There are no limits to human ingenuity, and in case you needed more proof, then how about learning that Wal-Mart has tricked into selling PS4 for $90 when the video game console wasn’t even on sale.
And no, you’re not going to get it that cheap not even on Black Friday (which for some reason is tomorrow in Romania, instead of November 28). The whole mishap is the result of a terrible price-matching policy. Walmart went overboard and included e-tailers into its price-matching campaign, and when you’re measuring your strength against such companies as Amazon, there are one or two things that can go wrong. Really wrong!
Seeing how the Seattle-based e-tailer is also listed among the companies Walmart is willing to match their prices against, some Amazon members with a registered selling account proceeded to creating PS4 sale listings at an incredible price. The world’s largest retailer was thus determined to offer Sony’s video game console cheaper than that by a cent. The scammers ended up paying less than 25% of the console’s real price.
“This shows that consumers are clever enough to understand how they can take advantage of that,” explained Haydn Simpson, head of brand protection for consulting firm NetNames.
“This is one example of the many unethical and even illegal methods that some consumers use to game the system,” added Joe LaRocca, president and founder of RetaiLPartners.
This happens a week after Sears listed Wii U bundles at $60 due a glitch, which enabled some Walmart customers to price-match it and get it for that much.
To prevent further fraud, Walmart has locked down its price-matching policy. “We can’t tolerate fraud or attempts to trick our cashiers,” declared Wal-Mart, in a statement. “This kind of activity is unfair to the millions of customers who count on us every day for honest value.” In other words, clever buyers will no longer be able to take advantage of Walmart’s benevolence.
“It is generally a hassle because usually either the store clerk or the cashier is not authorized to approve the price match,” explained Edgar Dworsky, founder of advocacy site ConsumerWorld.org. “You have to call over the store manager or a supervisor.”
While such things won’t happen again in the near future in Wal-Mart’s backyard, there’s no guarantee that the retailer has steered clear from danger, as scammers can always find new ways of tricking companies.
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