Found this thread on FatWallet

http://www.fatwallet.com/t/24/410173/

Quick summary is that over the weekend CC had a price mistake in their system with some video games. Tons of people took advantage. This person paid for the games and then the manager tried to stop them from leaving.

Ooooooo I wish I was in that guys position.

Wow... How interesting....

That manager and the store director with him have definately put a dent in their careers.

The "victim" has actually won a lottery of sorts. Good thing he kept his cool.

Wow, that CC manager basically lost his job for like $80 worth of product. Holiday shoppers must've driven him insane this year.

That was an amazing story. I can't believe the store directors made such asses of themselves.

One thing is sure. He kept his cool and acted like a civil person. I could not say the same about myself put in that position. I would have raised such a commotion the entire store would be watching. Then I would have called the police and filed a report on the spot. Those 2 managers should, at the least, be fired. Intimidation, harrassment, unlawful detention, assault, theft, etc etc. Talk about a PR nightmare. They've had over 30,000 views on that thread alone and I'm sure it will be double that tomorrow.

I'm just floored that anyone would go that far to stop someone from, essentially, getting a good deal. Simply amazing........

Those types of pricing errors have happened before. Most retailers will be alerted shortly after the store opens. The best deal I ever got was the Mel Gibson Braveheart dvd. When it was released it was 27.99 on sale for $22 bucks. Best Buy had it wrong in their systems and it rang up $8. The cashier didn't know it was a new release and let me walk out with it. I went back to pick up a few for and the movie employees had already taken it off the shelf (there was about 100 copies just 10 miutes prior) and told me there was a pricing glitch and I could get a raincheck or come back in an hour or so.

this is the best retailer story that I've read in a while. Simply Amazing!!!

Interesting story, to be sure. I do find it odd that a Fatwallet bargain hunter has an attorney.

I don't believe a CC employee would react with force. That does not sound like CC, which is laid back and an easy place to shop. Just about everytime I have requested anything from them, they were helpful and never rude. Often they would give the better price just to make me happy. I remember buying a computer, and a few weeks later it was on sale elsewhere. I did not have the flyer, but the employee called the manager who approved the price match plus 10%. Anothertime I went there and they were out of some DVD titles that were 2 for $20. They told me I could come back next week and pick it up for the same price. CC has always treated me far better than any of the other big stores. BB for example once accused me of being a thief and pirate and scum for trying to return software that did not work as advertised. That is why I shop at CC, I have never had a problem there.

Different stores have different people working at them and a chain that large is sure to have at least some bad apples here and there.

I don't know that the person's story is accurate, either, but I can't discount it just because I've not had a bad experience at a different store of the same chain (just like how I don't discount your problems with Best Buy even though I've personally never had a problem there).

update on the website

this happened in Lakewood Colorado

I rarely go in for FW deals because most of their members seem to thrive on confrontation

To be fair, the guy was admittedly trying to take advantage of a pricing error. The ad clearly states 2 for $30 for Greatest Hits titles. Do you think he'll mention that to his lawyer, the police, or a media outlet?

Yes, he was trying to take advantage of a pricing error, but he also says he would have given up if they would have caught it before the transaction was made. The guy already had his credit card charged and was given a receipt, I would imagine this is as close as you can come to a done deal. Also, I believe he also says he would have given the stuff back if the managers weren't raving like lunatics. There is a certain way to handle these situations, and CC did not do it well.

Agreed. And think about it this way - if THEY (CC) had made the pricing mistake and charged you too much, you think they would be cooperative if you starting yelling and screaming and ripped the cash register keyboard out of their hands to refund the difference?

Yeah, and I can see him now arguing with the lawyer and making him price match a coupon he tore out from the back of the phone book ...at a PAY phone.

"Half-price litigation -- woooohooooo!"

That makes absolutely no difference because his transaction was completed. He kept his cooll when the store employees lost theirs. The settlement here wil be in his favor.

The reference to someone from fatwallet having an attorney is a bit uncalled for as well. Just because someone wants to save money means nothing in that regard. Plus, I have many bankruptcy letters passing through my office. Each person has an attorney, each one broke as can be.

You got it easy. I TOOK THE STORE HOSTAGE to get that deal. YMMV.

The guy that this happened to in that post is EXTREMELY naive. If you read his posts, especially his last few, you will definitely understand what I mean. Circuit City is probably LOVING the fact that this is the guy it happened to. He basically screwed himself over on every chance he had at getting this situation resolved.

I don't want to have to read anymore of that thread to understand what you mean. I need things spelled out for me here.

Basically the guy is a pus--

Haha. But the guy wasn't thinking... bringing in a lawyer over an unethical $50 savings?

I don't even have to read the Fat Wallet thread to know that the op is a douche. He was an ass to not accept that it was an honest clerical mistake. It wasn't even a bait and switch. It was some cheap ass kids on Fat Wallet that found a glitch. Happens all the time on there.

It would have been fine if the guy got caught, and cooperated. He had no relative reason to act like a dick.

I worked retail/cs for around four years. And it makes me smirk to see that an employee actually stood up to this jerk. People needlessly act like total asses, and enjoy 'making a scene' just to get some coupons and an apology. I would get SO PISSED when a manager would flourish people with free tickets and shit just because someone thought it was too cold, too warm, too quiet, or too loud in a theater. I've seen people walk out with free tickest BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T LIKE THE MOVIE, AND BLAMED US FOR HOUSING IT (Driven comes to mind)! Or when people would INSIST that they dropped off their DVD at 11:59 the night before, and are not liable for late fees. Why? Because they raise a stink about it. It's just not right.

People will do anything for $50 (or in my cases, a lot less). Me? I'd rather go to work for a few hours than get in an embarassing scuffle with retail employees. But I guess that's just me.

A few times, I've mislabeled a $250 piece of equipment on eBay, for $24.99 'buy it now' (or something to that effect). Needless to say, someone use buy it now within about five minutes. I e-mailed, explained myself, and he was fine with it. They buyer did the reasonable thing. He didn't say "sell this to me, or I'm contacting my attourney." He didn't even contact eBay. Nobody even said "you are a bad seller for not following through".

Additionally, I don't think it'd be a sob story of how a couple people lost their jobs at Circuit City ... assuming that anyone even got fired!

Now, in your eBay example, if you took the guy's money, sent him the merchandise and then went to him to physically get the merchandise back, that would be a more apt comparison.

If they had caught the mistake at the register, there wouldn't have been a problem. But once you take someone's money and give them the merchandise, it does become a little bit different (though not by much, in my opinion).

I guess the question becomes, when is the transaction complete? Is it once money has exchanged hands? Or is it when the customer is out the door? If the manager hadn't gotten to the guy until he was in the parking lot, should the customer follow the manager back into the store and return the item? If the buyer pays with a credit card and the mistake isn't found until the end-of-the-month inventory, should the store have the right to charge the credit card for the rest of the amount? (Or come by the buyer's house to collect the money the item should have cost?)

For that matter, what if the shoe had been on the other foot? I went shopping the other day and didn't realize until I was almost to my car that I had been overcharged on an item. Should I have been out of luck since the transaction was complete and I was in the parking lot? Thankfully the store I bought the item at didn't think so, and I quickly got a refund of the overcharged amount.