Aug 12, 2009 10:45 pm US/Pacific
Call Kurtis: TV Advertised for $9.99?
Does Best Buy Have To Give Me That Price?
FOLSOM, Calif. (CBS13) ―
It could've been the sale of the century! -- a big screen TV for less than $10.
One guy wrote me saying he bought eight at that price. If the store messed up and says its $9.99, do they have to give you that price?
"It was in red; shiny red $9.99," said Luis Rodriguez, who bought the TVs.
Luis, a Folsom resident, says BestBuy.com advertised the 52-inch Samsung LCD HDTV for that unbelievable low price. Wanting to upgrade Luis said, "This will be perfect." In fact, he bought two.
Best Buy even sent a confirmation email from Best Buy showing he bought two TVs, for $9.99 each. Twelve hours later, he got another email from Best Buy cancelling his order, stating the product was "no longer available". It turns out, it wasn't that the product wasn't available. Best Buy made a huge mistake. Tonight the company sent me this statement:
"There was an online pricing error on a 52" Samsung television this morning. We have corrected the issue and apologize for the confusion this may have caused. We will not be honoring the incorrect price and again apologize for the mistake."
But is an apology enough?
"It's certainly illegal to engage in false advertising," Law professor Brian Slocum said.
Although the professor at McGeorge School of Law says Best Buy may be negligent for posting the wrong price, he says this isn't false advertising or a bait and switch.
"I think false advertising would require some intent on the part of Best Buy," Slocum said. "It's hard to think why they would have intent to mislead consumers in this way".
It's not what Luis wanted to hear.
"I just would like the product to be delivered, and enjoy the product," said Luis
Luis plans to do business elsewhere now.
Slocum says you'd have to prove Best Buy had something to gain by posting the TV's price at $9.99; for example, lure you into their store or to their site to buy other products. But because this was such a glaring error, Slocum says it would be next to impossible to win this battle in court.
On the other hand, if the difference in price was just a couple bucks, the store may have had to honor it.
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