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Best Buy Not Honoring $9.99 HDTV Price

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Best Buy said that it will not honor the $9.99 HDTV pricetag.

Online pricing typos seem to be commonplace as of late, landing several companies in a financial bind by owning up to insanely discounted pricetags. As an example, Dell listed a $148 19-inch LCD monitor for a meager $15 on the website back in June. Over 26,000 people ordered 140,000 units, costing the company millions. Although Dell announced that it would not honor the incorrect price, Taiwan said otherwise and forced the company to honor the price or face legal action.

Now Best Buy is facing the same ordeal, however in this case, the government has not yet stepped in to intervene. Wednesday morning the company erroneously posted a $9.99 pricetag on a 52-inch Samsung flat-screen HDTV; the device normally retails for $3,399.99. Word quickly spread across the social networks, and by early afternoon, Best Buy corrected the error with the originally intended discount price of $1,799.99.

According to the Associated Press, Best Buy told customers that it will not honor the $9.99 price, and has canceled all orders relating to the error. Customers who already purchased the Samsung HDTV will receive a refund. Best Buy's policy also confirms this in the following statement:

"Prices and availability of products and services are subject to change without notice. Errors will be corrected where discovered, and Best Buy reserves the right to revoke any stated offer and to correct any errors, inaccuracies or omissions including after an order has been submitted and whether or not the order has been confirmed and your credit card charged."

67 Comments Comment from the forums
  • doomtomb 14 August 2009 06:53
    52" TV for $10! I woulda bought like 10 if I had the chance...
    Reply
  • duckmanx88 14 August 2009 06:54
    did the people buying it really think it was that cheap when they bought it? or were they hoping for that same case as Dell?

    but idc I hate best buy and their geek squad. $180 for a virus scan. damn wankers.
    Reply
  • Raid3r 14 August 2009 06:55
    oh damn...our cracker jack junk stated at the price it SHOULD be!?!! NO WE WON'T SELL! let them keep their junk...go live your lives and stop being consumers.
    Reply
  • Kaiser_25 14 August 2009 06:55
    What did they expect...but best buy...your kinda fail.
    Reply
  • nachowarrior 14 August 2009 06:58
    I saw this on their website, it was not specified that it's "online only" went to the store because i couldn't order it, at which point i was told that it was in stock and they'd sell it to me for 1400. Classic bait and switch. illegal. I filed a formal complaint with the BBB.
    Reply
  • 14 August 2009 07:02
    As if they would follow through with something like that.

    If you saw a 52" HDTV for $10, would you seriously think,"MAN NO WAI WHAT A DEEL"? I hope not you moron.

    Its obvious they won't honour the price that was listed, so don't be suprised when they say it was a typo.

    Reply
  • dannyaa 14 August 2009 07:14
    iamcanadian7I hope not you moron.Its obvious they won't honour the price that was listed, so don't be suprised when they say it was a typo.
    Hey genius, notice what happen with Dell? This is because it is ILLEGAL not to follow through on an advertised price - EVEN if it was a typo. I, and others, have gotten many things on these errors for cheap. I've gotten a $120 item for $12 at Best Buy. They tell you it is an error, and you tell them too bad, it is law. And they have to honor it.

    Where it is tricky here is since it was online and the discount was HUGE. But legally they have to honor the price. I am sure there will be legal intervention with this and perhaps even a court case.

    I'm sure none of these people thought "wow what a great deal" but rather "wow let's take advantage of this error because they have to honor it by law!"
    Reply
  • tipoo 14 August 2009 07:30
    Ahh, i wish i could have grabbed one of those Dell monitors.
    Reply
  • zerapio 14 August 2009 07:45
    iamcanadian7As if they would follow through with something like that.If you saw a 52" HDTV for $10, would you seriously think,"MAN NO WAI WHAT A DEEL"? I hope not you moron.Its obvious they won't honour the price that was listed, so don't be suprised when they say it was a typo.What if the listing price is $100 or $1000. Would you think that $1000 is a typo? Then, where do you draw a line.

    I think companies should be forced to follow through on an advertised price. Next time they'll pay more attention before publishing. Who's to say that companies start using that tactic to get people to a store:
    - AD: "Buy this new LCD LED TV for $900"
    - Dude: "No way, I must get it now"
    - BB rep: "Sorry, it's a typo but let me show you what we have in store"

    Makes you nauseous, right?
    Reply
  • stevo777 14 August 2009 07:49
    Dannyaa is correct. I was a retail manager for a couple of years and the law states that companies must honor an advertised price regardless of whether or not it is an error. These people who took them up on the price should file a class action lawsuit. They will win. If not, companies can just claim any price to get you into the store, or whatever, and just say--oh, oh, we made a mistake. Sorry Best Buy, take it on the chin and learn how to proofread your frickin stuff.
    Reply