It's never pretty to see a treasured friend flounder aimlessly in a desperate attempt to feel young and relevant years after that part of their life has passed them by. Maybe they have a ridiculous comb over. Maybe they dress like a 15 year old girl even though they're pushing 50. Or maybe they flirt with a jaw-dropping price hike for a signature tablet computer.
This morning, the HTC Flyer tablet was briefly listed for sale at the staggering low price of $99.00. To put that in perspective, when the device launched back in May, the basic version cost $500.00, plus an additional $80 for customers who wanted an optional stylus. That might sound competitive with iPad, but despite 16GB memory, the smallish 7-inch screen kind of made that price look like a slap to the faces of recession-scarred consumers, and they responded accordingly.
At the original full price the Flyer didn't sell very well, which is why it was announced last week that the price would be slashed to a more reasonable $299.00. That sounded like a good idea, until Amazon's Kindle Fire, with its viciously undercutting $199.00 price tag, was announced. Now Kindle Fire is enjoying record pre-orders and the Flyer is stuck trying to suck in its gut and brush over that unsightly bald spot.
While it might make sense for HTC to further lower the Flyer price tag in light of Kindle Fire's success, a drop like this looks financially suicidal, and indeed, Best Buy is now claiming that the $99.00 price was error. Currently the Flyer is once again listed at $299.00 and Best Buy has stated that orders made during the brief $99.00 window will not be honored. People who made those purchases will either need to pony up the full amount, or get a refund. Even so, one has to wonder if this 'error' was more a matter of timing than price. HTC might be willing to take a financial loss if it saves their tablet. I'm betting even if the $99.00 mistake was actually that, we'll see another Flyer reduction before the holiday shopping season begins in earnest.
I couldn't agree more. When companies make mistakes they should pay the consequences. Savvy consumers should be rewarded for their attentiveness to deals and companies should be obligated to honor the prices they set.
Your comparing apples to oranges.. Apples "this little BB fiasco" to a person selling a house "a binding contract must be accepted before the sell can continue and this binding contract must satisfy both parties"
If I was selling a house and at every step during the process I forgot to list that extra zero on the price, then yes I am obligated to sell it at that price. That's why people check the paperwork. I can't forget to put a zero on my taxes and get a larger refund. It's their choice to not honor it, and I'm not surprised at all they won't considering how BB does business these days. It does make them look bad however that they can't pay up for their mistake. You said it yourself, they lose money either way, any consumer oriented business would accept the loss and fire the guy who messed up the site so the customer would be happy. The real question is why the consumer would pay for their mistake, not why Best Buy would.
Actually yes, if you put this in the perspective of buying the house you are obliged to sell it at that price. The company in question took the money, the sale was complete. If I pay for the house and sign the papers they have to give me the key, they can't do a take back because they messed up. These companies should be honoring this and not saying, never mind here is your money. I'm not even sure they can deny you the purchase if you have already given them their money. Someone with spare income should talk to a lawyer about this.
Depends, in some places they have to honor it by law. But I only know that for sure in an actual store and under certain conditions, as for online, I couldn't say for sure since I never read the "Purchase Terms & Conditions" and "Online Policies" of best buy and similar relevant legal info from whichever state/province it was purchased from.
Source:
http://www.opc.gouv.qc.ca/webforms/SujetsConsommation/BiensPersonnels/ArticlesSports/IndicationExactitudePrix_en.aspx
Specifically under "When the policy doesn't apply"
What should be considered in this case is whether this would fall under any of those rules. To me, 99.00 is an almost reasonable price for a doorbuster type of sale.
Not long ago HP touchpad was sold for $99.00, so in this case, it is definitely reasonable.
Think before you speak.
Hiryu actually beat me to it; we must recall that this is precisely the sticker price HP actually put on their TouchPad tablets. Since this is a tablet that belongs to the "not an iPad" crowd, $99 could be seen as a perfectly expectable price: after all, consumers have seen that price before.
Unbelievable.