Several of our readers received this email from Best Buy, explaining that they won’t be honoring a mistake in the upcoming September 23, 2007 Best Buy ad.
Stores aren’t usually required to honor typographical errors in advertisements, but we’re not sure if accidentally advertising the wrong product (rather than accidentally printing $2.00 instead of $200, for example) qualifies. It seems Best Buy might not be sure either. The solution is rebate!
Praise and adulation to the first person who finds an applicable law. In the meantime, here’s some information on false advertising from the FTC. And here’s a guide to “bait” advertising. Learning is fun.
Frequentlt Asked Advertising Questions:A Guide for Small Business [FTC]
Guides Against Bait Advertising[FTC]
According to the Federal Trade Commision, deceptive material in advertisements includes the following:
∙ “Is “material” – that is, important to a consumer’s decision to buy or use the product.”
Although, I think Best Buy’s email might exempt them from such, don’t take my word for it.
Ok, up until now I had not even bothered to look at what Meg originally linked to. I have to say, I am a bit disappointed in the Consumerist. Neither one of the links they provided is relevant to the issue at hand. This kind of thing is not covered under the FCC’s False Advertising policies, and is clearly not “bait and switch”. It would be nice to see the editors do some actual research before posting stuff like this, rather than simply googling “False Advertising”, finding an FTC page that has it as a heading, and linking to it without actually reading the content.
In the UK an advertisement is an “invitation to treat”. In the US (all States AFAIK, may be Federal) an advertisement is an “invitation to negotiate”.
Neither is an offer. Of course they don’t have to honour it.
@blkhrt1:
Adding to the discussion is great; namecalling and abuse of other commenters are not. Cut it out.
@bradg33:
“Harm” is a broad term. That said, I wasn’t really using “negligence” in that sense.
Further, fines there may be, but all states still require proof of intent.
Otherwise, no retailer would ever be safe from the Wandering Restocker.
Here is the consumer protection act of 1998 for California.
[www.dca.ca.gov]
This should help if someone wants to bring a case against them..
I realize that each and every one of you make no mistakes, and always fess up to them before they are noticed.
Best Buy did what they could before the AD hit the streets to let customers know of the error. We should all feel so lucky they decided to offer anything for the mistake.
Dangarion, the thing is that best buy sent out e-mails 2 days before the ad hit the streets.. all they had to do was to pull the ad, but they decided to let it run so they can get people to the store.. I will be heading to Best Buy to request that they sell the TV for the advertised price when I can get a chance to get over there.. If they refuse which I believe that they will. I will take it to the next level.. Check the link I left before.. This is obviously bait and switch..
People are tossing around a lot of half-truths here. Consumer laws vary from state to state, and it looks like Best Buy sent out the same e-mail to all its customers, regardless of the state laws that might dictate what is legal and what is not. For example, Ohio Revised Code makes NO provision for a seller to hide behind a price “correction,” although it’s common practice for big-box retailers to post such “corrections” on their doors. Under OAC (109:4-3-03), then, the retailer IS obligated to sell the item (or offer a comparable substitute) at the advertised price. Again, in OHIO, there is NO “e-mail/post/advertise a corrected price & get out of the mistake free” card.
Other states might have more favorable laws for retailers, or more favorable laws for consumers. Now, even though it appears in its e-mail Best Buy’s stance violates Ohio law, that’s for a judge to decide, as OAC doesn’t specifically weigh in on this practice. The Massachussets code posted here would indicate that Best Buy’s e-mailed position is entirely kosher in MA.
The problems I have with the e-mail are twofold:
1) Best Buy’s attorneys are good (I used to work for BBY, and though their attorneys are very busy people, they know the laws in the states where BBY operates), and would certainly know that this e-mail would not pass legal muster in some states, and would be at least questionable in others. Sending the mail out to customers nationwide (or at least, in all the markets where this advertisement was released) is, in my view, a deceptive business practice.
2) I’m not anti-corporation, but these multi-million dollar firms have truckloads of marketing consultants, advertising designers, and copy editors. When they advertise something that seems like a great deal–and then print off a little “correction” sign and post it on their door–they have dropped the ball and lured customers to their stores for a deal that they won’t honor. When I worked for BBY, they had fewer than 400 stores (I’m sure they’re up around 500 now); printing off a couple 8×10 signs per store does not absolve them of the obligation contained in tens (or maybe hundreds) of thousands of flyers circulated in Sunday papers and in the stores. When I worked for BBY and there was an incorrect price in the flyer, it always amazed me that we didn’t pull the flyer. Nope. You let the flyer circulate, with the “incorrect” price shouting 10,000 times louder than the innocuous “correction” notice taped to the front door.
It’s deceptive–not because they MEANT to be deceptive, but because they don’t make an equal effort to correct the mistake. Here’s an analogy: if BBY had a TV commercial with incorrect (price) information, would they simply post notices on the doors to the stores, or e-mail customers on their mailing lists? (I don’t know about you, but if I see a great deal in the newspaper, I don’t go check my e-mail first thing for some sort of retraction.) Or would they pull the TV ads and correct them?
There’s no reason why print ads shouldn’t be treated the same way. Making a mistake isn’t a sin, but expecting CUSTOMERS to discover the mistake when they get to the store is wrong. And e-mailing customers is little better.