Craftsman Professional 17 in. Drill Press 179.99 (normally 529)

[ironhat]

<SNIP>
The store I chose for a pickup showed it was available at the time I placed the order, but I have not received a confirmation or cancellation e-mail after 20+ hours. Still shows "processing".

It's now 27 hours since I placed my order so I called 1-800-349-4358. I called last night and they said that my order was being 'scrutinized'. I was told this time that '...that order isn't going to fly. It was a misprint and there's nothing I can do for you about that order'. I politely made my argument but she was steadfast. Dang, I'll never spend $500 on a DP but I sure would have liked to have had one!

Edit: I just received this as I was writing the above. Pretty ambiguous and keeps them from saying that they goofed and won't pay-up.
Dear Charles,
Thank you for shopping at Sears.com. Unfortunately, due to either the demand for the item(s) that you ordered or the method of your payment; we were unable to process your order. Consequently, we will be canceling your order for the item(s) listed below.

• No charge will be assessed to your credit card ************xxxx

Shipping Address:

400 CHAMBERSBURG MALL
CHAMBERSBURG PA 17201
7172612100

Canceled Items for this Address:
Item #: 00922901000
17 in. Drill Press
Qty. Canceled: 1
Date Canceled: 13-Oct-2007
Price: $179.99


YOUR PERSONAL ORDER INFORMATION
===============================
Billing Address:
Charles Eisenhuth
Chambersburg, PA 17201
Daytime Phone:
Evening Phone:

Order Date: 12-Oct-2007
Order Number:
Payment Method: MasterCard ************xxxx
Subtotal: $179.99
Discount: $0.00
Tax: $10.80
Shipping Fee: $0.00
Total: $190.79

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you. Please revisit us at www.sears.com to find a substitute product or why not let a Sales Associate help you find what you need in a store? Locate your local store.
If you have any comments or questions, please e-mail us at order@customerservice.sears.com or call us at 1-800-349-4358. Best regards,

Sears.com Customer Care

[Luckbox]

I have just reciever order confirmation/reciept for the order of the drill press with the Expected Due In store Date:10/17/07. Lets hope they will still honor the order.

[FL Buckeye]

I had been watching for a good sale on a bench top DP, but when I saw this yesterday I went for it instead. The store I chose for a pickup showed it was available at the time I placed the order, but I have not received a confirmation or cancellation e-mail after 20+ hours. Still shows "processing".

[dkerfoot]

I can understand the frustration people who were turned away feel, but I do think it is pretty unfair to blame Sears for the mistake.

How many of you, if you listed an item on Craig's List for $479 and somehow it ended up being $179 would "honor" the price? Keep in mind that while it isn't the Sears Manager's money, they do get evaluated based on store financial performance and a few $300 giveaways is going to blow their weekly/monthly numbers all to heck. And of course, they might actually feel loyalty towards their employer and not want to see them lose money.

I agree that 12 hours is pretty slow to fix an online mistake. My guess is they have outsourced their web development and they had to wait for the sun to rise in India. But, if the mistake were printed, it would take much longer to correct. In either case, companies always reserve the right to change their prices or refuse to accept orders for any reason they choose.

After this whole thing, I can completely understand why a Sears manager would refuse to honor online prices. While I am happy for those that benefited from this, I don't think it will be helpful in making Sears more accommodating in the long term. Frankly, the whole thing reminds me of TV shows where $20 bills are floating out of the skies and seemingly civilized people start stepping on each other as they grab for the cash.

This has not been the finest moment for the forum.

[Jeffrey Schronce]

Some folks on here have said they were told by their local store that they were out of stock, even when they weren't. I wonder if the word came down from Sears corporate to say that, in hopes they could spin out and save some dough. Or maybe this is standard protocol for them in cases like this. Inquiring minds want to know... Either way, to those resourceful and fortunate folks that snagged one at the low price, GOOD ON YA!

That actually gives Sears a lot of credit for caring or attempting to care. Their failure to remove this from the site for so long tells me they were not that terribly concerned about it.

I *think* that this out of stock issue may be legit. I would think the average store would have no more than one or two in stock. Some stores were probably getting many, many orders for the few they had in stock, however this is pure speculation.

[JR]

Better question: Why was the price $179 on the website for 12 hours when they were well aware of the issue?

The one guy who knows how to fix the web site was probably off duty. Trying to get good at Halo, or something like that.

JR

[kirkroy]

I just got the confirmation that mine is ready for pickup. I hope it's there/worth the 60 mile round trip... Crossing my fingers.

[Uncle Cracker]

Some folks on here have said they were told by their local store that they were out of stock, even when they weren't. I wonder if the word came down from Sears corporate to say that, in hopes they could spin out and save some dough. Or maybe this is standard protocol for them in cases like this. Inquiring minds want to know... Either way, to those resourceful and fortunate folks that snagged one at the low price, GOOD ON YA!

[Jeffrey Schronce]

At $300 lost per, I wonder just how long the person at Sears who initiated the pricing error was employed...

Better question: Why was the price $179 on the website for 12 hours when they were well aware of the issue? That is the part that I find to be real sad. The fact that so many got cancelled is kind of sad as well.

[MBG]

For the lucky ones (like me-GLOAT), we are just lucky Sears was as quick to fix this error as fast as you get service in their stores these days. If it were Amazon - probably would have been a different story.

[xli1]

Wow, this just keeps getting more bizarre.

After getting a cancel email, I just now received (wait for it)...

My confirmation email! With a number and everything. I really don't expect to get the item at this point.

I got the same thing. A confirmation email after a cancellation email. That's interesting. Actually the local sears store I will pick up called me this morning that they do not have any in stock, they could try to order one for me from the warehouse at the same price or I could cancel it and get a full refund. Of course I want one, but from what he said it looks like there might not even have any in the warehouse. I am kind of suspect that I could finally got one. I will wait and see.

[Uncle Cracker]

At $300 lost per, I wonder just how long the person at Sears who initiated the pricing error was employed...

[bluzcat]

Wow, this just keeps getting more bizarre.

After getting a cancel email, I just now received (wait for it)...

My confirmation email! With a number and everything. I really don't expect to get the item at this point.

I got the same two emails, with the order confirmation being sent after the cancellation also. My pick-up date is 10-17. I may try the "10 minutes before the store closes" routine to increase my chances.

[linear]

Wow, this just keeps getting more bizarre.

After getting a cancel email, I just now received (wait for it)...

My confirmation email! With a number and everything. I really don't expect to get the item at this point.

[Jamie Baalmann]

Plzzz

If anyone could post a scanned image of the printout it would be GREATLY appreciated