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Amazon Bait and switch

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vinnie123

New member
Maine
Needed to buy some wiggets in bulk so I went on amazon and searched for one of the best brands. About 4 down in the list was another brand at a silly low price. They were packaging 15 for what you would pay for 3. Seemed fishy but they did have thousands of positive reviews and a store front. The order page said they only had about a dozen left so I went ahead and ordered one. Latter that night I was telling a friend about the price and he asked me to order him a few. The next day I ordered him 4 packs of 15. A week latter they showed up, but only 5 were delivered. So I do a search for missing items and it sets me up on a chat. The girl checked the order and agreed to send a replacement. 7 days later a package shows up with only 5 {not the 75 I had Paid for} So I'm back on chat again and they are steering to a refund but I need the wiggets. So they set up another replacement order. 10 days latter I received only 3, and again they push for a refund but I demand a full replacement. 12 days latter same thing. This time on the chat I was told they could only send one order of 15 and they would give me a gift card for the remainder. I kept typing in supervisor until a cs rep said they had the authority to send me the replacement. I told him I had paid for 75 wiggets and only received 13. So, I do a little more checking and it turns out that amazon owns the store front while they hold merchandise for other sellers.
Does tis sound like Bait and Switch? .....(fixed B and S)
 
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quincy

Senior Member
Maine
Needed to buy some wiggets in bulk so I went on amazon and searched for one of the best brands. About 4 down in the list was another brand at a silly low price. They were packaging 15 for what you would pay for 3. Seemed fishy but they did have thousands of positive reviews and a store front. The order page said they only had about a dozen left so I went ahead and ordered one. Latter that night I was telling a friend about the price and he asked me to order him a few. The next day I ordered him 4 packs of 15. A week latter they showed up, but only 5 were delivered. So I do a search for missing items and it sets me up on a chat. The girl checked the order and agreed to send a replacement. 7 days later a package shows up with only 5 {not the 75 I had Paid for} So I'm back on chat again and they are steering to a refund but I need the wiggets. So they set up another replacement order. 10 days latter I received only 3, and again they push for a refund but I demand a full replacement. 12 days latter same thing. This time on the chat I was told they could only send one order of 15 and they would give me a gift card for the remainder. I kept typing in supervisor until a cs rep said they had the authority to send me the replacement. I told him I had paid for 75 wiggets and only received 13. So, I do a little more checking and it turns out that amazon owns the store front while they hold merchandise for other sellers.
Does tis sound like Switch and Bait?
No. It doesn’t sound like a bait and switch. It sounds like demand exceeded supply.
 

Taxing Matters

Overtaxed Member
Maine

Does tis sound like Switch and Bait?
No. The term is "bait and switch". The term started pre-internet and referred to a seller advertising a great deal on a product it either has a very small quantity of or that it never really intended to sell (at least not at the offered price). Instead, once you got to the store, the seller pressures you to buy another product, the product the seller really intends to sell and is typically much more expensive. It played on the desire of the buyer to get what he wants and the fact that the buyer was already at the store and didn't want to leave empty handed. So rather than go to other stores to comparison shop, the buyer caves and buys the switched product. It's harder to pull off in an online sale because it's so easy on the internet to find alternate offers, all from the comfort of your own home. But it still does occur. In your situation they are not using the low cost product in an effort to upsell you to something more expensive. So it's not bait and switch. Rather, they are having trouble providing all the items you ordered and are offering a refund for the units they can't provide. That's obviously frustrating to you, but it doesn't violate the law. You could try suing for breach of contract but all that will give you is what they are offering now: a refund for the unpurchased units.
 

quincy

Senior Member
It could be many things, but "bait and switch" it is definitely not.
They are selling packages as big as one hundred on their store front..
It appears the company simply underestimated the demand. You can wait for the rest of your order to be filled or you can request a refund.

Although a bait and switch scheme by a company starts by attracting consumers to a product by offering it at an attractively low price (the “bait”), there needs to be a similar, higher-priced item available that the company tries to steer the consumer to (the “switch”).
 
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