New iPads sell for 90% discount after UK website glitch - Polidicks

[img]http://resources2.news.com.au/cs/newscomau/v2/_shared/base/css/images/icons/homepage-title.png[/img] Source: [url]http://www.news.com.au/money/new-ipads-sell-for-90pc-discount-after-uk-website-glitch/story-e6frfmci-1226299708693[/url] [release]A GLITCH on the website of a British supermarket chain saw hundreds of shoppers snap up Apple's new iPad for £49.99 ($78) - a 90 per cent discount on the recommended retail price of about £500. As word of the bargain spread via Twitter, shoppers raced on to Tesco Direct to buy the iPad Wi-Fi 4G 64GB black model, The Daily Mail reported. At one stage "Tesco Direct" and the company's slogan "every little helps" started trending Britain-wide on Twitter. The company was only alerted to the error after the surge in traffic crashed its website. The supermarket giant said it would cancel the purchases and issue refunds. "We always look to offer our customers unbeatable value but unfortunately this is an IT error that is now being corrected," a Tesco Direct spokesman said. Read more at [i][url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2114697/iPads-advertised-50-Tesco-online-pricing-blunder.html]The Daily Mail[/url][/i].[/release]

Finally, a reasonable price for the product.

Deeeeeeerp

I want free I-pads, mang.

Doesn't it cost like $30 bucks to make an iPad anyway?

[QUOTE=GameDev;35134023]The funniest part is even if they didn't issue refunds they still wouldn't be losing profit, doesn't it cost like $30 bucks to make that shit?[/QUOTE] Apple takes a cut, Tesco takes a cut, and the manufacturer takes a cut and they're all raped by corporate tax, vat, etc in their respective countries. So no.

Well they surely don't buy them 30$ from apple, these store only have a little margin on them

-snip-

Whoah whoah whoah, they're cancelling the order and issuing a refund without request from the customer, pretty sure they can't do that just because they've lost money from it without breaking the law.

90% off? Now it's much more affordable at £55,000.

Tesco aren't sending out the iPads. [editline]14th March 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=Legend286;35134072]Whoah whoah whoah, they're cancelling the order and issuing a refund without request from the customer, pretty sure they can't do that just because they've lost money from it without breaking the law.[/QUOTE] I think the law goes something like, if a leather jacket was priced at £310 accidentally instead of £350, the store selling the goods must honor the price. If the jacket was obviously mispriced due to a system error, such as it selling for £35, the shop isn't required by law to honor the price, unless it has already been shipped out.

[QUOTE=Lionlive;35134131]Tesco aren't sending out the iPads. [editline]14th March 2012[/editline] I think the law goes something like, if a leather jacket was priced at £310 accidentally instead of £350, the store selling the goods must honor the price. If the jacket was obviously mispriced due to a system error, such as it selling for £35, the shop isn't required by law to honor the price, unless it has already been shipped out.[/QUOTE] this is true, i tried to buy a 1080p TV from tescos a few years ago at a discount of over £1000 but they just thanked me for pointing our the price error and then fixed it instead of letting me buy it :(

[QUOTE=Lionlive;35134131]Tesco aren't sending out the iPads. [editline]14th March 2012[/editline] I think the law goes something like, if a leather jacket was priced at £310 accidentally instead of £350, the store selling the goods must honor the price. If the jacket was obviously mispriced due to a system error, such as it selling for £35, the shop isn't required by law to honor the price, unless it has already been shipped out.[/QUOTE] System error or employee error, it doesn't matter. They have to sell the goods for the price advertised with no exceptions. The times I've got shit for cheap because of employee incompetence... [QUOTE=Gareth;35134187]this is true, i tried to buy a 1080p TV from tescos a few years ago at a discount of over £1000 but they just thanked me for pointing our the price error and then fixed it instead of letting me buy it :([/QUOTE] Was it advertised on the shelf at that price though? Even online advertising has to follow the same procedure so you could've told them they're breaking the law (which they were) and got it for that price. I've sometimes had this happen, but I stand my ground and threaten them saying I'll report them to consumer standards and they soon change their mind. Why should I let them charge me more than what it says I'm going to be paying, especially when I'm in the right.

[QUOTE=Legend286;35134212]System error or employee error, it doesn't matter. They have to sell the goods for the price advertised with no exceptions. The times I've got shit for cheap because of employee incompetence...[/QUOTE] No, they aren't required to if the error margin is ridiculous, like in this case. Sometimes large stores will honor this, but only on occasion, not when thousands of people have ordered something for £400 less than it should have been. Imagine if they honored it, if just a thousand people ordered one, that's a loss of £400,000.

[QUOTE=Lionlive;35134226]No, they aren't required to if the error margin is ridiculous, like in this case. Sometimes large stores will honor this, but only on occasion, not when thousands of people have ordered something for £400 less than it should have been. Imagine if they honored it, if just a thousand people ordered one, that's a loss of £400,000.[/QUOTE] Wide scale abuse is protected against also, but if one person buys it they should get it for that price. If they tell other people, it should be fixed before it can be abused.

[QUOTE=Legend286;35134235]Wide scale abuse is protected against also, but if one person buys it they should get it for that price. If they tell other people, it should be fixed before it can be abused.[/QUOTE] And the price was fixed right after they had found out about it. This isn't something which happened over a few days, it was spread like wildfire on twitter within minutes. You aren't entitled to something just because a company makes a mistake.

[QUOTE=Lionlive;35134251]And the price was fixed right after they had found out about it. This isn't something which happened over a few days, it was spread like wildfire on twitter within minutes. You aren't entitled to something just because a company makes a mistake.[/QUOTE] UK law disagrees. By law they have to sell you it for the price advertised, there is no maximum amount leverage to protect them from losses, as it's their own fault it happened in the first place. You can't blame technology for something like this, only the people who manage it.

[QUOTE=Legend286;35134263]UK law disagrees. By law they have to sell you it for the price advertised, there is no maximum amount leverage to protect them from losses, as it's their own fault it happened in the first place. You can't blame technology for something like this, only the people who manage it.[/QUOTE] That isn't the law at all. If they had shipped out the iPad, then yes, you are entitled to the product at that price. However, the iPads weren't shipped out, and you aren't entitled to shit. The Tesco TOS says that a sale hasn't been made until the item is dispatched, and this is within the law.

Its true, look! [img]http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/417018_10150739501281257_671761256_11700096_1421900833_n.jpg[/img] Not my pic.

Apple will hopefully see how well it sells at such a low price and decide to lower the cost of their products.

[QUOTE=Lionlive;35134277]That isn't the law at all. If they had shipped out the iPad, then yes, you are entitled to the product at that price. However, the iPads weren't shipped out, and you aren't entitled to shit. The Tesco TOS says that a sale hasn't been made until the item is dispatched, and this is within the law.[/QUOTE] Fair enough, but if it was in-store they would have no choice. Online sales are evidently more relaxed I guess.

[QUOTE=Legend286;35134072]Whoah whoah whoah, they're cancelling the order and issuing a refund without request from the customer, pretty sure they can't do that just because they've lost money from it without breaking the law.[/QUOTE] The eula of the shop most probably says they reserve the right for errors.

[QUOTE=GameDev;35134023]Doesn't it cost like $30 bucks to make an iPad anyway?[/QUOTE] About $600 actually.

[QUOTE=Awesomecaek;35134837]The eula of the shop most probably says they reserve the right for errors.[/QUOTE] EULAs for shops, don't give them ideas. [editline]14th March 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=Badballer;35134885]About $600 actually.[/QUOTE] FoxConn...

[QUOTE=Legend286;35134914]EULAs for shops, don't give them ideas. [editline]14th March 2012[/editline] FoxConn...[/QUOTE] Sorry, my bad, not eula, simply an agreement you check when you confirm the purchase.

[QUOTE=Legend286;35134786]Fair enough, but if it was in-store they would have no choice. Online sales are evidently more relaxed I guess.[/QUOTE] In the shop they would have just refused the sale, which again is perfectly within the law. Retailers can't sell items for more than their advertised price, but it's not a legal right to be able purchase something.

Business 101: Companies are not responsible for providing a product at an [I]accidentally[/I] mis-advertised price. If you can prove however that they're pulling a bait'n'switch (nearly impossible), then you've got a case. Almost always in print ads you'll find in very small text, at the very bottom, something along the lines of, "We aint responsible for typos mang." The same applies for online shopping, but you'll find that notice somewhere in the terms of service or w/e it's called. - As a rule, businesses are not responsible for providing you with a product for the listed price in the store. When they do, they do it because they don't want trouble, and to earn good customers. [URL]http://www.dudley.gov.uk/advice-benefits/trading-standards/price-marking-of-goods-for-sale-/[/URL] UK link, but it applies in the US as well.

[QUOTE=GameDev;35134023]Doesn't it cost like $30 bucks to make an iPad anyway?[/QUOTE] Actually a pretty simple Google search told me that it costs [url=http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-03-14/tech/30012225_1_ipad-apple-stores-pa-semi]over $300 to make the iPad 2[/url] and presumably this one costs quite a bit more. If they hadn't of cancelled these orders, they'd be looking at some serious loss. Thinking about it, iPads are pretty cheap considering how much they cost to make. It's still a lot of money, though.

[QUOTE=Legend286;35134072]Whoah whoah whoah, they're cancelling the order and issuing a refund without request from the customer, pretty sure they can't do that just because they've lost money from it without breaking the law.[/QUOTE] Yeah that's what I was thinking. I thought it was the same principle as when you go into a shop, they have to sell the item at the price displayed on the shelf, even if it's wrong [editline]14th March 2012[/editline] Oh master X corrected me above

[QUOTE=Legend286;35134072]Whoah whoah whoah, they're cancelling the order and issuing a refund without request from the customer, pretty sure they can't do that just because they've lost money from it without breaking the law.[/QUOTE] Why does everyone think this? it's not against the law, companies do it all the time.