelled and he won't get it for that price. He replied to it quoting the judge's decision and he's now hoping for a positive reaction. I didn't get such an eMail and I can only hope Amazon won't send me such an eMail.

[Zachery]

Same in the states, I went to buy a wireless router, it was advertised in the paper at 69.99, in the store it was listed as 49.99 (from the sale the week before)

Well i took it to the guy and pointed it out, i got me a wireless g router for 39.99 after the rebate

[C.Birch]

same in the uk they have to sell it at the advertised cost.

[Dean C]

Damn, I always miss these things

[assassingod]

Damn, I always miss these things

Me too

[MrNase]

It was amazon.de only

[tgillespie]

Same in the states.

No they don't. If it was an honest mistake, all the retailer has to do is put up a disclaimer stating that the advertised price was wrong and here is the correct price. If you have already received the good, then you may keep it for the price you purchased it at, but advertisements are invitations, not contracts.

[chrispadfield]

No they don't. If it was an honest mistake, all the retailer has to do is put up a disclaimer stating that the advertised price was wrong and here is the correct price. If you have already received the good, then you may keep it for the price you purchased it at, but advertisements are invitations, not contracts.

Its not that simple because its not the advert that is the issue: its going through the checkout, getting the email confirmation and having the credit card charged. These are all arguably points of acceptance of contract to sale. In UK law anyway, there is nothing about actually having the goods in your possesion - for example if you pay for something in a store with cash, that they take and while wrapping up your item and then they realise there is a pricing error its too late; but a wrong price on a product in the isles they do not have to sell at that price.

Lots of emails I have recieved from UK shops have some more legalise at the bottom of the emails suggesting the email does not represent acceptance of contract - this is how they are working round the rather gray legal error - there have been a few big mistakes in the UK regarding this.

[Wayne Luke]

No they don't. If it was an honest mistake, all the retailer has to do is put up a disclaimer stating that the advertised price was wrong and here is the correct price. If you have already received the good, then you may keep it for the price you purchased it at, but advertisements are invitations, not contracts.

That is for printed advertised prices... However if the product is put into your cart (virtual or real) for a lower price than it should be or it is shown on the shelf with a lower price than it should be then they have to honor the lowest advertised price. What the store does is sells the item to you and then changes the shelf tag to the proper price. Some stores like Kohl's have electronic shelf tags that can be changed by radio frequency from a computer in the back room.

If you look at Zachery's post, the item was actually advertised for $20 more than the shelf tag stated. By law they have to sell it to him for the shelf tag price whether it was a mistake or not. There have been precedants for this in various courts against supermarkets and retailers like Wal-mart. It was so bad against Wal-mart that in California they are under court order to refund $3.00 to the customer every time an item scans differently from the shelf tag, even if the scanned price is lower than the shelf tag.

Zachery was probably shopping at Best Buy because they are notorious for not changing shelf tags promptly. I figure they are the next in line for a class-action suit on the matter.

[Floris]

If he gets the good at his house, and he has paid $5, can they invoice you? And do you have to pay that invoice?

[Radon3k]

If he gets the good at his house, and he has paid $5, can they invoice you? And do you have to pay that invoice?

No. If he has paid the amount and has the goods in his possession then no, they cannot make you pay them the difference.

[andrewpfeifer]

I wish amazon.de would have screwed up the stuff I ordered. I think I shelled out like 45 bucks for two books. Damn shipping to the US screwed me...oh well.

[tgillespie]

That is for printed advertised prices... However if the product is put into your cart (virtual or real) for a lower price than it should be or it is shown on the shelf with a lower price than it should be then they have to honor the lowest advertised price. What the store does is sells the item to you and then changes the shelf tag to the proper price. Some stores like Kohl's have electronic shelf tags that can be changed by radio frequency from a computer in the back room.

If you look at Zachery's post, the item was actually advertised for $20 more than the shelf tag stated. By law they have to sell it to him for the shelf tag price whether it was a mistake or not. There have been precedants for this in various courts against supermarkets and retailers like Wal-mart. It was so bad against Wal-mart that in California they are under court order to refund $3.00 to the customer every time an item scans differently from the shelf tag, even if the scanned price is lower than the shelf tag.

Zachery was probably shopping at Best Buy because they are notorious for not changing shelf tags promptly. I figure they are the next in line for a class-action suit on the matter.

According to one of my law teachers, this is not the case. For example, about a month ago there was a newer video card on sale at a web site for $200 less than the retail price. Taking my chances, I ordered one. I put it in my virtual cart, I checked out, and I got a confirmation email. I was then notified the next day that the price was a mistake and they were not going to be giving me my video card. I figured this would be the case, but just for grins I went to my teachers office and told him the story. Maybe he is wrong, but I hardly doubt it being that he practiced for over 15 years and is currently a college professor. He said that if the retailer made an honest mistake, they are not required to follow through with the sale. Many online stores have it stated in their store policy that prices are subject to change due to pricing mistakes.

If I buy a video card for hundreds less at Best Buy, walk out of the store, then I am entitled to keep my card. If in fact it was the way Wayne described it, whats to stop my buddy at Wal-Mart from making a price mistake and then having me buy 5 TVs for $1?