availability of sales item

I love this new trend of using phrases incorrectly in what I can only
assume is an attempt to "sensationalize" a letter.

So you thought there'd be unlimited quantities?

Le sigh...

A store running out of an ad product is not guilty of bait and switch.
It's guilty of low expectations.

+Free shipping.

It occurred to me to do (just) a little more investigating. These
all-in-one printers have come down in price (perhaps because they
aren't the best things in the world from my experience and research).
When I got mine from Office Depot, it was $120. So, while $99 isn't
bad it isn't like they are giving them away.

I am going to guess Office Depot didn't have many of these in the
first place. If Amazon.com has them at the same price, the educated
consumer would know about it, and many people would go for the free
shipping and no tax to avoid the hassle of the store. And I'll bet
several other online sites have them at this price.

I think OD should consider quantity on hand when putting together such
an ad. In this case a comment about quantity seems to be warranted.

Even if they had just one it still would not be bait and switch under
the technical definition.

While it may be inconvenient, their ads come on on Sunday, and today
is Thursday. If it was a good deal, things run out. See if another
retailer is willing to do a price match.

and... i don't see what store this was for, but...

if the store's policy is "no rain checks" the best option would be to
try to get in to the store earlier - perhaps on the first day of the
sale.

because, again, there is no law or rule stating that they are not
allowed to run out of items.

in fact most circulars will have a statement on the sale reading,
"while supplies last"

What most people don't understand is that these sale ads are created
months in advance. Sometimes the manufacturer fails to get enugh
product to the retail company which allows for fewer product in the
stores or, sometimes none at all. I understand your frustration. There
is nothing the store manager can do about the situation. I worked at
Staples and often ran into the same problem. They did not offer
rainchecks either. Also, I know at Staples, items were often on sale
in the store as unadvertized specials for weeks before they were
featured in a sales flyer.

Bait and Switch means they "bait" you into the store then "switch"
what they advertised for something else that costs more.

It looks like you were late getting the deal, and they didnt try to
force you to spend more so its not bait and switch.

Welcome to the new era of get here before its gone, no rainchecks
allowed. I dont think most younger shoppers even know what rainchecks
are.

Hum, in the REALLY small print there is a line about Office Depot not
issueing Rainchecks or substitutions except as required by law.
Interesting wording. It also says they reserve the right to limit
quantites sold to any customer, although "0" seems a bit extreme!

So, technically they are sticking to their policy and I usually
support that, but in this case it seems a bit sneaky.

"Likewise, advertising a sale while intending to stock a limited
amount of, and thereby sell out, the loss-leading item advertised is
legal in the United States. The purveyor can escape liability if they
make clear in their advertisements that quantities of items for which
a sale is offered are limited."

As the OP states, nowhere in the ad did it state quantities are
limited. Indeed, there are none of this item available in the Atlanta
area, nor at any if 6 stores near me in PA.

In retail sales, a bait and switch is a form of fraud in which the
party putting forth the fraud lures in customers by advertising a
product or service at an unprofitably low price, then reveals to
potential customers that the advertised good is not available but that
a substitute is. This use of this term has extended to similar
situations outside of the marketing sense.

The AD is the bait.

But there was no SWITCH

There was no one trying revealing a substitute at a higher price.


You cant claim bait and switch with no switch.



Good Day