2G SD Card Available (??) for $100

[shawnc]

Just wanted to pass along something that may be of interest. I just ordered a Sandisk GB Ultra II SD card from eCost for $95.99 USD + $5.95 handling charge (free shipping).

They were out of stock with an ETA of April 5th. Seemed like a pretty good deal to me!

[ADBrown]

Showing up as $174 for me, even after putting it in the cart.

[shawnc]

Showing up as $174 for me, even after putting it in the cart.

Yeah, sorry about that AD. The catalog I have indicates $95.99 and the salesperson never gave me my total. I just got my confirmation email and they charged my $174.99.

I'm not sure if it's a scam or what but I'm looking at the catalog and it CLEARLY say's $95.99 :evil: .

Hopefully eCost will honor my price. If not, I'm obviously cancelling the order.

[shawnc]

They indicate that it's a mistake with the catalog and they can't honor the price. That's OK, I didn't really expect them to. But I'm a big fan of eCost and they just lost me as a customer.

You would not believe how rude this person was to me. He actually got indignent with me simply because I had the audicity to double-check that no charge would appear on my credit card.

Sorry eCost. You customer service is a reflection of you. I'll find someone else who will take my money AND treat me with courtesy and respect :evil:

[ADBrown]

That's both rude and apalling. For one thing, the excuse about it being a 'mistake in the catalog' is about as thin as the paper the CS rep was reading the script from. The only thing thinner is the line between this and seriously illegal business practices. Particularly from eCost, who has a history of deceptive practices such as their "free shipping" plus $6 handling fee, or their 'deal countdowns'.

[ADBrown]

Oh, and get this. Their listing on the site for the card is $174.95, and they have a big blinking button that says "Add this item to your cart and receive an INSTANT DISCOUNT!"

The discounted price? $174.00.

[Sven Johannsen]

Get real. I hate it too, but disclaimers are part of life today. Amazon, Mobileplanet, Best Buy, Circuit City, everyone has language in the fine print that says they aren't resposnsible for mistakes or anything. There was a price mistake on a BT bar code scanner in the printed Mobile Plant catalog once that I tried to take advantage of. Of course they wouldn't honor it as it was a 'mistake.' They made that same 'mistake' in 4 subsequent catalogs after I alerted them to it. Even software licenses say the software isn't guaranteed to do anything. Nobody accepts responsibility for anything these days.

I'm tempted to tattoo "I'm not responsible for anything I do or say" on my butt, and be absolved of all my transgressions

[ADBrown]

All of which doesn't mean that it isn't wrong, or that it isn't borderline illegal. I can write a disclaimer saying that I'm not responsible for someone getting killed by walking in front of my car, but that doesn't change the fact that I can be arrested for mowing down pedestrians. Bait-and-switch sales tactics are illegal, disclaimer or not. Not all price errors are bait-and-switch, but given their history a non-trivial price error like this stretches credulity.

[Sven Johannsen]

The pedestrian didn't agree to your disclaimer, you agree to the vendor's disclaimer buy doing business with them. You agree to the software disclaimer by opening the box. If I drop my pants and show you my disclaimer, it's in force ;)

I think you would have to show conscious intent, to hold anyone to a 'price mistake' these days. Good luck. The customer service rudeness is inexcusable, granted. It has sadly gotten to the point that pleasant, competent customer service is the exception, not the norm. At least it seems so on-line. Face to face encounters seem to be more professional. I certainly don't begrudge the OP, blacklisting e-Cost for that. I refuse to do business with the "O" for the same reason.