Micro Center Horror Story - Bait and Switch

[slavenpatrick]

I recently bought an i7-4770k from Micro-Center. They had advertised on their website a price of $249. However, in the store it was $280. I brought in the printout of the website price and showed them, and the clerks in the store said it was corporate's fault for putting the wrong information on the site. I contacted corporate, and was very rudely treated and told that there was a "Prices vary by Store" disclaimer on the i7-4770K page (which there was not), and they didn't have to honor it - this is illegal in California. I went through 2 weeks of emails with the Better Business Bureau, who could not resolve it, and referred me to the state's Attorney General's office and suggested I contact a lawyer if I would like to resolve my issue. I have a copy of the websites before they changed it to say "Prices vary by store" as well as print outs and receipts.

Now, it seems silly to contact a lawyer, but I know the Micro-Center is notorious for this. I am not greedy, but they aren't following the law and are unfairly luring people to their store. Has anyone else experienced this? Is there something we can do to let people know about their deceptive business practices?

 

[ssddx]

i just checked and microcenter has the cpu listed as 249 for the CA store. (its shown as out of stock though).

it sounds like you just got a rude associate and or manager. honestly this varies from store to store. in our particular microcenter the people are all very helpful and not rude in the least. they also honor the prices listed on the website provided that price shows up after you selected the store.

it sounds like more of a local issue to me. in any case its a retail chain and pretty much every single retail chain in existance has had dealings with shady practices like bait and switch. will you stop shopping at sears, target, walmart, lowes, best buy and kohls (amongst all the other stores) because of it? chances are not. again, i'm not saying its right that we get treated this way however the chances of anything being done about it are pretty slim.

in any case the BBB is a complete and utter joke. getting a resolution from them would be like waiting to win the lottery. its almost easier just to deal with the company in question.

what you could have done since you were aware beforehand that your particular store has deceptive practices would be to order the components online through the webstore for 249 then pick them up when you got to the store. i'm not saying you should have to but it would avoid the whole issue.

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in short: cant say that i've ever had an issue with microcenter (at least my particular one)

shame you had an issue but it might just be your local store. or perhaps you just got someone rude at corporate.

 

[slavenpatrick]

in short: cant say that i've ever had an issue with microcenter (at least my particular one)

shame you had an issue but it might just be your local store. or perhaps you just got someone rude at corporate.

Yeah, I should clarify that this was only the Tustin location in California. I did some research and saw lots of complaints from here. The staff that helped me get my components were excellent, and this was the only problem.

I get so angry about this because I am in marketing, and there are so many regulations that we have to adhere to. I take it personally that another company can get away with something like this while my company will honor any price that goes out on any form of advertising - even if it's an accident.

 

[ssddx]

many companies do honor said prices. even other microcenters.

a true story... a friend recently bought a refurbished computer from microcenter. the price sticker showed $80 even though it was obviously one of the $150 models listed on the website. the associate and manager honored the price.

i think this was just a case of some manager in your store attempting to get as much profit as possible. honestly i have heard of this before for that tuscan store and a few others here and there. its just bad management i believe and makes the company as a whole look bad.

honestly if you havent used the item yet i would just return it and then buy it through the online store. bypass the idiots. after all you then have a receipt. your choice of course. you could try contacting corporate again and try to get your refund. perhaps you will get someone different.

 

[user992]

Microcenter does bait and switch as a matter of policy. Unless more people like me sue them, it will continue to be more profitable to commit the crime than not. It's not difficult to prove. Just buy something that says there is one in stock. You won't get a confirmation for your order, because there are none. By the next day, they will have put the item back on the site.