Does online company have to honor listed sale price??

[tamidecali]

What is the name of your state? California

Does online company have to honor listed price?

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What is the name of your state? California

I recently purchased a baby swing online for the listed sale price of 63.99 and received this email:
Dear ,

We would like to thank you again for ordering with us. We have provided a copy of your order confirmation below.Please review all of your order information. If there is anything that needs to be corrected, please contact us as soon as possible. Please allow for the full processing time, as stated on our site, and additional time for shipping for each item that you have ordered to arrive.

If you would like to check the status of your order, please visit our home page at www.babyuniverse.com and click on the Order Status link at the top of the page. Just enter the e-mail address you provided on your order and the password you created. This will allow you to see the status of this order as well as the history on any previous orders you placed with us using that same email address.

If you have any question regarding your order, please visit our Contact Us page at www.babyuniverse.com/contactus/baby/ContactUs.html or you may call us toll free at 1-877-615-BABY (2229). Our customer service representatives are available Monday through Friday between 8:00AM and 6:00PM EST.



Very truly yours,

BabyUniverse.com Customer Service Team





Customer Service
[email protected]


Thank you for shopping at BabyUniverse. We hope to see you online soon!
To check your order status online, Click Here

Order Date:
Order Number:
Payment Method:

2/24/2007 7:57:07 PM 798352 Credit Card

Customer:



Package 1
Model #: Manufacturer: Product: Style: Giftwrap: Price: Registry of:
G2609 Fisher-Price Baby Papasan Cradle Swing NO $63.99 - -

Ship to:

Shipping method: GND $0.00

Gift Card Text:



Sub Total: $63.99
Giftwrap: $0.00
Shipping: $0.00
Tax: $0.00
Discount: ($10.00)
Total $53.99

I then received this email stating it was currently out of stock:

Valued babyuniverse customer,

Thank you for shopping with babyuniverse.com. We do make every effort to exceed your expectations but, unfortunately, we have encountered a delay with your recent order. The following products(s) are temporarily backordered from order# 798352

1 qty Baby Papasan Cradle Swing -- Fisher-Price model #G2609
This item is expected back in stock on 3/20/2007

Your options:

I CAN WAIT

If we do not hear from you, we will assume that you want your order and expect your item(s) to be shipped out as soon as they are available.

I NEED IT RIGHT NOW

If you are unable to wait simply visit our Contact Us section on our homepage to cancel your order. We look forward to exceeding your expectations the next time you shop with us.

If have any questions or need clarification, please contact us at 1-877-615-2229.

Customer service representives are available Monday through Thursday from 8:30 A.M. to 9:00 P.M. EST and on Fridays from 8:30 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. EST .

Sincerely,
babyuniverse customer service team
[email protected]

I chose to wait, but when I checked online it stated my order was cancelled... I found it odd so I contacted customer service and have now received the following email:

Dear Tamara,



Recently the Fisher-Price Papasan Swing was listed with an incorrect price on BabyUniverse.com for a short time; this error has since been corrected. We strive very hard to get our customers the best prices but on rare occasion a pricing error may occur. We apologize for any disappointment this may cause.

I am very sorry you did not receive this information before your order was cancelled. The form of payment you used on your order will be credited as soon as possible. You will be receiving an e-mail with a discount code for 15% off of a future purchase as compensation for the error on our part. Again I am very sorry for the way in which your order has been handled.

Laura Hendrickson

My question is do I have any grounds here? Should I not be given this item at the price I purchased it for AND they CHARGED me already!!!
02-25-2007 BABY UNIVERSE 877-615-2229 FL 53.99 (what shows on my online bank statement!!!!)

Thank you!

 

[ForFun]

Interesting question.

Generally speaking, advertisements are not offers to contract, but merely invitations to treat (which is basically just an invitation to begin negotiations). Therefore, a shopkeeper is not usually required to sell the product at the advertised price.

However, in your case, the contract seems to have already been made. In fact, your bank account had even been debited the amount you agreed to pay.

Given the circumstances, I would argue that the seller is obligated to honor the original price you were quoted. I'm interested in what others have to say, however.

 

[You Are Guilty]

Probably comes down to how big the pricing error was. If it was large enough that the purchaser clearly should have been aware of the error (e.g. $350 item for $60), then I doubt a court will enforce the "contract" (assuming it's proven that one exists).

 

[racer72]

Read the site disclaimer.

http://www.babyuniverse.com/copyrightstatement/baby/Copyright.html

I read at least 3 statements which say they cannot be held liable for various errors in pricing, advertising, etc. You have no claim.

 

[justsomeguy]

I would check your bank. As a e-commerce owner I can tell you it is HIGHLY UNLIKELY that they charged your card. I'm sure they only authorized the sale, (that would appear, but not actually be charged). It is agianst their agreement with credit card companies to charge before they ship their products, or before work begins on a custom product.

With all that said... I think it's kind of a crappy thing to do on their part. Looking at the cost of that item about double what you were originally quoted, I would have given it to you. They wouldn't make a profit, and possibly lost a very small amount, but it would not be worth it to me to upset a customer because of my companies mistake. I would have shipped it and fixed my mistake for the next customer.

 

[moburkes]

I would check your bank. As a e-commerce owner I can tell you it is HIGHLY UNLIKELY that they charged your card. I'm sure they only authorized the sale, (that would appear, but not actually be charged). It is agianst their agreement with credit card companies to charge before they ship their products, or before work begins on a custom product.

With all that said... I think it's kind of a crappy thing to do on their part. Looking at the cost of that item about double what you were originally quoted, I would have given it to you. They wouldn't make a profit, and possibly lost a very small amount, but it would not be worth it to me to upset a customer because of my companies mistake. I would have shipped it and fixed my mistake for the next customer.

In this case, the product sold out so quickly because so many people ordered it at the incorrectly listed price. It was posted on at least 1 "deals" website. It happens all of the time. The order gets cancelled, then people come here and ask what the law is, in regards to price misprints. Most websites have the disclaimer explaining that they will not honor these mistakes. But, I'm not sure how many companies could absorb shipping 100s of incorrectly priced items.

 

[tamidecali]

I would check your bank. As a e-commerce owner I can tell you it is HIGHLY UNLIKELY that they charged your card. I'm sure they only authorized the sale, (that would appear, but not actually be charged). It is agianst their agreement with credit card companies to charge before they ship their products, or before work begins on a custom product.

With all that said... I think it's kind of a crappy thing to do on their part. Looking at the cost of that item about double what you were originally quoted, I would have given it to you. They wouldn't make a profit, and possibly lost a very small amount, but it would not be worth it to me to upset a customer because of my companies mistake. I would have shipped it and fixed my mistake for the next customer.

Just to reiterate.... my account has been debited, and I have NO access to these funds until they refund this money back to me. Had I found this deal elsewhere right now, or something comparable, I would not have the money to purchase it as they are holding my money!

 

[moburkes]

Just to reiterate.... my account has been debited, and I have NO access to these funds until they refund this money back to me. Had I found this deal elsewhere right now, or something comparable, I would not have the money to purchase it as they are holding my money!

The FTC requires that your money be refunded, or the item shipped, within 30 days. The credit, more likely than not, has been put through. Its your bank that hasn't processed it yet. Unfortunately, it only takes seconds for your account to be debited, but days for the credit to appear.

Here is a relevant portion of that applies to your scenario:

When You Must Cancel an Order
You must cancel an order and provide a prompt refund when:
the customer exercises any option to cancel before you ship the merchandise;
the customer does not respond to your first notice of a definite revised shipment date of 30 days or less and you have not shipped the merchandise or received the customer’s consent to a further delay by the definite revised shipment date;
the customer does not respond to your notice of a definite revised shipment date of more than 30 days (or your notice that you are unable to provide a definite revised shipment date) and you have not shipped the merchandise within 30 days of the original shipment date;
the customer consents to a definite delay and you have not shipped or obtained the customer’s consent to any additional delay by the shipment time the customer consented to;
you have not shipped or provided the required delay or renewed option notices on time; or
you determine that you will never be able to ship the merchandise.

That is all that is required.

 

[justsomeguy]

Just to reiterate.... my account has been debited, and I have NO access to these funds until they refund this money back to me. Had I found this deal elsewhere right now, or something comparable, I would not have the money to purchase it as they are holding my money!

You might be interested in my response to "bad practices" Just so you know, this cost the company, so it was not something they did intentionally. That is if they actually charged you.

I could be wrong, but I'm still assuming it was only an authoriation that will fall off of your account. Stores don't charge before they ship for two reasons. 1. it's required, 2. it costs them money to do a refund if for any reason the item can't go out, such as this.

 

[tamidecali]

You might be interested in my response to "bad practices" Just so you know, this cost the company, so it was not something they did intentionally. That is if they actually charged you.

I could be wrong, but I'm still assuming it was only an authoriation that will fall off of your account. Stores don't charge before they ship for two reasons. 1. it's required, 2. it costs them money to do a refund if for any reason the item can't go out, such as this.

You are mistaken.. it was withdrawn then credited back.. right line are debits, left line credits...NM it won't post that way, but nonetheless... debit on 25th and credit back on 3/1

02-25-2007 BABY UNIVERSE 877-615-2229 FL 53.99

03-01-2007 BABY UNIVERSE 877-615-2229 FL 53.99

NOW, they have offered to one friend of mine to complete her order at sale price and not to myself or some other friends of mine... (I have alot of preggo friends who share sales and deals!)

Hmmn....

 

[justsomeguy]

You are mistaken.. it was withdrawn then credited back.. right line are debits, left line credits...NM it won't post that way, but nonetheless... debit on 25th and credit back on 3/1

02-25-2007 BABY UNIVERSE 877-615-2229 FL 53.99

03-01-2007 BABY UNIVERSE 877-615-2229 FL 53.99

NOW, they have offered to one friend of mine to complete her order at sale price and not to myself or some other friends of mine... (I have alot of preggo friends who share sales and deals!)

Hmmn....

Yep, for sure then, that was a charge and credit. That's not something we would have done. :T

I suppose maybe they filled all the orders that they had in stock, and then cancelled any that they would have to order from their supplier to fill. Sorry they didn't come through for you.