My PS3 camping story

[jbanes]

This whole story makes me want to vomit. There is a real problem in this world when there is legal action, even insinuated over not receiving a product from a retailer, when there is not even a enforceable contract in place.

Just to play devil's advocate for a moment (umm... yeah... ), the moment that the store starts handing out tickets, they are making a contract with the customer. The contract is that the seller (Best Buy) is guaranteeing the buyer (the person waiting) a unit once they go on sale. If Best Buy then fails to go through with their contract, they may be liable for damages caused. Considering that most of these PS3s are bound for resale on eBay, the provable damages could be quite substantial.

 

Now if the store had assigned a set of stipulations to that contract, then the store may not be liable if the buyer failed to hold up his end. For example, if the seller had said that the ticket was only valid if the buyer was there at the exact time the PS3s went on sale (being careful to explain what time that was), then the buyer would have failed to live up to their end of the contract.

 

It's the same with the asparagus situation you suggested. A verbal contract existed between both parties. While the result is likely to be nothing more than a lost customer, the lady *is* entitled to damages.

 

Trying to "make things right" with gift certificates and other freebies is more than just good business to keep customers from leaving. It can show that the party that breeched the contract made a best effort to correct the breech. Which a judge would look favorably on in a civil court case.

 

Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer, nor do I play one on TV, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express once.

[devils advocate]

Why have you now responded to his post 3 times? If getting all worked up over a PS3 is stupid, how daft is it to get so totally upset over what someone says on an internet forum.

 

Calm down, man.

 

If my posting is bothering you, why waste the equivalent back?... man

 

It has nothing to do with the PS3, or being hyped about it. Just the scenario at hand.

 

 

On a lighter note. I was just in TB for work. I have never, anywhere seen taxis that expensive. It cost twenty five bucks to get from the airport to HD. I thought I was being ripped off the first time. But I used both cab companies, twice, with the same results. And one of them doesn't take Mastercard!!! LOL

[devils advocate]

"Told I couldn't start camping until 8:00, other people have been turned down"

 

 

 

 

The contract initiated by the purchaser was declined. They changed their mind as to how they wanted to "set" the contracts later. I still don't think that would award a financial repairations package. But, I'm neither judge nor jury either. So who knows!

[devils advocate]

Let me clear a few things up;

 

 

1. I DO think it's unfortunate our fellow member did not get his PS2

 

2. I DO think it's UNFAIR he did not get one.

 

3. I DO think he has a right to be very upset. ANyone would be.

 

4. I DO think the store should have handled the whole affair better, and certainly more responsibly.

 

5. I DO NOT think a financial reward would make any of it better, save for the fact that anytime a person receives money, it is a blessing and generally well received. Perhaps a chance to buy a system if one is available, or the promise of the first of the next shipment, with an apology? But not a free system or games.

 

6. The poster himself has NEVER said he expects compensation. All of my comments were directed to the post afterwards by Shawn Sr.

Edited November 17, 2006 by devils advocate

[Brian R.]

 

Ludicrous response.

 

So is yours.

 

We're not talking about people rioting and shooting each other. We're talking about people peacefully waiting in line and a manager basically saying, "No. I don't like you standing in line. I like these other people, so you go last despite the fact you were here first." Yet, you apparently see nothing wrong with the manager's stance.

 

I hope the situation happens to you one day. Then the light will dawn on you.

 

I saw people starting lines for this on Wednesday evening. The damn thing didn't come out until Friday. That's way too early, and just plain silly.

 

This was at a Circuit City. A sales guy in the computer area said he thought the manager was going to tell them to scat. I don't know if he did, but I hope that's what happened. Trying to start a line that early... nuts.

 

To deal with this unfortunate situation, retailers need to have a policy/process in place, such as setting a start time for when people can start waiting in line. And then maybe issue vouchers or whatever so those in line know they're waiting for a reason, and so you don't get people waiting in line who have no hope of getting the product.

 

But in the end, it's a VIDEO GAME SYSTEM. Didn't get one today? Then just wait. Go home and do something else. They're making more, I'm sure.

 

Edit: I don't know if a court would award "damages" based on what something is going for on eBay. It's all based on bidding, so rather unpredictable, and subject to change. I wouldn't agree with anyone crying damages in this situation anyway.

 

But if they're worth so much more on eBay... maybe Best Buy, Circuit City and the rest should've just put them on eBay themselves!

Edited November 17, 2006 by Brian R.

[AtariJr]

boy those analogies were great...

 

but i agree.. just becuase you get screwed over osmeitmes, doesnt mean it wasnt wrong. and i think while doing the attorney thing was pushing it a bit... i agree that what the retailer did was severely wrong. and i for one dont sit calmly and take shit like that, i want somehting done about it. if you ask me your the stupid one for letting retailers treat you like that, not the woman who understood she was being treated unfairly.

[Gregory DG]

Some stores used the ticket system to get rid of the lines by handing them out to those who waited. No one had to wait overnight.

I guess this doesn't happen enough for every store to do this. Grocery stores figured this out decades ago to prevent people from cutting in line. Too bad game stores won't figure it out, even after people get shot over a frickn' video game.

[Inky]

This afternoon on the local radio station (The one I work for), someone was at the local best buy (around 3 in the afternoon) and said there were two PS3's on the shelf. One was taken, and then two people put their hands on the remaining one, neither person letting go for five minutes, until the manager came out and took it from both of them.

 

Don't know what happened to it at that point.

[jboypacman]

People its game system not the cure for cancer!And its not really a game system anymore its a Muti-Media Entertainment device.The hell with the PS3 when people are fighting over something like that its not even worth it.This is one of the main reasons i went back to the Atari and other classic gaming systems because they dont play dvds or go on the internet or cost you a months pay or wont get you beat up or killed.You didnt get your PS3 the world is not going to end people.Go home and play your PS2 and your stock pile PS2 games.Just wait you will get a PS3 at some point.

[AtariJr]

People its game system not the cure for cancer!And its not really a game system anymore its a Muti-Media Entertainment device.The hell with the PS3 when people are fighting over something like that its not even worth it.This is one of the main reasons i went back to the Atari and other classic gaming systems because they dont play dvds or go on the internet or cost you a months pay or wont get you beat up or killed.You didnt get your PS3 the world is not going to end people.Go home and play your PS2 and your stock pile PS2 games.Just wait you will get a PS3 at some point.

according to sony its being used to cure cancer actually .. hehe

[jboypacman]

lol.No wonder the PS3 is selling out everywhere.Good one Atari Jr.

[spongebue]

And now, it's time for the results...

 

First of all, some clarifications and stuff...

 

To start, I agree that going to court over something like this is pretty dumb. But it wasn't my idea Also, since I didn't sign a non-disclosure agreement like I expected, it was Best Buy that I went to (although, not the one in Richfield... they had people lined up a long time ago)

 

Now, on with the result of the story...

 

I arrived there just a few minutes after 2:00. Not bad, considering the drive I had to make to get there. I was brought into a room, where the manager apologized, explained why they had the maximum times, and stuff like that. I explained to him that I wasn't mad about the maximum times, but at the fact that they weren't enforced. He agreed with me completely, and was a really nice about it all. Then came the big moment. The happymaker, I guess. I figured it must have been something good, since one of the other managers that I saw before he came said something about me being there for "the package." The manager admitted that it wasn't the best situation, but he had a 20GB model ready for me to buy, and pulled it out. Good enough for me, I figured

 

He even was good enough to wrap it up in black shrinkwrap before he bagged it, to prevent people from knowing what it was. We exchanged different stories about what happened and all that stuff. Bought it, was congratulated by the cashier on my luck, and am now planning on reselling

 

Also, there was one other thing I wanted to emphasize... the workers there were awesome. I'm sure they were all stressed to hell, but they would never show it, not once. Whenever I had a question about something, they would answer... one guy even told me a little too much ("Don't tell anyone I said this... but I would be optimistic")

[gdement]

But if they're worth so much more on eBay... maybe Best Buy, Circuit City and the rest should've just put them on eBay themselves!

 

They should be charging more like $1000 for it, that would balance out the supply and demand. But apparently Sony doesn't allow them to set their own prices. So we have a substantial gap in the market, and these ridiculous lines are the result.

 

Some seem to believe that Sony is holding back on production. I disagree. This is a cutting-edge, new product. There are always manufacturing problems early on. The problems with manufacturing Blu-Ray hardware are well known.

These PS3's will probably have a high incidence of defects, whereas later production runs will be more reliable. If that plays out, it will indicate that yields on these PS3's were poor, and Sony had to cut close margins to get systems out the door. Which in turn means they didn't hold back on production.

 

I do believe Sony could be trying to create hysteria with unrealistic pricing, however, which causes these long lines. Sony could start the pricing at $1000 or so, then cut the price when production catches up. But they may be afraid of turning people off at launch, and having them immediately buy something else instead of waiting for a price drop.

Edited November 18, 2006 by gdement

[Gregory DG]

Bought it, was congratulated by the cashier on my luck, and am now planning on reselling

So you went through all that just to resell it? I dunno, it kinda ruins the story for me...

[Brian R.]

And now, it's time for the results...

 

First of all, some clarifications and stuff...

 

To start, I agree that going to court over something like this is pretty dumb. But it wasn't my idea Also, since I didn't sign a non-disclosure agreement like I expected, it was Best Buy that I went to (although, not the one in Richfield... they had people lined up a long time ago)

 

Now, on with the result of the story...

 

I arrived there just a few minutes after 2:00. Not bad, considering the drive I had to make to get there. I was brought into a room, where the manager apologized, explained why they had the maximum times, and stuff like that. I explained to him that I wasn't mad about the maximum times, but at the fact that they weren't enforced. He agreed with me completely, and was a really nice about it all. Then came the big moment. The happymaker, I guess. I figured it must have been something good, since one of the other managers that I saw before he came said something about me being there for "the package." The manager admitted that it wasn't the best situation, but he had a 20GB model ready for me to buy, and pulled it out. Good enough for me, I figured

 

He even was good enough to wrap it up in black shrinkwrap before he bagged it, to prevent people from knowing what it was. We exchanged different stories about what happened and all that stuff. Bought it, was congratulated by the cashier on my luck, and am now planning on reselling

 

Also, there was one other thing I wanted to emphasize... the workers there were awesome. I'm sure they were all stressed to hell, but they would never show it, not once. Whenever I had a question about something, they would answer... one guy even told me a little too much ("Don't tell anyone I said this... but I would be optimistic")

 

 

You're gonna resell it??!!??!!

 

After all this, you're gonna RESELL IT?!?!!

 

Just another eBay profiteer.

 

OMFG. Unbelievable.

 

The people at that Best Buy you conned should feel like chumps now. They weren't really satisfying a customer at all.

Edited November 18, 2006 by Brian R.

[spongebue]

Hey, there's some pretty good money in it for me... comes in handy when you're in college Plus, like I said, I had a great experience with them and will probably end up shopping from them more often (well, when they are accessible... there isn't one in the town I currently live in)

[+remowilliams]

As if working in retail isn't hell enough. Those poor people that have to deal with this nonsense.

[Albert]

As if working in retail isn't hell enough. Those poor people that have to deal with this nonsense.

I've worked in retail before (including Electronics Boutique and Toys 'R' Us both through busy Christmas seasons) and I would find this quite intriguing. Retail is normally pretty boring, but if I had to do it again I'd enjoy being right in the middle of a console launch watching the feeding frenzy.

 

..Al

[+remowilliams]

I've worked in retail before (including Electronics Boutique and Toys 'R' Us both through busy Christmas seasons) and I would find this quite intriguing. Retail is normally pretty boring, but if I had to do it again I'd enjoy being right in the middle of a console launch watching the feeding frenzy.

That's one way to look at it. Thankfully my retail experiences are but distant memories.

 

But the day that I would have to prostrate myself in front of a kid and/or his mother and beg forgiveness because they couldn't buy a toy, would be the day I snapped.

[PressureCooker2600]

As if working in retail isn't hell enough. Those poor people that have to deal with this nonsense.

 

You got that right. I'm assistant manager at Tuesday Morning and since I've been there...I've lost a lot of hope for the human race. People, in general, sicken me now.

Retail.......gotta love it

[King_Salamon]

As if working in retail isn't hell enough. Those poor people that have to deal with this nonsense.

I've worked in retail before (including Electronics Boutique and Toys 'R' Us both through busy Christmas seasons) and I would find this quite intriguing. Retail is normally pretty boring, but if I had to do it again I'd enjoy being right in the middle of a console launch watching the feeding frenzy.

 

..Al

 

I worked at EB for the PS2 launch and had a staff party in the store the night before (couldn't have the midnight launch as it was in a mall) launch. We had a blast (ordered some pizza) and stayed up all night playing most of the launch titles (and we even tried out that snowboard controller for SSX... we all tried it... kinda sucked... I'm sure most of you are all wondering what the heck this thing is.)

 

I then had to work the following morning for the mayhem... I ran on adrenaline most of the day. After my shift I bought my system and went home. I was tired... had the system on the coffee table to set up and was reading the box.... (fade to black). My wife came home from work later that night and that's how she found me... sleeping on the couch with that blue box held like a teddy bear. LOL! (I wonder if she said she took a picture or not. )

[Famicoman]

If would be awesome if someone made a documentary of what that experience of waiting in line was like. So years later, new generations can see what we used to have to go through.

[SimonTemplar]

[devils advocate]

 

Ludicrous response.

 

So is yours.

 

We're not talking about people rioting and shooting each other. We're talking about people peacefully waiting in line and a manager basically saying, "No. I don't like you standing in line. I like these other people, so you go last despite the fact you were here first." Yet, you apparently see nothing wrong with the manager's stance.

 

I hope the situation happens to you one day. Then the light will dawn on you.

 

 

Well Gabriel. No further responses, such as insuations of manger wrong doing, racism or the fact that the table will be reversed unto me one day?

 

I guess what we really have here, is a person mad because his wholesale supplier didn't supply his order in time for him to make his 500 points margin, and cried about it until a different person was made to live without one.

 

I certainly feel better now that the TC came on here, explained the resolution, and is going to be able to make his profiteering margin on his PS3. No broken hearts here!!

[devils advocate]

Hey, there's some pretty good money in it for me... comes in handy when you're in college Plus, like I said, I had a great experience with them and will probably end up shopping from them more often (well, when they are accessible... there isn't one in the town I currently live in)

 

 

Yeah. Best Buy really retained your loyalty. They went all out for you! Maybe you'll even buy a single game....err no. Maybe you'll purchase your accessories there....err no.

 

I think this post was really informative though. It truly shows your winning personality, and enlightens everybody the lengths people will go to, the people they will step on, and the ludicrous things they will do to make a buck.

 

I truly hope you never ever, hold someone in disdain yourself, for anything even remotely close to profiteering, monopolizing or anything related.

 

You are the epitome of a BAD customer. Probably not one BB wants to retain.

 

I challenge ANYONE, especially Gabriel, to re read any of my statements, and disprove them. Once again, BB soley gave him the machine to shut him up. There were no contractual issues here. Just some kid who was crying because he couldn't resell it to another crying kid.

 

I'll sleep with a vomit pail close, thanks.