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.

As I wrote far below, none of the stores have them. This wasn't that
astounding a deal in the first place, as it is available elsewhere at
the same price.

I believe the OP has an argument, as it is supported by a Bait and
Switch reference that Rowdy cites below (Wikipedia):

"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.

While it may be legal to do such a thing, this source implies a note
that quantities are limited is required to absolve the company of
liability. The ad had no such notice.

While not what one thinks of as Bait and Switch, obviously (according
to this source) the law feels what the OP says took place is related
to it.

All I'm saying is that the people who don't feel this is Bait and
Switch should at least think about this for a second. Maybe whoever
wrote the Wiki description is all wet - I don't know.

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.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bait-and-switch


That doesnt seem to fall under the term of bait and switch.




Good Day