Game.....

Smoggy · 10-01-2006 1:44pm #1

I spoke to a lady in GAME yesterday and she said that they had the xbox 360 in stock and the console was 400€, I told her I would be down to her at lunch to buy one. All good so far.

When I got down there I asked for the Premium package and was asked which bundle I would like ( they had bundled the console with 3 other games and something else and were charging over €600 ). I told them that I didnt want a bundle and all I wanted was the console alone.

From here I was told that GAME dont sell the console by itself, they sell it as part of a Bundle. At this point I didnt know if she was in the right to do this, so didnt take the point any furthur. But it feels like GAME are pulling a fast one.

GAME are taking advantage of the lack of supply of consoles. Can anyone point me in the direction of the law and where I stand ?

Smog

RuggieBear · 10-01-2006 1:52pm

There have been a few cases of this reported on boards. Tbh, i'm not sure what the legal standpoint is but (if you can) make a point of taking your custom elsewhere.

Sponge Bob · 10-01-2006 1:53pm

This crack of advertising a product you know do not have and do not intend to have in order to sell you a 'Bundle' at a way higher price is common in the console selling biz , most if not all the larger system retailers do it . Talk to the ODCA and get the ODCA to investigate with 'their' local Game .

If not nipped in the bud now after a christmas of ****e PSP bundles and ****e XBOX360 bundles they will carry on the same way with the PS3 in a few months.

A specific complaint about specific ads to the ASAI about retailers such as Game Extravision HMV and (maybe) Smyths who constantly indulge in this kind of false advertising would not go amiss. If they will not sell a vanilla box they should not advertise it to get you into the shop and waste your time .

Pythia · 10-01-2006 1:54pm

Surely GAME can sell what they want and you can choose not to buy?

Gilgamesh · 10-01-2006 1:59pm

Pythia wrote:

Surely GAME can sell what they want and you can choose not to buy?

completely agree with you there.
it is up to the retailer to sell the product how and to whom they want, there isn't much you can do.
normally you would think that it would be good customer service to sell it seperately but you can't make them.

RE*AC*TOR · 10-01-2006 2:01pm

He was led to beleive he could buy an xbox360 for €400.
The price of an xbox360 is not €400 if you can't hand over €400 and get one.
False advertising IMHO.

Smoggy · 10-01-2006 2:03pm

Thanks for the info.
I was hoping that as the product wasnt an official XBOX bundle and as such didnt have an RRP i could buy the product that I wanted which was just the console.

Sponge Bob · 10-01-2006 2:13pm

Pythia wrote:

Surely GAME can sell what they want and you can choose not to buy?

GAME can sell what they want as long as they HAVE IT IN STOCK sometimes.

Its obvious there is no such thing as a €400 console in Game, they mislead you to get you in there. The bundles are made up by the retailers and are not an offical product. God bless Lik Sang I say

Smoggy · 10-01-2006 2:17pm

On a quick ring around it turns out that :

Gamestop dont have stock but should soon and are doing a deal at 600+ with a few games, GAME are doing something very similar and XtraGame dont have any stock , dont know when they will be getting any stock , but are looking at doing a package just under €500 with one game.

So it doesnt look good either way unless I want to get a bundle. Which for the principle of it all, I dont.

LIK-SANG isnt much use is it - as the games are region encoded ?

Edit : Just checked lik-sang - games are now region encoded and you dont get a warenty. Which makes it a bad buy IMO.

MorningStar · 10-01-2006 3:05pm

RE*AC*TOR wrote:

He was led to beleive he could buy an xbox360 for €400.
The price of an xbox360 is not €400 if you can't hand over €400 and get one.
False advertising IMHO.

Did they advertise it as €400? I never saw any ad and none has been mentioned.

THey can sell it as they like and there is no legal recourse. Other stores sell it on it's own go to them. HMV, Smyths, Toys R US etc... It isn't in that high demand considering every game is at least €70 (going to €80), 3 games for €200 is good.

Don't buy King Kong for it as unless you use HD tv the quality of play is terrible according to the game producers.

Pythia · 10-01-2006 3:05pm

RE*AC*TOR wrote:

He was led to beleive he could buy an xbox360 for €400.
The price of an xbox360 is not €400 if you can't hand over €400 and get one.
False advertising IMHO.

False advertising isn't just an employee telling you it's one thing and then finding out it's another, is it?
Also, AFAIK, the ASAI has no legal powers. It can cause a fuss, but can't compel them to do anything.

RE*AC*TOR · 10-01-2006 3:11pm

To morningstar and pythia
- you can advertise through speech - if they are informing the public that an xbox360 is for sale in their shop for €400, when its not - I see that as false advertising.

MorningStar · 10-01-2006 3:18pm

RE*AC*TOR wrote:

To morningstar and pythia
- you can advertise through speech - if they are informing the public that an xbox360 is for sale in their shop for €400, when its not - I see that as false advertising.

That's nice but you would be wrong!:rolleyes:

The OP rang and asked a question they didn't run out on the street and advertise the price verbally.

Sponge Bob · 10-01-2006 3:23pm

MorningStar wrote:

The OP rang and asked a question they didn't run out on the street and advertise the price verbally.

Fine , leave the ASAI out of it but pursue the matter with the ODCA .

Strictly speaking the woman in Game has agreed to flog you an xBox360 (spec = ?) for €400 and now has to source one for you . Lets see if they will agree to sell one to the ODCA

...over the phone.

Smoggy · 10-01-2006 4:06pm

The pack was a premium ( who would be mad enough to get the core

) and the price was a low 400, I cant remember the exact price ( 409 rings a bell ). I guess what ever the rrp is for a premium is.

I said "Do you have any XBOX Premiums in stock?"
she said "Yes, we have just this morning received a delivery of some. 2 have been sold already."
I said "How much are you selling the premiums for ?"
she said "They are €4XX"

......

MorningStar · 10-01-2006 4:25pm

Sponge Bob wrote:

Fine , leave the ASAI out of it but pursue the matter with the ODCA .

Strictly speaking the woman in Game has agreed to flog you an xBox360 (spec = ?) for €400 and now has to source one for you . Lets see if they will agree to sell one to the ODCA ...over the phone.

Strictly speaking the woman gave an offer of intent. THe store does not have to sell at that price. If you walk into a store and their is a price lable on the item they don't have to sell it to you at that price either. Many people think differently but they are wrong. THis does not effect your consumer rights.

Victor · 10-01-2006 4:41pm

Smoggy wrote:

GAME are taking advantage of the lack of supply of consoles. Can anyone point me in the direction of the law and where I stand ?

To a degree the only law is the law of supply and demand.

If you sued, the most you would likely get is the cost of your busfare.

Game.....

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