Microcenter's strange advertising

[snuuggles]

Apologies if this is the wrong forum to post this in. It regards a video card purchase I made at microcenter, and I'm not 100% I'm in the right here. Any feedback is appreciated!

I had an interesting exchange with the Microcenter customer service, and I'm not sure if I'm overreacting or if I have a legitimate beef:

_________________________________________

From me to MS:

Hi, I ordered a number of items online and picked them up yesterday. One was a video card linked to here:

http://www.microcenter.com/single_pr...uct_id=0352442

Note that there is a large banner exclaiming that I will get a free game. However when I picked up the order, the man who rung me up explained that all the coupons were given away already.

I understand this offer was for "while supplies last", but what I don't understand is why you are still advertising the offer on your website. It seems misleading to me that you site, which can and is updated with the number of units you have for everything you sell, cannot be updated to reflect that this offer is no longer valid.

I made the call to buy from my local store vs ordering online, but an experience such as this one does not endear me to your store.

I appreciate your attention.

Respectfully,
__________________________________________

From MS to me:

Sorry for the confusion in any way but our website is not set up where every local store has its own individual web page. The item is advertise on our web store but it also states for in store only. Its advertised on our web site entirety. Sorry for the inconvenience.


Thank you

MCOL Customer Service
___________________________________________

From me to MS:

Uhhhhh, what?! I appreciate your effort to respond to my complaint, but what you wrote makes no sense to me. I picked the items up in the store, either you have the coupons or not, if you still have them at another store I should be offered one of those. If *none* of your stores have them, it's false advertising. Please let me know which case this is.
___________________________________________

From MS to me:

Once one local store runs out of the coupons that is it. It states while supplies last. It is not fair if the store where to send coupons from there store to accommodate a customer from another store. It would put the second store in a situation where they will have to ask another store for coupons also. Sorry for the inconvenience of this situation. But this a situation is clear and says while supplies last. We will advertise the coupon because this is a promotion for all customer. When a game store (such as GameStop) runs out of a popular game it doesn't stop advertising the game, because its a nationwide advertisement in all of there stores.


Sincerely

MCOL Customer Service
________________________________________

From me to MS:

Hmmmm

1. Gamestop would offer to get the game for the customer if that store didn't have it but another did

2. You clearly have the capability to inform customers of the precise number of units of something you have *per store* it is completely ridiculous for you to claim otherwise.

Just so I'm clear: do you have the coupons in another store? If so, would you please send me one? If not I'd appreciate it if you would at least consider the idea that advertising something that is no longer available is not a good practice and leads to dissatisfied customers

Thanks for our time,
_____________________________________

Sorry for the wall-o-text, just feel like I'm missing something here. Note that 5 days later, they are still advertising this "free" game on *almost every single nvidia card listed*:

http://www.microcenter.com/search/se...x=0&submit.y=0

Comments or suggestions for me to get a life welcome

 

[mosox]

IMO that's false advertising.

"Buy this NVIDIA GeForce GTX and get Batman: Arkham City for PC FREE"

it doesn't say ""Buy this NVIDIA GeForce GTX and you might get Batman: Arkham City for PC FREE"

 

[bryanW1995]

As long as they had any sort of disclaimer at all, like "while supplies last", then they were ok according to the laws in most states.

 

[AdamK47]

I'm going to go with overreact on this. Advertisements with "while supplies last" are done all the time for just about every type of product. It's up to the consumer to check to see if the supplies have indeed lasted. I take it that you haven't done much shopping back when print ads were the only means of browsing for items at home.

 

[Chiropteran]

The problem I have is with the way it is worded.

"Buy this video card and ask your sales associate for a FREE game coupon for a digital download of Batman: Arkham City. Offer good on in-store purchase only, while supplies last. Purchase must be made between Sept 7, 2011 and October 18, 2011."

It's a digital download, so how can they ever "run out" of it? The way I read it is that the "while supplies last" part must mean the video card. Except apparently it doesn't.

 

[snuuggles]

I'm going to go with overreact on this. Advertisements with "while supplies last" are done all the time for just about every type of product. It's up to the consumer to check to see if the supplies have indeed lasted. I take it that you haven't done much shopping back when print ads were the only means of browsing for items at home.

Oh no, I used to use Computer Shopper (way back in the day). I would completely understand if this were a flyer of some sort, but, as I said, it's their own website, where they display the *exact number of units available per store* for everything in real time. The idea that they couldn't do the same for this offer is laughable.

I completely understand that this is a grey area, legally it's likely ok - just incredibly lame.

Also, that doesn't address the fact that it appears that they *do* have coupons, they just didn't happen to have them at that store. If this is a nation-wide offer, it seems reasonable to expect that they would offer to send me one from another store. The idea that that would be "unfair" seems... strange to me.

 

[jjj807]

My friend walked into a Microcenter and said he bought a videocard from them last week (he didn't) and never got the arkham coupon. The sales guy pulled out a box of coupons and handed him one, looked at me and gave me one too.


Every store is different.

 

[snuuggles]

The problem I have is with the way it is worded.

"Buy this video card and ask your sales associate for a FREE game coupon for a digital download of Batman: Arkham City. Offer good on in-store purchase only, while supplies last. Purchase must be made between Sept 7, 2011 and October 18, 2011."

It's a digital download, so how can they ever "run out" of it? The way I read it is that the "while supplies last" part must mean the video card. Except apparently it doesn't.

That is a dang-good point. Who's to say which supplies they mean. I'm really not trying to "catch" them or screw them, I just genuinely think this is a little lame.

I would have dropped it if the guy had just said, "yeah, it's lame, we should really update that - I'll look into it." I'm pretty sure I would have just left off, but to try to justify it in the weird (and semi-literate) way he did just ticked me off...

 

[notty22]

The problem I have is with the way it is worded.

"Buy this video card and ask your sales associate for a FREE game coupon for a digital download of Batman: Arkham City. Offer good on in-store purchase only, while supplies last. Purchase must be made between Sept 7, 2011 and October 18, 2011."

It's a digital download, so how can they ever "run out" of it? The way I read it is that the "while supplies last" part must mean the video card. Except apparently it doesn't.

Your local library allots a set amount of new ebooks to be loaned at a time.
In the digital world, things aren't always unlimited !

 

[snuuggles]

lol, response from MC:
_____________________________
As I would like to continue this wonderful conversation, I can not. The item are all gone and we will not be shipping from one store to another to accommodate one stores customers and disadvantage another's. Sorry once more for the inconvenience.


Sincerely

MCOL Customer Service
_____________________________

This guy's a comedian!

 

[ensign_lee]

Honestly, I don't think you have much ground to stand on. They had it; they ran out of the game coupons. That's it.

Microcenter.com is for ALL their stores, not just your local one. It's unreasonable to expect them to take off the banner once any one of their stores runs out, and honestly it's pretty unreasonable to ask them to transfer a free product from one store to another. That's a hassle they probably don't want to undertake.

 

[Golgatha]

Your local library allots a set amount of new ebooks to be loaned at a time.
In the digital world, things aren't always unlimited !

Yes they are. They're just artificially limited, but the thing itself is, practically speaking, is in unlimited supply if no artificial barriers are put in place.

 

[Golgatha]

My response would be to just take every single thing you bought there back to the store and demand a full refund. Hopefully you put the purchase on a credit card so you can dispute any charges if you need to.

 

[imaheadcase]

You have to be VERY careful with the coupons. I ordered a Zotac GTX 580 and got it yesterday, the coupon for free batman arkham city was crumbled IN the paper they use for cushioning during shipping. I could of easily thrown the coupon out if i did not remember the game came with it.

 

[KingFatty]

I understand this offer was for "while supplies last", but what I don't understand is why you are still advertising the offer on your website.

Think through what you are suggesting - you are saying the store should take down the ad once supplies are exhausted. There are several problems with your suggestion:

1) It won't stop your issue from happening - you could check the ad when they have supplies, and go down to the store, and still find out they ran out just before you walked into the store. So it doesn't matter if they pull down the ad instantaneously when the supplies run out, or after the sale has run even if supplies already have run out. There are good reasons to keep the ad up, because that lets other people know that Microcenter had a good deal that they missed, and will watch for future sales. It's hard to argue with "while supplies last" combined with "in-store only" - that's a pretty straightforward way of warning the buyer to be careful.

2) The nationwide chain of stores still has supplies - this is pointed out elsewhere, that other stores likely do have supplies, so the advertisement is accurate and needed for driving business to Microcenter, especially those that have supplies in stock. Again, it's hard to argue against this because they tell you that it's in-store only, and while supplies last.

Your suggestion that they should transfer stock from one store to another would be unfair to the other store - we'd see another post here on Anantech where some guy just like you said he went into the store and asked for the coupon but they told him they sent it off so snuuggles could have it. It just doesn't solve the problem, but rather it moves the problem off to another person who doesn't deserve it. In other words, it seems like you are saying you are more important than that other guy who will miss out.

 

[snuuggles]

Think through what you are suggesting - you are saying the store should take down the ad once supplies are exhausted. There are several problems with your suggestion:

1) It won't stop your issue from happening - you could check the ad when they have supplies, and go down to the store, and still find out they ran out just before you walked into the store. So it doesn't matter if they pull down the ad instantaneously when the supplies run out, or after the sale has run even if supplies already have run out. There are good reasons to keep the ad up, because that lets other people know that Microcenter had a good deal that they missed, and will watch for future sales. It's hard to argue with "while supplies last" combined with "in-store only" - that's a pretty straightforward way of warning the buyer to be careful.

2) The nationwide chain of stores still has supplies - this is pointed out elsewhere, that other stores likely do have supplies, so the advertisement is accurate and needed for driving business to Microcenter, especially those that have supplies in stock. Again, it's hard to argue against this because they tell you that it's in-store only, and while supplies last.

Your suggestion that they should transfer stock from one store to another would be unfair to the other store - we'd see another post here on Anantech where some guy just like you said he went into the store and asked for the coupon but they told him they sent it off so snuuggles could have it. It just doesn't solve the problem, but rather it moves the problem off to another person who doesn't deserve it. In other words, it seems like you are saying you are more important than that other guy who will miss out.

- It would solve the issue because I would see how many coupons are left. As I explained, they have the capability to list the exact stock numbers for everything in their store. Certainly listing that stuff publicly demostrates both their ability to do it as well as the utility of doing it.
- Are you kidding me? I ordered my card first, I indeed *do* think I'm more "important" than the guy who comes in 2 days after me, by virtue of being there before him. That is a total straw-man.
- They are constantly shifting supplies from one store to another, to say that this would be unfair or an exception seems really strange.

I am not disputing the "while supplies last." But!

a. Once supplies are gone, I *do* expect them to indicate such, either by taking down the ad or adding an addendum "You missed it! Buy it early next time!" It's ok when it's a fixed ad like a flyer, not ok when it's on your own website.
b. If supplies are not gone, as in this case, I *do* expect them to comply with their advertised offer.

 

[bryanW1995]

That's marketing. Deal with it.

Having said that, their customer support guy sucks. When you create the heat you need to be able to deal with it effectively, otherwise you're just setting yourself up for failure in the long run.

 

[Homer Simpson]

it states while supplies last, so i dont understand the issue. do you whine when you go to mcdonalds and they run out of monopoly game pieces too? each store probably received either the same # of coupons or a # based on average vid card sales for that store. i actually bought a couple of 570s tuesday and when i asked they said they ran out but they were expecting more in. after checking with his mgr, he came back with a stack of coupons. gave me one and also gave me a coupon for shogun:total war 2 which was supposed to be for amd cards. anyways, if you feel entitled to the free game, return the card (restock fee??) and buy it somewhere else. the promo is running at a number of places if im not mistaken. or maybe just take your receipt back, and nicely ask if they got more coupons in. my MC is pretty nice when it comes to customer service.

 

[mrjoltcola]

Digital supplies still cost. There is no "artificial" limit, about it. The software company who sells the game needs to sell to stay in business. If we don't sell software we don't write software. I expect they had some sort of promotional deal with Rocksteady or their publisher, with a limit of so many per store, and capped the total freebies at that.

 

[KingFatty]

- It would solve the issue because I would see how many coupons are left. As I explained, they have the capability to list the exact stock numbers for everything in their store. Certainly listing that stuff publicly demostrates both their ability to do it as well as the utility of doing it.

Ah, so your suggestion is a more accurate running counter of remaining stock like they do with other items in the store, instead of a binary yes/no whether they take down the ad. However, I still don't agree that seeing the number for your particular store will solve the problem, because human nature is somewhat predictable where humans tend to behave in clumps and once the number drops to a certain point, there will be a "run on the bank" where everyone will show up and deplete the stock. Now I use that "run on the bank" term intentionally, because it reveals something about human nature as I explain below. So actually, the running number can be worse, because it will lull you into a false sense of security. You watch the remaining stock drop from 1000 to 800 to 600 to 500 and decide to head to the store. But guess what? Your human nature prompted you to act when it hit 500, like a primal subconscious calling. And I bet lots of other people had the same urge to act as soon as the number hits 500. Each of you individually thinks there is plenty of time. But turns out about 1000 people show up around the same timeframe, and the stock drops immediately to 0 way way faster than it dropped from say 800 to 600. You would be even more pissed at Microcenter if that happened, because you were so sure about guaging the rate at which the stock was dropping.

It's like trying to predict the future and predict human behavior, good luck with that.

Also, it's bad for business for microcenter to notify you as soon as possible that stocks are gone so that you should stay home and not "roll the dice" and go down to the store and give them foot traffic. the whole idea is to get you to walk into the store and see if you are lucky, punk. thus the disclaimers about in-store only.

- Are you kidding me? I ordered my card first, I indeed *do* think I'm more "important" than the guy who comes in 2 days after me, by virtue of being there before him. That is a total straw-man.

There's your problem right there. You tried to turn an "in-store only" special into an online order special. I don't think you can use the internet to artificially elevate your status to being more important than someone who actually puts their shoes on and walks into the store. Maybe I wasn't clear enough before, but my point is that someone who walks down to a store for an "in-store" special *IS* more important than someone else who clicks an internet button without going down to the store for the "in-store" special. As for your claim to straw-man, I don't follow you.

- They are constantly shifting supplies from one store to another, to say that this would be unfair or an exception seems really strange.

Perhaps you are only thinking about the effect on one person (yourself), instead of the overall scheme of things. Shifting supplies from one store to another shifts the problem from one store to another. Again, you are saying they should shift your problem to another guy at another store. So the overall fairness is not improved doing that, therefore it's not "more fair" to shift your problem onto someone else. When you take a step back and look at the whole picture, shifting supplies would cause another problem. Microcenter has "warned" the public that it's an in-store special, so the public has set expectations based on that. However, if Microcenter can "cheat" by moving stock away from one store, that defeats the purpose of public notification. so looking at it as a system, it's hard to argue that supplies should be shifted around when the public was put on notice that it's an in-store special only while supplies last. instead, that would be something like a national store competition to see which store could transfer supplies away from the other. Are you saying that Microcenter stores are to compete with each other to see which store can grab the most of the good deal and therefore drive the most foot traffic? It would be a bloodbath, civil war among stores.

b. If supplies are not gone, as in this case, I *do* expect them to comply with their advertised offer.

Perhaps it comes down to interpretation of "supplies". Would a reasonable person think that supplies means supplies at the particular store you walked into, seeing that it's an in-store special? or, would a reasonable person think that supplies means nation-wide supplies? I can see making the argument either way.

 

[MentalIlness]

Seems to me, the store where you purchased your card had no "coupons" left. That don't mean other Microcenter stores don't. Call other ones, if you want, drive there and try to get one. It isn't the fault of Microcenter "and they shouldnt have to stop advertising" just because "your" store ran out of them.

 

[Seero]

What is the big deal? I can create an ad about my product which may comes with free coupons for iphone 5, a GTX580, and a HD 6990 while supplies last. You can purchase it online, but when you pick it up, i'll say "sorry, all iphones and video cards are distributed out already, order sooner next time."

Hey, i'm not lying. I sold one unit that comes with video cards to my son, and the iphone 5 will come later when it is out. Thank you for your business.

What? I don't have a son yet? It is okay, it is a pre-order.

 

[snuuggles]

What is the big deal? I can create an ad about my product which may comes with free coupons for iphone 5, a GTX580, and a HD 6990 while supplies last. You can purchase it online, but when you pick it up, i'll say "sorry, all iphones and video cards are distributed out already, order sooner next time."

Hey, i'm not lying. I sold one unit that comes with video cards to my son, and the iphone 5 will come later when it is out. Thank you for your business.

What? I don't have a son yet? It is okay, it is a pre-order.

Actually, you are wrong. There are laws against doing exactly what you outlined. If you consult your AGs website under 'advertising', you should find that any offer must have a "reasonable stock" of the thing, a vague term, but most likely to discourage outright cheating as you suggest.

 

[KingFatty]

What is the big deal? I can create an ad about my product which may comes with free coupons for iphone 5, a GTX580, and a HD 6990 while supplies last. You can purchase it online, but when you pick it up, i'll say "sorry, all iphones and video cards are distributed out already, order sooner next time."

Hey, i'm not lying. I sold one unit that comes with video cards to my son, and the iphone 5 will come later when it is out. Thank you for your business.

What? I don't have a son yet? It is okay, it is a pre-order.

You seem to be describing a type of bait and switch. This type of thing is as old as merchants have existed. It's pretty well sorted out by now. For example, see below. Note the mention of being capable of selling the advertised goods - I believe the amount of stock on hand would be considered based on some reasonableness standard of what people reasonably expect. Also, I think the original poster's situation is addressed under the second paragraph I excerpted below regarding limited stock/quantities:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bait-and-switch

Excerpt:

"In the United States, courts have held that the purveyor using a bait-and-switch operation may be subject to a lawsuit by customers for false advertising, and can be sued for trademark infringement by competing manufacturers, retailers, and others who profit from the sale of the product used as bait. However, no cause of action will exist if the purveyor is capable of actually selling the goods advertised, but aggressively pushes a competing product.

Likewise, advertising a sale while intending to stock a limited amount of, and thereby sell out, a loss-leading item advertised is legal in the United States. The purveyor can escape liability if they make clear in their advertisements that quantities of items for which a sale is offered are limited, or by offering a rain check on sold-out items.

In England and Wales it is banned under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. Breaking this law can result in a criminal prosecution, an unlimited fine and two years in jail."

 

[Seero]

Don't get me wrong, I am saying that it is wrong, by showing what is wrong. Human are smart and we know how to work around rules. The term "reasonable stock" should be clear, but we walked around the rule by saying "The stock of this local store is out" while keeping online ads clearly stated otherwise, is by itself bait and switch.

The correct and appropriate response should be something like:
"There are stock, but not in the specific store which you pickup the unit. We will deliver the coupon ASAP via another store. If this is not an acceptable solution, we will immediately refund your purchase or exchange it with another product you desire. Of course, it is our fault not being able to distribute coupons correctly to each local store correctly, so as a compensation, we offer a 15 dollar credit on the next purchase. Sorry for the inconvenience and thank you for your time on resolving this issue with us."