Very unhappy with Walmart. Decided to go buy one of these this
morning. Store opens at 7AM. Was there at 7AM. I was one of fist three
people in the store. No laptops to be found. Asked the manager in
Electronics. He said they were sold last night at 12AM...yes I know
last night at 12AM is today...but the flyer did not say they would be
open the night before AND the store had no signage that they would be
open the night before. Then he tells me they started giving out
"tickets" at 10:30 last night for the computers....so in actuality you
had to be there at 10:30PM on November 4th to get the deal that should
have started at 7AM on November 5th. Nice job Walmart. I enjoy getting
up at 6:30 on Sunday mornings. I would not be mad if I got there and
was beat out by other customers...I understand that it was a limited
supply...but this is ridiculous. I never actually checked that they
really were open until midnight..I suspect that may not even be true.
Well that's my story, I must go write a letter to Walmart now.

jtees4 wrote:
> Very unhappy with Walmart. Decided to go buy one of these this

Surely you must understand that these deals are loss-leaders
specifically designed to bait-and-switch you into the store? The
premise is that you arrive, wait on line for hours, and then you're
told "Sorry, the $400 ones are all gone. However we have this nice $700
model... don't your kids deserve it?"

zwsdotcom******.com wrote:
>
> jtees4 wrote:
> > Very unhappy with Walmart. Decided to go buy one of these this
>
> Surely you must understand that these deals are loss-leaders
> specifically designed to bait-and-switch you into the store? The
> premise is that you arrive, wait on line for hours, and then you're
> told "Sorry, the $400 ones are all gone. However we have this nice $700
> model... don't your kids deserve it?"

Just for the record, there's a difference between "loss leader" and
"bait and switch."

A loss leader is actually a money loser for the store, and is designed
to get you into the store in order to buy additional (presumably money
making) products.

A bait and switch tactic is exactly as you described.

Notan

"Notan" <notan@ddress.thatcanbespammed> wrote in message
news:454E2F5B.663A5642@ddress.thatcanbespammed
> zwsdotcom******.com wrote:
>>
>> jtees4 wrote:
>>> Very unhappy with Walmart. Decided to go buy one of these this
>>
>> Surely you must understand that these deals are loss-leaders
>> specifically designed to bait-and-switch you into the store? The
>> premise is that you arrive, wait on line for hours, and then you're
>> told "Sorry, the $400 ones are all gone. However we have this nice
>> $700 model... don't your kids deserve it?"
>
> Just for the record, there's a difference between "loss leader" and
> "bait and switch."
>
> A loss leader is actually a money loser for the store, and is designed
> to get you into the store in order to buy additional (presumably money
> making) products.
>
> A bait and switch tactic is exactly as you described.

But the store didn't have any of them, period! That is bait and switch!
Grrrr!

--
Bill

Notan wrote:

> > Surely you must understand that these deals are loss-leaders
> > specifically designed to bait-and-switch you into the store? The
>
> Just for the record, there's a difference between "loss leader" and
> "bait and switch."

Yes: a loss leader is legal, and a bait and switch is not :)

Secondarily, but closely related: a loss leader is either something in
plentiful supply, or it has a piece of fine print in the catalog that
says "only one available per state, in order to actually buy this item
you need to have an employee hide it for you", whereas a bait and
switch meets neither of these criteria.

>From Wal-Mart's perspective this item is a loss leader; from the
consumer's perspective, it's bait-and-switch, which is why the two
terms are conflated in my original posting.

I don't think that WalMart was trying to get people to buy a better
model. I'm not even sure that they have a better model. What I think
that they are really trying to do is to get readership of their sunday
ad supplements up over the Christmas shopping season. And by putting a
$399 laptop on the front page cover of their sunday flier, I think that
they accomplished that. If the "cost" of this was selling a few
thousand laptops at or possibly even below cost, well, that was an
"advertising" expense, and probably insignificant compared to what they
spend printing and inserting their sunday ad supplements into a few
thousand newspapers around the entire country.


zwsdotcom******.com wrote:

> jtees4 wrote:
>
>>Very unhappy with Walmart. Decided to go buy one of these this
>
>
> Surely you must understand that these deals are loss-leaders
> specifically designed to bait-and-switch you into the store? The
> premise is that you arrive, wait on line for hours, and then you're
> told "Sorry, the $400 ones are all gone. However we have this nice $700
> model... don't your kids deserve it?"
>

No, according to your own report, they had them but sold them 7 hours
earlier (but still, technically, on November 5th).

I agree that what that store did (and it may well have been at the
discretion of that particular store's manager) wasn't right. But it was
within the technical letter of what they advertised.

I'd send a complaint letter to customer relations at WalMart corporate.


BillW50 wrote:

> "Notan" <notan@ddress.thatcanbespammed> wrote in message
> news:454E2F5B.663A5642@ddress.thatcanbespammed
>
>> zwsdotcom******.com wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> jtees4 wrote:
>>>
>>>> Very unhappy with Walmart. Decided to go buy one of these this
>>>
>>>
>>> Surely you must understand that these deals are loss-leaders
>>> specifically designed to bait-and-switch you into the store? The
>>> premise is that you arrive, wait on line for hours, and then you're
>>> told "Sorry, the $400 ones are all gone. However we have this nice
>>> $700 model... don't your kids deserve it?"
>>
>>
>> Just for the record, there's a difference between "loss leader" and
>> "bait and switch."
>>
>> A loss leader is actually a money loser for the store, and is designed
>> to get you into the store in order to buy additional (presumably money
>> making) products.
>>
>> A bait and switch tactic is exactly as you described.
>
>
> But the store didn't have any of them, period! That is bait and switch!
> Grrrr!
>

They ad said they had a minimum of ten or 15 (I don't remember which)
per store.

zwsdotcom******.com wrote:

> Notan wrote:
>
>
>>>Surely you must understand that these deals are loss-leaders
>>>specifically designed to bait-and-switch you into the store? The
>>
>>Just for the record, there's a difference between "loss leader" and
>>"bait and switch."
>
>
> Yes: a loss leader is legal, and a bait and switch is not :)
>
> Secondarily, but closely related: a loss leader is either something in
> plentiful supply, or it has a piece of fine print in the catalog that
> says "only one available per state, in order to actually buy this item
> you need to have an employee hide it for you", whereas a bait and
> switch meets neither of these criteria.
>
>>From Wal-Mart's perspective this item is a loss leader; from the
> consumer's perspective, it's bait-and-switch, which is why the two
> terms are conflated in my original posting.
>

BillW50 wrote:

>
> But the store didn't have any of them, period! That is bait and switch!
> Grrrr!

The message said the store did have them and gave out tickets for them
the previous day so that they could be given out at midnight. If the
sales people did not try and upsell you that is not bait and switch that
is just irreprehensible marketing.

Ian Singer

--


================================================== =======================
See my homepage at http://www.iansinger.com
hosted on http://www.1and1.com/?k_id=10623894
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Charts and searching using TNG from http://www.tngsitebuilding.com
I am near Toronto Canada, can I tell where you are from your reply?
================================================== =======================

On Sun, 05 Nov 2006 14:50:31 -0500, Barry Watzman
<WatzmanNOSPAM@neo.rr.com> wrote:

>I don't think that WalMart was trying to get people to buy a better
>model. I'm not even sure that they have a better model. What I think
>that they are really trying to do is to get readership of their sunday
>ad supplements up over the Christmas shopping season. And by putting a
>$399 laptop on the front page cover of their sunday flier, I think that
>they accomplished that. If the "cost" of this was selling a few
>thousand laptops at or possibly even below cost, well, that was an
>"advertising" expense, and probably insignificant compared to what they
>spend printing and inserting their sunday ad supplements into a few
>thousand newspapers around the entire country.
>
>
No bait and switch. They did not try to sell me anything...just stated
that they were sold at midnight last night. In fact the guy said that
he was quite upset that the store hours were not put in the flier as
it was flat out wrong. I already sent a letter to Walmart, I'll post
their response when I get one.

New laptop below $400?
What was that?
Knowing quality products in Walmart it could be some Chinese crap made
from the cheapest elements on the market with no 1-month warranty
(perhaps smth from Lenovo?).
What was the configuration? brand of those machines?

GA.

jtees4 wrote:
> Very unhappy with Walmart. Decided to go buy one of these this
> morning. Store opens at 7AM. Was there at 7AM. I was one of fist three
> people in the store. No laptops to be found. Asked the manager in
> Electronics. He said they were sold last night at 12AM...yes I know
> last night at 12AM is today...but the flyer did not say they would be
> open the night before AND the store had no signage that they would be
> open the night before. Then he tells me they started giving out
> "tickets" at 10:30 last night for the computers....so in actuality you
> had to be there at 10:30PM on November 4th to get the deal that should
> have started at 7AM on November 5th. Nice job Walmart. I enjoy getting
> up at 6:30 on Sunday mornings. I would not be mad if I got there and
> was beat out by other customers...I understand that it was a limited
> supply...but this is ridiculous. I never actually checked that they
> really were open until midnight..I suspect that may not even be true.
> Well that's my story, I must go write a letter to Walmart now.

If you'd look back, you'd find the answers to all of your questions.
The machine in question was a reasonably configured (although obviously
not terribly high-end) Compaq. And notice that WalMart would have these
was posted here (by me) about a week or two ago.


Gomez Adams wrote:
> New laptop below $400?
> What was that?
> Knowing quality products in Walmart it could be some Chinese crap made
> from the cheapest elements on the market with no 1-month warranty
> (perhaps smth from Lenovo?).
> What was the configuration? brand of those machines?
>
> GA.
>
> jtees4 wrote:
>> Very unhappy with Walmart. Decided to go buy one of these this
>> morning. Store opens at 7AM. Was there at 7AM. I was one of fist three
>> people in the store. No laptops to be found. Asked the manager in
>> Electronics. He said they were sold last night at 12AM...yes I know
>> last night at 12AM is today...but the flyer did not say they would be
>> open the night before AND the store had no signage that they would be
>> open the night before. Then he tells me they started giving out
>> "tickets" at 10:30 last night for the computers....so in actuality you
>> had to be there at 10:30PM on November 4th to get the deal that should
>> have started at 7AM on November 5th. Nice job Walmart. I enjoy getting
>> up at 6:30 on Sunday mornings. I would not be mad if I got there and
>> was beat out by other customers...I understand that it was a limited
>> supply...but this is ridiculous. I never actually checked that they
>> really were open until midnight..I suspect that may not even be true.
>> Well that's my story, I must go write a letter to Walmart now.

OMG CALL THE WAAAAAAAAAAAAMBULANCE its not walmarts fault your stupid. Any
idiot that wants a good deal will go in asap. If your walmart is 24 / 7
shouldnt you be smart and ASSUME when the deal says november 5th that
midnight = fair game? Your stupid go kill yourself thank you.

On Thu, 9 Nov 2006 07:40:38 GMT, noneofyourbusiness@nowhere.com wrote:

>OMG CALL THE WAAAAAAAAAAAAMBULANCE its not walmarts fault your stupid. Any
>idiot that wants a good deal will go in asap. If your walmart is 24 / 7
>shouldnt you be smart and ASSUME when the deal says november 5th that
>midnight = fair game? Your stupid go kill yourself thank you.

The Walmart I went to is not 24/7 asshole. Now go die.

Hope fully ya did not spend a dime in the store....and promise in your
letter to never go back unless they stop that policy....
"jtees4" <jtees4********.com> wrote in message
news:e89sk2hfjfl1fsrgs6mgv9c9e9fpm0udus@4ax.com...
> Very unhappy with Walmart. Decided to go buy one of these this
> morning. Store opens at 7AM. Was there at 7AM. I was one of fist three
> people in the store. No laptops to be found. Asked the manager in
> Electronics. He said they were sold last night at 12AM...yes I know
> last night at 12AM is today...but the flyer did not say they would be
> open the night before AND the store had no signage that they would be
> open the night before. Then he tells me they started giving out
> "tickets" at 10:30 last night for the computers....so in actuality you
> had to be there at 10:30PM on November 4th to get the deal that should
> have started at 7AM on November 5th. Nice job Walmart. I enjoy getting
> up at 6:30 on Sunday mornings. I would not be mad if I got there and
> was beat out by other customers...I understand that it was a limited
> supply...but this is ridiculous. I never actually checked that they
> really were open until midnight..I suspect that may not even be true.
> Well that's my story, I must go write a letter to Walmart now.