Mistake on HMV.com - Xbox 360 Goldeneye Reloaded priced at £9.90

[Pete Wells]

I think someone has missed the 3 from the front of the price so HMV.com is selling this game for £9.90 on the Xbox 360.

Get it quick!: http://hmv.com/hmvweb/displayProductDetails.do?ctx=225;6;-1;-1;53&sku=237612

[Hegel]

Awsome spot. 9 times out of 10 these mistakes don't get honoured but you never know... occasionally one slips through.

[vzzbux]

They have to honor it at their advertised price.




V

[Keef Monkey]

Not with online purchases sadly, had a couple of occasions where I've jumped on an error like this and shortly after got an email saying they hadn't been able to process my order due to an error and that I'd need to re-order. Obviously by that point they'd sorted the price out!

In-store though I remember getting season 3 of Battlestar for peanuts because they'd printed the wrong price in an ad in the Metro

[The Enigmatic Dr X]

To be enforceable there needs to be a contract of sale. That means there must be an offer and an unqualified acceptance.

Regrettably, most on-line purchases are created in such a way that they are an "offer to buy" from the customer. That means the shop/ site in question can decline to accept. In-store pricing is "an offer to sell" which a customer can accept.

Hence, high-street pricing errors can be enforced because the customer has accepted the low offer, but on-line errors can be rejected as the store does not accept the low offer.

Still, I ordered!

[Buttonman]

In the bookies this kind of thing is known as a 'palp' or 'palpable error'. Basically if it's too good to be true, it is and they won't honour it. Different again in that gambling debts aren't enforcable in law but the arbitrators know who pays their wages.

[Steven Denton]

Apparently shops are not legally obliged to sell you their products and reserve the right not to do so if they wish. This means that if you pick up something which is wrongly priced, you do not have a right to buy it at that price. Having said this however, it is still unlawful for shops and suppliers to display an item at a price which is different to the price requested at the point of sale. Exceptions to this are obvious mistakes where, for example, a TV is priced at £8.99 instead of £899.00.

And to make things more complicated Advertisements are usually invitations to treat, which allows sellers to refuse to sell products at prices mistakenly marked. Advertisements can also be considered offers in some specific cases.

An invitation to treat is an action inviting other parties to make an offer to form a contract. These actions may sometimes appear to be offers themselves, and the difference can sometimes be difficult to determine. The distinction is important because accepting an offer creates a binding contract while "accepting" an invitation to treat is actually making an offer.

Invitation to treat is usually regarded as 'goods on shelves' such as in a supermarket. The law would define that the 'contract' was made when the purchaser put the goods in to his/her basket.
With 'invitation to treat' you also have the chance to make an 'offer' which means, interestingly enough that when you do your shop at Tesco's or wherever, you are legally entitled to bring your trolley to the check-out and say 'I'll offer you £50.00 for this trolley full of goodies!'

Most the time in a shop the potential loss is less hassle than the potential bad publicity.

[vzzbux]

I see it's now £39.99.

HMV have a pre order guaruntee.

Pre-Order Price Guarantee

If we lower our prices after you've pre-ordered (and we often do), we'll automatically charge you the lowest price when we ship the goods out to you.

Nothing about raising the price though


V

[Goaty]

Now with MVG311020 you can get 20% off any product at ASDA online!

[Hegel]

My HMV order has been cancelled - as expected.