(DEAD) 80% Borders.com code
#476
Received my Office S4 via FedEx this morning. Invoice inside is for the 80% off amount. What's worrisome is that there's been no charge at all on my CC-- full amount OR 80% off. Borders.com is showing the order as "complete" at the 80% off price.
I won't be cracking this set open for a couple of weeks.
I won't be cracking this set open for a couple of weeks.
#477
DVD Talk Legend
I called yesterday and asked if my item had shipped yet. I was told that it had and that I would receive the shipping email soon. Well i have yet to receive it so i called and inquired about the tracking number. I was told that it never shipped and that I would not be receiving it as I used a fraudulent coupon and that I " should have known better" and " that I was ripping of the company" I said I would take my money elsewhere and she responded "FINE!" I by the way have yet to receive a cancellation email.
Well that's why I'm not calling them up. Eff that. I wonder how they'll handle the orders that did ship.
I didn't get a packling slip with the order I received last night.
#478
Member
Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 185
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
yea she said no orders were going through. I then said I in fact know that some did she then said that well only a handful did. Seems like she sat on a plunger this morning on the toilet or something. I was very polite and she was nothing but rude.
#479
Member
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Houston, TX
Posts: 169
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Not to excuse her behavior, but I can imagine that things at Borders this week have been anything but pleasant (if it was ever pleasant there ). I wouldn't want to work there that's for sure. I just wonder how many orders got placed, how many went through, and how many got cancelled (and are generating subsequent disgruntled calls). And how many people will quit Borders before this is done...
#480
DVD Talk Legend
I would be an ornery cuss too if I sat on a plunger without being in the mood(or properly lubed).
#481
DVD Talk Special Edition
Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 1,057
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Not to excuse her behavior, but I can imagine that things at Borders this week have been anything but pleasant (if it was ever pleasant there ). I wouldn't want to work there that's for sure. I just wonder how many orders got placed, how many went through, and how many got cancelled (and are generating subsequent disgruntled calls). And how many people will quit Borders before this is done...
#483
Member
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Houston, TX
Posts: 169
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Yeah - they really screwed up on this one. I'm new to the forum but it looks like they've had lots of issues with the new website and now this. Doesn't exactly inspire customer loyalty.
#484
Member
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 86
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I think my order when in toward the end of the brief window when the 80% off code was working. It also seems like it's one of the ones that have been canceled. The Borders.com site says it's "in process" and when I click on "order status" I get this gibberish: [ServletException in:/ConsumerDirectStorefrontAssetStore/UserArea/ServiceSection/TrackOrderStatusSubsection/OrderDetailDisplay.jsp] The following error has occurred during processing: "java.lang.NullPointerException".'
As for the argument about whether we had the right to place these orders, I would argue that any analogy involving a brick-and-mortar store (including the one about the customers finding the keys to the store when the staff was away) are misleading or even ludicrous. The reason you can't make this analogy is because as an e-tailer they have set things up to be automated, and if there are glitches that work out to the customer's advantage, that's part of the price they should be prepared to pay. These big online retailers reap all kinds of profits from having things so automated, thus reducing their overhead substantially, so they should be willing to accept that there is a higher risk of this kind of thing happening than if they were a Mom-and-Pop store with a knowledgeable staff person overseeing each transaction. A better analogy would be a brick-and-mortar store that decided to close its doors and lay off almost all of the staff in favor of having robots put orders together and mail them from the warehouse. Robots eliminate certain types of human error, and you don't have to pay them a wage, but they are also prone to different kinds of errors than what you would have with a traditional community bookstore (which sites like Borders.com and Amazon.com have successfully out-competed to the point of putting most of them out of business). It's all part of a cost-benefit analysis, but Borders.com (and Amazon.com, the way they handled their glitch a while back) don't want to accept this. They want to have their cake and eat it too. Well, sorry, unless someone hacked into the system or something, the price that the automated system gives when it completes the order is the amount of the sale. We were using their system exactly the way they set it up. Berating customers by telling them they were committing fraud or that they "should have know better" is ridiculous, not to mention bad customer service. OK, I'm done ranting. None of this comes from frustration about not getting my own order, but the way. I really have all the DVDs I need right now, and I'm not upset at all about my order going into some kind of limbo, although it would have been nice to receive some kind of email informing me of what happened to it.
As for the argument about whether we had the right to place these orders, I would argue that any analogy involving a brick-and-mortar store (including the one about the customers finding the keys to the store when the staff was away) are misleading or even ludicrous. The reason you can't make this analogy is because as an e-tailer they have set things up to be automated, and if there are glitches that work out to the customer's advantage, that's part of the price they should be prepared to pay. These big online retailers reap all kinds of profits from having things so automated, thus reducing their overhead substantially, so they should be willing to accept that there is a higher risk of this kind of thing happening than if they were a Mom-and-Pop store with a knowledgeable staff person overseeing each transaction. A better analogy would be a brick-and-mortar store that decided to close its doors and lay off almost all of the staff in favor of having robots put orders together and mail them from the warehouse. Robots eliminate certain types of human error, and you don't have to pay them a wage, but they are also prone to different kinds of errors than what you would have with a traditional community bookstore (which sites like Borders.com and Amazon.com have successfully out-competed to the point of putting most of them out of business). It's all part of a cost-benefit analysis, but Borders.com (and Amazon.com, the way they handled their glitch a while back) don't want to accept this. They want to have their cake and eat it too. Well, sorry, unless someone hacked into the system or something, the price that the automated system gives when it completes the order is the amount of the sale. We were using their system exactly the way they set it up. Berating customers by telling them they were committing fraud or that they "should have know better" is ridiculous, not to mention bad customer service. OK, I'm done ranting. None of this comes from frustration about not getting my own order, but the way. I really have all the DVDs I need right now, and I'm not upset at all about my order going into some kind of limbo, although it would have been nice to receive some kind of email informing me of what happened to it.
#485
DVD Talk Platinum Edition
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Formerly known as "awil1026"/ Don't Panic
Posts: 3,406
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I think my order when in toward the end of the brief window when the 80% off code was working. It also seems like it's one of the ones that have been canceled. The Borders.com site says it's "in process" and when I click on "order status" I get this gibberish: [ServletException in:/ConsumerDirectStorefrontAssetStore/UserArea/ServiceSection/TrackOrderStatusSubsection/OrderDetailDisplay.jsp] The following error has occurred during processing: "java.lang.NullPointerException".'
As for the argument about whether we had the right to place these orders, I would argue that any analogy involving a brick-and-mortar store (including the one about the customers finding the keys to the store when the staff was away) are misleading or even ludicrous. The reason you can't make this analogy is because as an e-tailer they have set things up to be automated, and if there are glitches that work out to the customer's advantage, that's part of the price they should be prepared to pay. These big online retailers reap all kinds of profits from having things so automated, thus reducing their overhead substantially, so they should be willing to accept that there is a higher risk of this kind of thing happening than if they were a Mom-and-Pop store with a knowledgeable staff person overseeing each transaction. A better analogy would be a brick-and-mortar store that decided to close its doors and lay off almost all of the staff in favor of having robots put orders together and mail them from the warehouse. Robots eliminate certain types of human error, and you don't have to pay them a wage, but they are also prone to different kinds of errors than what you would have with a traditional community bookstore (which sites like Borders.com and Amazon.com have successfully out-competed to the point of putting most of them out of business). It's all part of a cost-benefit analysis, but Borders.com (and Amazon.com, the way they handled their glitch a while back) don't want to accept this. They want to have their cake and eat it too. Well, sorry, unless someone hacked into the system or something, the price that the automated system gives when it completes the order is the amount of the sale. We were using their system exactly the way they set it up. Berating customers by telling them they were committing fraud or that they "should have know better" is ridiculous, not to mention bad customer service. OK, I'm done ranting. None of this comes from frustration about not getting my own order, but the way. I really have all the DVDs I need right now, and I'm not upset at all about my order going into some kind of limbo, although it would have been nice to receive some kind of email informing me of what happened to it.
As for the argument about whether we had the right to place these orders, I would argue that any analogy involving a brick-and-mortar store (including the one about the customers finding the keys to the store when the staff was away) are misleading or even ludicrous. The reason you can't make this analogy is because as an e-tailer they have set things up to be automated, and if there are glitches that work out to the customer's advantage, that's part of the price they should be prepared to pay. These big online retailers reap all kinds of profits from having things so automated, thus reducing their overhead substantially, so they should be willing to accept that there is a higher risk of this kind of thing happening than if they were a Mom-and-Pop store with a knowledgeable staff person overseeing each transaction. A better analogy would be a brick-and-mortar store that decided to close its doors and lay off almost all of the staff in favor of having robots put orders together and mail them from the warehouse. Robots eliminate certain types of human error, and you don't have to pay them a wage, but they are also prone to different kinds of errors than what you would have with a traditional community bookstore (which sites like Borders.com and Amazon.com have successfully out-competed to the point of putting most of them out of business). It's all part of a cost-benefit analysis, but Borders.com (and Amazon.com, the way they handled their glitch a while back) don't want to accept this. They want to have their cake and eat it too. Well, sorry, unless someone hacked into the system or something, the price that the automated system gives when it completes the order is the amount of the sale. We were using their system exactly the way they set it up. Berating customers by telling them they were committing fraud or that they "should have know better" is ridiculous, not to mention bad customer service. OK, I'm done ranting. None of this comes from frustration about not getting my own order, but the way. I really have all the DVDs I need right now, and I'm not upset at all about my order going into some kind of limbo, although it would have been nice to receive some kind of email informing me of what happened to it.
One remark I'll make on your order status is that my order that was completed (and delivered about an hour ago) also led to the aforementioned gibberish when checking the order status on the site. That being said, I have another order that is still "in processing" and at this point, I really doubt that anymore orders will ship, but we'll see.
#486
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 1999
Posts: 650
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I think my order when in toward the end of the brief window when the 80% off code was working. It also seems like it's one of the ones that have been canceled. The Borders.com site says it's "in process" and when I click on "order status" I get this gibberish: [ServletException in:/ConsumerDirectStorefrontAssetStore/UserArea/ServiceSection/TrackOrderStatusSubsection/OrderDetailDisplay.jsp] The following error has occurred during processing: "java.lang.NullPointerException".'
#487
Senior Member
I think my order when in toward the end of the brief window when the 80% off code was working. It also seems like it's one of the ones that have been canceled. The Borders.com site says it's "in process" and when I click on "order status" I get this gibberish: [ServletException in:/ConsumerDirectStorefrontAssetStore/UserArea/ServiceSection/TrackOrderStatusSubsection/OrderDetailDisplay.jsp] The following error has occurred during processing: "java.lang.NullPointerException".'
As for the argument about whether we had the right to place these orders, I would argue that any analogy involving a brick-and-mortar store (including the one about the customers finding the keys to the store when the staff was away) are misleading or even ludicrous. The reason you can't make this analogy is because as an e-tailer they have set things up to be automated, and if there are glitches that work out to the customer's advantage, that's part of the price they should be prepared to pay. These big online retailers reap all kinds of profits from having things so automated, thus reducing their overhead substantially, so they should be willing to accept that there is a higher risk of this kind of thing happening than if they were a Mom-and-Pop store with a knowledgeable staff person overseeing each transaction. A better analogy would be a brick-and-mortar store that decided to close its doors and lay off almost all of the staff in favor of having robots put orders together and mail them from the warehouse. Robots eliminate certain types of human error, and you don't have to pay them a wage, but they are also prone to different kinds of errors than what you would have with a traditional community bookstore (which sites like Borders.com and Amazon.com have successfully out-competed to the point of putting most of them out of business). It's all part of a cost-benefit analysis, but Borders.com (and Amazon.com, the way they handled their glitch a while back) don't want to accept this. They want to have their cake and eat it too. Well, sorry, unless someone hacked into the system or something, the price that the automated system gives when it completes the order is the amount of the sale. We were using their system exactly the way they set it up. Berating customers by telling them they were committing fraud or that they "should have know better" is ridiculous, not to mention bad customer service. OK, I'm done ranting. None of this comes from frustration about not getting my own order, but the way. I really have all the DVDs I need right now, and I'm not upset at all about my order going into some kind of limbo, although it would have been nice to receive some kind of email informing me of what happened to it.
As for the argument about whether we had the right to place these orders, I would argue that any analogy involving a brick-and-mortar store (including the one about the customers finding the keys to the store when the staff was away) are misleading or even ludicrous. The reason you can't make this analogy is because as an e-tailer they have set things up to be automated, and if there are glitches that work out to the customer's advantage, that's part of the price they should be prepared to pay. These big online retailers reap all kinds of profits from having things so automated, thus reducing their overhead substantially, so they should be willing to accept that there is a higher risk of this kind of thing happening than if they were a Mom-and-Pop store with a knowledgeable staff person overseeing each transaction. A better analogy would be a brick-and-mortar store that decided to close its doors and lay off almost all of the staff in favor of having robots put orders together and mail them from the warehouse. Robots eliminate certain types of human error, and you don't have to pay them a wage, but they are also prone to different kinds of errors than what you would have with a traditional community bookstore (which sites like Borders.com and Amazon.com have successfully out-competed to the point of putting most of them out of business). It's all part of a cost-benefit analysis, but Borders.com (and Amazon.com, the way they handled their glitch a while back) don't want to accept this. They want to have their cake and eat it too. Well, sorry, unless someone hacked into the system or something, the price that the automated system gives when it completes the order is the amount of the sale. We were using their system exactly the way they set it up. Berating customers by telling them they were committing fraud or that they "should have know better" is ridiculous, not to mention bad customer service. OK, I'm done ranting. None of this comes from frustration about not getting my own order, but the way. I really have all the DVDs I need right now, and I'm not upset at all about my order going into some kind of limbo, although it would have been nice to receive some kind of email informing me of what happened to it.
This brings back memories of the old "coupons and sales" from reel.com, and buy.com back when I first joined this board....when these types of coupon glitches happened what seemed to be daily.
#488
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Connekatakut
Posts: 578
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I just wish they'd send an email so I know if I should just jump on DD's B1G1 Warner sale.
#489
Needs to contact an admin about multiple accounts
It still happens a lot, and that's why I'm addicted to SD. $5 off $5 code from Borders was just few weeks ago and then there was $25 off $25 code from Dell.com during the holidays which resulted in a new LCD for me, not to mention all the presents for the family.
Last edited by iamiam; 09-04-08 at 04:07 PM.
#490
DVD Talk Reviewer
I recieved my order of the Harry Potter blu-ray boxed set! Unfortunately, the fourth movie included was the HD-DVD and not the Blu-Ray. Gotta contact Warner for an exchange disc or something... anybody know a CS number for them for this sort of thing?
#492
DVD Talk Platinum Edition
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Formerly known as "awil1026"/ Don't Panic
Posts: 3,406
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
#494
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: San Francisco, CA
Posts: 799
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Did your order contain a packing slip or something that mentioned the items still awaiting shipment like DD do on their packing slips? I only ask because I am waiting for part of my order to be delivered and still for the life of me cannot remember everything I ordered and don't really want to call them to draw attention to my order...
Thanks....
Edit: Nevermind, I just got first shipment and there is nothing inside informing me what else I ordered. So has anybody actually called Borders and not gotten berated by the CS and subsequently had their order cancelled? I really only want to know because I don't want to order the same thing twice. The only thing I remember is that they were pre-orders....
Thanks....
Edit: Nevermind, I just got first shipment and there is nothing inside informing me what else I ordered. So has anybody actually called Borders and not gotten berated by the CS and subsequently had their order cancelled? I really only want to know because I don't want to order the same thing twice. The only thing I remember is that they were pre-orders....
Last edited by AmonTwin; 09-04-08 at 05:16 PM.
#496
Senior Member
I think it would be more like abusing their system instead of using it in the way they intended, for I think we were all well aware that the coupon was for Customer Service use only, but we went ahead and used it anyhow.
#497
DVD Talk Special Edition
Join Date: May 2005
Location: closer than you'd like
Posts: 1,668
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like
on
1 Post
I usually stay out of things like this. And I usually avoid discussion about them. I generally avoid "glitches" or things that are clearly not meant to be used by me. But watching people in this thread saying they're "taking their business elsewhere" because Borders won't honor the coupon that wasn't intended for their use? I'm sure Borders doesn't mind. Take your business elsewhere. You're not actually interested in being a reputable customer, so why should they care if you think they are a reputable business?
Justifying this as a "cost of doing business" of trying to automate things? Sorry, but that's either idiotic or egocentric. If a company has some kind of flaw in their website that allows you to get anything you want for free (sorry for drudging up the Amazon thing), and people exploit it and drive them out of business (or "just" cost them thousands, or hundreds of thousands, or even millions of dollars), is that "the cost of doing business" or is that just consumers being greedy and expecting something for (almost) nothing? Trying to justify abuse of a website because the company is trying to save money or expand business by creating the website in the first place is just that: an attempt at justification. Bottom line: it's not right, it's not proper, and it's not OK.
You did know better. You didn't get emailed a coupon code from Borders for your use, and you didn't click on a banner advertising a sale on their site. You got a code from somewhere else that wasn't intended for you, and then proceeded to use it. You knew it wasn't for you, and you knew you were exploiting a weakness in their system; don't pretend otherwise. Stop with all the "I got a confirmation email/I'm going to dispute the charges with my CC company/I'm going to read up on contract law/It was a VALID coupon"/etc..
You can't afford to have your bank account overdrawn or the extra credit card charges? How about instead of disputing things and trying to keep what you shouldn't have gotten in the first place that you do the right thing and return the items?
I recently put in 20 different orders through Blockbuster because they had the $10 off $10 orders coupon. I ordered almost all new $10.99 DVDs, and paid about $5+tax for each. If Blockbuster contacts me and says that it was a mistake on their website and that the coupon was supposed to be one use per person, instead of one use per account, I'll return them (not at my cost). Their website terms and conditions (which I perused before using the code multiple times) repeatedly use the idea of "per account," and not "per person." The intent seems to be to allow multiple accounts per person. I used the same name, address, phone number, and credit card info for every order, so they can easily contact me. I don't have some overinflated sense of entitlement, and I don't think Blockbuster owes me anything because they accepted the orders in the first place or because their "store prices are too high, anyway."
I guess I'm the polar opposite of the person who will receive their order after using this code and be proud of themselves for getting their order in so quickly and be happy that their order didn't get canceled.
Seriously, a person at a company makes a mistake, you take advantage of it, and you're all ready to scream bloody murder when the mistake is discovered and the company tries to recoup. And then there are the inevitable "should be fired" and "not buying from them again" posts.
I'm a little confused about how this thread is even allowed to exist and continue on this site.
I guess the site admins don't see it as a violation of:
or
I come here to see about sales that I can take part in to buy things I want at bargain prices to optimize my spending. I don't come here to see what the latest glitch is that I can take unfair advantage of.
When I came to the site the other day and saw the "80% Borders.com code," I initially thought it meant 20%-off, but took a look anyway. As soon as I saw that it was 80%-off, I knew it wasn't a code that was meant for the public, so I didn't bother to try to place any orders.
I'm sure some of you are about to go through my 200+ posts on this site to try to find where *I* took unfair advantage of something. And I'm sure I have. There's often some kind of gray between taking advantage and taking *unfair* advantage. My point is that I generally try to avoid the latter. In this case, you tried to take unfair advantage of a company, and now all this posturing and bravado afterwards is sickening. Calling me a hypocrite or challenging me with 20 other hypothetical situations or parsing my sentences to find some kind of flaw in my words isn't going to change that.
Your hand was caught in the cookie jar. Let go of the cookie. And try to have a little shame about it.
Justifying this as a "cost of doing business" of trying to automate things? Sorry, but that's either idiotic or egocentric. If a company has some kind of flaw in their website that allows you to get anything you want for free (sorry for drudging up the Amazon thing), and people exploit it and drive them out of business (or "just" cost them thousands, or hundreds of thousands, or even millions of dollars), is that "the cost of doing business" or is that just consumers being greedy and expecting something for (almost) nothing? Trying to justify abuse of a website because the company is trying to save money or expand business by creating the website in the first place is just that: an attempt at justification. Bottom line: it's not right, it's not proper, and it's not OK.
You did know better. You didn't get emailed a coupon code from Borders for your use, and you didn't click on a banner advertising a sale on their site. You got a code from somewhere else that wasn't intended for you, and then proceeded to use it. You knew it wasn't for you, and you knew you were exploiting a weakness in their system; don't pretend otherwise. Stop with all the "I got a confirmation email/I'm going to dispute the charges with my CC company/I'm going to read up on contract law/It was a VALID coupon"/etc..
You can't afford to have your bank account overdrawn or the extra credit card charges? How about instead of disputing things and trying to keep what you shouldn't have gotten in the first place that you do the right thing and return the items?
I recently put in 20 different orders through Blockbuster because they had the $10 off $10 orders coupon. I ordered almost all new $10.99 DVDs, and paid about $5+tax for each. If Blockbuster contacts me and says that it was a mistake on their website and that the coupon was supposed to be one use per person, instead of one use per account, I'll return them (not at my cost). Their website terms and conditions (which I perused before using the code multiple times) repeatedly use the idea of "per account," and not "per person." The intent seems to be to allow multiple accounts per person. I used the same name, address, phone number, and credit card info for every order, so they can easily contact me. I don't have some overinflated sense of entitlement, and I don't think Blockbuster owes me anything because they accepted the orders in the first place or because their "store prices are too high, anyway."
I guess I'm the polar opposite of the person who will receive their order after using this code and be proud of themselves for getting their order in so quickly and be happy that their order didn't get canceled.
Seriously, a person at a company makes a mistake, you take advantage of it, and you're all ready to scream bloody murder when the mistake is discovered and the company tries to recoup. And then there are the inevitable "should be fired" and "not buying from them again" posts.
I'm a little confused about how this thread is even allowed to exist and continue on this site.
I guess the site admins don't see it as a violation of:
Code:
Posting Information on how to defraud any company or promotion of any kind of illegal or unethical activity
Code:
Anything aimed at defrauding or taking advantage of another company, exploiting flaws or weaknesses in their systems or sites
When I came to the site the other day and saw the "80% Borders.com code," I initially thought it meant 20%-off, but took a look anyway. As soon as I saw that it was 80%-off, I knew it wasn't a code that was meant for the public, so I didn't bother to try to place any orders.
I'm sure some of you are about to go through my 200+ posts on this site to try to find where *I* took unfair advantage of something. And I'm sure I have. There's often some kind of gray between taking advantage and taking *unfair* advantage. My point is that I generally try to avoid the latter. In this case, you tried to take unfair advantage of a company, and now all this posturing and bravado afterwards is sickening. Calling me a hypocrite or challenging me with 20 other hypothetical situations or parsing my sentences to find some kind of flaw in my words isn't going to change that.
Your hand was caught in the cookie jar. Let go of the cookie. And try to have a little shame about it.
#498
DVD Talk Legend
I just got this email:
Oh well.
Dear Borders.com Customer,
We're sorry to inform you that your Borders.com Order has been cancelled.
The promotional code that was applied to the order was posted to several coupon sites without Borders' knowledge or consent. The promotional code was intended for Borders Customer Service use only and is not available for customer redemption. All orders placed by customers using this code since it was posted have been cancelled. If you would still like the items on the original order, we encourage you to place your order again, and ask that you look for the Borders Shortlist emails for future item discounts.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.
Thank you,
Borders.com Customer Care
www.Borders.com
We're sorry to inform you that your Borders.com Order has been cancelled.
The promotional code that was applied to the order was posted to several coupon sites without Borders' knowledge or consent. The promotional code was intended for Borders Customer Service use only and is not available for customer redemption. All orders placed by customers using this code since it was posted have been cancelled. If you would still like the items on the original order, we encourage you to place your order again, and ask that you look for the Borders Shortlist emails for future item discounts.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.
Thank you,
Borders.com Customer Care
www.Borders.com