Sunday, November 28th, 2010
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS
Article by: Phillip Brunelle

Aliso Viejo, California -Buy.com just released their Black Friday sales report saying that Black Friday produced record breaking numbers for the consumer goods website. What the press release failed to mention was the record breaking number of people who were falsely directed to buy.com for a Black Friday deal on a HDTV that many people believe never existed, while a few other people are saying the deal did exist, but later found out they really didn't get a deal at all after getting order cancellation emails the next day.


In my Previous Article I discussed a Black Friday de
al that buy.com advertised for a 42-inch Panasonic Plasma HDTV for only $298 which was said to be available on buy.com after midnight Pacific Time on Friday, November 26, 2010. A reported 220,000 people flocked to the item page for this one television deal and almost 220,000 people left disappointed feeling as if they were just scammed by advertisements to be directed to the buy.com website as a ploy to bait & switch consumers to another television deal.

For over thirty minutes of refreshing the page for the television, just before midnight until just after 12:30am there was no change in the price for the Panasonic HDTV, which remained at a regular price of $649 and never once was the sale price of $298 listed as consumers were told, in fact the only update to the television description came just after 12:30am when consumers were told that the item is "sold out".

After releasing my Previous Article it made the national newswire picked up by mainstream media also reporting on the story. I received several hundred emails from upset consumers, and between the overwhelming email responses was a single email that sparked my curiosity most. It was an email from a PR agency that represents buy.com who wanted to convey a message to me from buy.com in their defense to my previous article.

Here is the email I received:

Dear Phillip,

I work for the PR agency that represents Buy.com. We came across your story yesterday at: http://www.phillipbrunelle.blogspot.com/2010/11/black-friday-buycom-298-42-hdtv.html

and just wanted to clarify the issue with your readers.

Below is a response from Jeff Wisot, Buy.com's VP of Marketing. If you have any additional questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.

"Regarding the Panasonic Viera TV deal on Buy.com, we experienced a surge of customers on the page when the deal launched after midnight, and the product page received more than 220,000 page views alone on Black Friday. Though we worked hard to obtain additional units, we unfortunately could not meet the overwhelming demand due to limited inventory. Yet, nearly 650 customers benefited from the deal. We remain committed to delivering the best prices throughout the year, and will continue to offer other great holiday deals." - Jeff Wisot, Buy.com VP of Marketing

Thank you for your consideration - and hope you are enjoying the holiday weekend,
Elaine

Elaine Ordiz
GolinHarris for Buy.com

Following this email from Buy.com an email was returned to the PR Agency, GolinHarris with additional questions, and requests for more information, which has not yet been answered. One of the lingering questions on everyone's mind is just how many of these 650 successful orders that were placed were later cancelled due to insufficient inventory?

Several people emailed me with claims that they originally got the television on sale, had it in their checkout carriage, and paid for the item at the sale price of $298, but the following day they received an email from Buy.com stating that they were unable to complete their order due to insufficient inventory. They were given the option to either pay for the television at regular cost of $649 with shipping charges in addition, although the sale included free shipping, and the email said they could get a $50 credit toward their next purchase for the inconvenience. Bait & Switch?

These consumers are upset and also concerned that the charge still remains on their credit cards. One consumer who emailed me said that he didn't get this cancellation email, but instead got an order confirmation for the television at its original price of $649with shipping charges in addition to this for an additional $150 but yet just the night before his checkout his invoice stated that he was purchasing the television for only $298. Just how many consumers paid using their credit cards under the assumption that they were paying $298 with free shipping, but instead were charged $649 with an additional $150 for shipping?

Some consumers reported in their email to me that Buy.com attempted to make good on the situation by offering a $50 credit toward their next purchase and said that they would receive a credit back to their credit cards for the amount charged, but so far these consumers are reporting that they have yet to receive that charge-back, and one consumer is worried he is about to receive delivery for a television he feels he was tricked into paying $799 for, including shipping costs.

"I will just refuse the delivery" this consumer said. He continued on in his email saying that he has tried to reach Buy.com regarding his situation for the price change, but they have yet to respond. He has screen shots saved on his computer of the checkout process showing the sales process and the price of the television for only $298 and also has screen shots of online conversations with a Buy.com customer service representative confirming that the sale price was in fact the price he was paying, but the next day he got another email saying something completely different.

"The email said I was being charged $649 and another $150 for shipping and said nothing of the deal for $298 with free shipping at all as it showed, and as I was told the night before." The consumer said he kept good record of everything just in case something went wrong with his order, and now he is happy he did keep this information. He said he also has screen shots of his conversation with a customer service representative who confirmed the price he is paying at $298" and confronted Buy.com with everything in his email, but again, they have not responded to this consumer at the time this article is being published.

On behalf of the thousands of consumers who feel scammed and wronged, and the hundreds of emails from consumers flooding my inbox, we do have some questions for Buy.com or their PR Agency. First we would like to know how many people actually got this deal, how many people got the deal which you later cancelled due to insufficient inventory, and how many people thought they were getting the deal just to be charged the regular price?

With such a "great deal" that you were offering on this HDTV why would you use the resources of news websites like the article posted on ZDNet.com Here to leak the Black Friday deal rather than actually advertising it? Was this because you didn't have a sufficient inventory of the product to begin with, and you felt that you would have more upset customers with concern of false advertisement? Isn't leaking your product sales to a news website still considered as advertising, and would this not still be considered as false advertisement? After all, the article never mentioned the inventory. What would you like to say to the thousands of consumers who are upset with your business and what do you plan to do to make the situation better?

With a business as large as Buy.com having over 18 million reported customers, it would just seem unethical and a not-so wise decision to advertise, or leak to news websites, a Black Friday deal for a product which has such limited inventory, especially when you advertised in your statement that the HDTV deal was the leading sale on a HDTV by more than $250 less than other retailers, and going on to mention that your HDTV is a far better product and deal than the next best Black Friday HDTV deal being offered by Target.

Several consumers emails requested information on how to file complaints against Buy.com while few consumers asked about potential lawsuits over the unfortunate mess that all began with a simple attempt to leak a Black Friday deal that Buy.com just simply could not fulfill.

If you are a consumer who attempted to order this television, whether you did, or didn't get the television in the end, we would like to hear from you. Please comment in the section below, or you may also email me at phillipbrunelle (at) yahoo (dot) com - you may leave an anonymous comment and your information in any email will remain confidential if you would like.