Wow, talk about a dipshit move on the part of Sears. This isn't your ordinary raincheck where the item hasn't arrived from the warehouse yet. What did they seriously think these customers were going to do??

I was wondering how they and HHGregg were offering these things at ridiculous prices... I guess now I know!

Well she really took them to the cleaners aye'??

@Brookeorama: no, she took the cleaners from them!

I doubt Sears expected a result like this (and nice work, Cheri!), but did they really think charging people for a product that didn't even exist would end well?

@hellinmyeyes: You hit it on the head... Wow. I can't think of a good way to play devil's advocate on this one.

I'm pleased Cheri won her judgment. OTOH, I wonder exactly when she'll have cash in hand. I suspect Cheri doesn't have lawyers on retainer as Sears does, so despite bad publicity for Sears, is it a hollow victory?

Given Sears track record with repair service this seems like the customer really won since they are getting money and not getting an appliance from Sears.

Wow. I'm about the last person who would complain about Sears, because I have pretty much relied on Kenmores for years with virtually no complaints. When I've needed a washer, dryer, stove, etc., I've basically just headed to Sears. I've never had the negative experiences others have written about here. So, I'm completely shocked at this story.

On another note, and I'm not blaming the OP here, but I've pretty much given up on Black Friday deals. Regardless of the store, the deals are never as good as the advertisement leads you to believe, and it's just not worth it to me to buy anything on Black Friday anymore.

And this is unfortunately the way that business is headed.

Grocery shrink rays, FREE PRODUCT(just pay $19.95 S+H), selling items not even manufactured, made up on the spot credit card fees, estimating tax charges.

Have they no sense of shame?

Sears - a financing company masquerading as a retail products store.

@Blueskylaw: Not as long as they can make more money without one.

@razremytuxbuddy: It sounds to me the deal was a lure to get people to the stores and the delay intended to deter people from actually wanting to get the deal and preventing Sears from taking a huge loss on the washer and dryer.

My dad went to get same deal, but they actually told him that it was "sold out" and he would have to order it. They said he would recieve it Feburary and, to our suprise, it came in Feburary. It is still a bunch of bullshit that they would advertise something that wasn't even manufactured yet. To me this is nothing more than a elaberat form of bait and switch.

@dhmosquito:

"Cheri doesn't have lawyers on retainer as Sears does"

You're probably right.But...

Those lawyers will cost Sears a LOT of money per hour to defend something that they are going to lose anyway.I suspect that the blood in the water (so to speak) will draw class action attorneys like a dump draws flies.THEN it really gets expensive for the good 'ol boys at Sears. So if you have been seriously wronged,don't be put off by the old "we have a staff of attorneys" line.They may have 'em,but they won't work for free.This is a textbook case of why we consumers need to stop mandatory arbitration while we can. If she had been bound by MBA,she would get shafted with no hope of justice...

@Blueskylaw: No, they definitely have absolutely no shame. Especially since the people that make up these schemes aren't the ones in the trenches being forced to pretend they are legit. If you can force your minimum wage labor to take advantage of customers or lose their jobs, I guess you somehow lose your internal discourse on right vs. wrong.

@Ibanez720: Bait and switch is when you substitute a different product. When you switch one product for NO product, that's something else, something douchier.

That washer and dryer combo was crap, anyway. I used to sell appliances up until a few months ago at a competitor, and we knew those machines were made by Frigidaire. Square doors, crappy hinges. We had a name for them: "Squeaky-Leakies". I wouldn't be surprised if half of them are dead in under 3 years.

It's April. This purchase was made in November. I think she's waited enough, Sears.

@Ibanez720: BTW, it would be nice if we had an edit button. An option to edit our comments up to 15 minutes, or even 5 minutes, after we post it would be great.

WOW. Another satisfied Sears customer. At least shhe got some satisfaction from Sears. Try returning a craftsman wrench that is broken and also has rust on it. They will tell you that the warranty is void because it has rust on it.

@tc4b: They actually did try to steer him towards a different, more expensive model. The biggest problem would be trying to prove that they did it. Also, after he received these washers I can assure you that they are one of the lower quality front end loaders. The damn door keeps on jamming when it locks!

It amazes me how out of touch Sears management is with the real world. And I say that not because of just this story, but also because a Sears employee is in my family.

I had a $75 rebate coming to me from buying a new washing machine on Black Friday Saturday (the deal was good until noon Saturday and I got the rebate for using my Sears card, which I paid off in full.) I submitted the info online figuring it would be faster. I didn't get the rebate until mid-March despite making almost weekly calls to find out the status. I wanted to get my $75 before Sears went bankrupt.

Maybe this is one of the reasons why there are 16,000+ complaints against Sears logged by the BBB.

[tinyurl.com]

@Snarkysnake: It also could have been small claims court, so she wouldn't need a lawyer.

@Radi0logy: I'm sure the people coming up with the schemes are getting flak from people higher up that they have to be more creative to make money or they're going to lose their jobs.

I just wish they'd stock the items they do manufacture.

@Ibanez720: That would be difficult to prove unless you had recorded it with a hidden camera. At which point you are probably going to come under fire yourself for recording something without permission. Unfortunately stores do this all the time.

I do believe this falls under bait and switch though. They are advertising a product they do not have one of in stock (knowingly), which is illegal, then they are trying to steer you towards a different more expensive product in order to get more sales. Smells like bait and switch to me.

You can't advertise a product if you aren't going to have it in the stores that day. Ask all the stores who had Wii's in the ads on Sunday when they were super popular, they had to get them in during the week then hold them in the back for the Sunday ad so they wouldn't get in trouble for advertising something that they never had in stock in the first place.

@snowburnt: Probably a fault with many levels of management. Company executives are being pressured more and more to get the consumer to buy as much as possible at any and all costs. The consumer on the other hand is becoming more savvy than ever. With the age of the Internet the stores cannot just bait the consumer because the consumer now has a cell phone in hand that can check prices in an instant while in the store to make sure they are getting the best deal. If the price isn't right they can leave, go home and order the item they were going to purchase at an online store for a lower price. People aren't buying things in stores just because they came to the store and it would be a wasted trip if they didn't get something, they are not afraid to leave empty handed. Its dog eat dog, the retailer is trying to get the consumer and the consumer is trying to get the retailer!

@Blueskylaw: Corporations don't have emotions. That's why they pull the shit they do.

@snowburnt: But it says that Sears is fighting the judgment, meaning this will probably go to the next level.

@razremytuxbuddy: I don't do black friday anymore because stores are a madhouse and its simply not worth its. Usually there is nothing I want from a retail store on that day. Besides the fact that its usually very cold out at that time of the year, and standing outside in the sub-zero weather to get a sub-par deal that I could have gotten any other time of the year online is not worth it. Most of the products being sold like the big electronics are also the cheapest made products and will break or become outdated before you have even gotten your money's worth out of them. Some are old stock they are just begging to get rid of. There is a reason the retailer puts them at such a steep discount. Better to just save up for a quality product if you are in the market for a large purchase like a TV, desktop computer or laptop.

I might however order an item I need and have been considering for a long time online on BF, smaller purchases like video games, toys or Xmas gifts if the item is offered at a significant discount over the normal price.

@razremytuxbuddy: Good point. Unless it's something stellar that I can get that moment without any ridiculous hassle or risk of the business running out of stock, I hardly ever do the Black Friday thing anymore. I might cruise around the mall a bit, but that's it. It's not worth it having to deal with the mobs going after $20 DVD players and the lines at the checkouts. I'd rather buy during the "season" rather than the "day" and pay some fair money for what I actually want.

It's sad that Sears can't even own up to the mistakes they made. Mistakes is a kind way to say it, though. It's just pathetic...

Sad to say this is likely not the only case of its type... my friend who works at Sears CS says that they deal with pretty much exactly this issue twice a day, every day.

Good business model...sell items you don't have, bank the money, earn interest, wait 5 months and then refund payment. interest=profit. hmm..gives me all kinds of ideas

for $1600 though, i wonder if she did it in small claims court. can you appeal a small claims court decision?

Hmmm.....those Black Friday ads and the actual advertisements are printed months in advance of the actual day. Perhaps Sears thought they had a deal with the company to make the washer/dryers and the company never followed through? Nevertheless, I would never buy a washer and dryer set advertised for $599.

@MadameX: Small claims appeals have limited ability to climb up the legal ladder.

In any state, the Appellate Court can choose to not take an appeal case, and they very often do not take small claims cases as appeals (an appeal is costly and time consuming, and often makes little sense on a case that has less than $10k involved).

@razremytuxbuddy: For the past three years, I've done Black Friday - but only for the DVDs. It's the ONLY time of year I buy dvds and I love getting the tv series sets that normally cost $40 or $50 for under $20 each.

None of the high priced items have ever seemed worth it to me, nor would it be worth it to go through the hassle of getting there that early/trudging throught he fine print to find the catch.

@zentex: no, she tried to take the cleaners from them, but sears wouldn't give her the cleaners.

@JulesNoctambule: "didn't exist" is not the right phrase... well, i guess it is.
Unicorn Chaser doesn't exist, and can't possibly exist
the (specific) washer and drier don't CURRENTLY exist, but *CAN* exist, and sears can show that they CAN manufacture them...

although sears is still shady for doing this - i'd be fine with buying something that is not yet manufactured, with the understanding that the date of manufacture and subsequent date of delivery is inside an acceptable time window- for a great deal on washer/drier, i'd say that window could be as large as 1 month, no bigger.

@mamalicious: Maybe so, but in that case they should have simply announced that the deal was not available and offered some sort of consolation coupon or something. Not a great solution, I know, but better than taking money for something that doesn't exist!!

@gStein: Bravo. You all deserve a rimshot. [www.instantrimshot.com]

@hellinmyeyes: What they were trying to do was get people who needed a new washer/dryer to buy something that wasn't as good a deal but could be delivered immediately. I'm sure they made lots of sales of different washers and dryers that weren't as good a deal.

@Snarkysnake: Maybe they have in house attorneys who handle all their legal needs on a regular base salary? That is what the company I work for does. They have a staff of lawyers in house to handle anything that comes up.

That way they can fight legal battles all they want at no additional cost. It is very rare that they need to hire additional outside counsel for something specialized.

I would imagine that a company as large as Sears would also have in house lawyers available for all their legal needs?

@Julia789: even so they have a limited number of lawyers. So it becomes an issue of what cases are the most cost effective to pursue. It's not like they sit around all day waiting for someone to sue them.

@MMD: Agreed!

We got ours Feb 20th (I ordered mine online at 3am) and the dryer was dented and somehow "magically" the delivery drivers were able to get a replacement the next day (when they told me on the phone there was NO way to get another one for a month) Now a month later I am waiting again for my THIRD yes THIRD dryer as the second one they gave me doesn't get hot! I was never a big sears fan but couldn't pass up this deal either, but now I will NEVER buy anything from them again.

Oh and I talked to a salesman at sears for some more background last week. He told me they had 35,000 made but took orders for 89,000. Hmm I wonder why they had problems...