watch dodogg MAXIMUM PC TAKES A BITE OUT OF BAD GEAR
20
DIGITAL SLR FOR $300? NOT
I’m writing to you about the advertisement for
Newegg.com on page 13 of the January 2006 issue of
Maximum PC. The advertisement claims the company
is selling an 8.2MP Canon EOS 20D digital SLR with
lens for $277. Pshaw! Try to order that! What a load of
bunk; there were never any at that price, I’m sure.
— Jake HoehlJake wasn’t the only reader to complain about
the ad that priced the fabu EOS 20D at less
than $300. Other readers said that when they
saw the ad, they immediately went to Newegg’s
website and found the price to be $1,399 with
lens—about the normal street price of that
model D-SLR. A number of readers complained
that the ad was a “bait and switch” tactic,
which is often used by shady New York City-
based camera companies.
So what’s the deal? The Dog contacted
Newegg.com veep Howard Tong to get his story.
Tong told the Dog: “We deeply apologize to your
readers and our customers for the pricing error
that occurred on page 13 of the January 2006
issue of Maximum PC. We assure you that this
price was the result of an unintentional human
error made by Newegg’s staff. We always strive
for the best shopping experience and superior
customer service. Therefore we would like to
extend a special offer to anyone interested in
purchasing the Canon EOS 20D digital camera,
the subject of this error. We will continue to
offer the EOS 20D EF-S18-55mm kit at the man-
ufacturer’s cost to us: $1,399, and we extend
our offer for free shipping. For your troubles,
we will further provide a $25 discount on this
camera, good through March 2006. Please tell
your readers to enter the promotional code
MAX20106 for free shipping and MAX121605 for
the $25 discount.
Tong also said the company does not ever
engage in bait-and-switch tactics. “As company
policy, Newegg only advertises and sells productsthat are physically present in our ware-
houses. Once our inventory is depleted, ‘out
of stock’ is inserted in the product listing.”
Point taken. The Dog has seen his
fair share of bait-and-switch tactics
used to sell digital cameras, and
Newegg’s ad appears to be a legitimate
mistake. Stores that primarily use bait-
and-switch tactics to sell cameras con-
sistently advertise products at low pric-
es, month in and month out. In a typical
scam the Dog sees, cameras that sell for
$1,500 at legitimate stores can be found
advertised for $900 at some stores—an
amazing difference. Unfortunately, when
you try to purchase
the camera at that
price, you’re given
a hard sell to buy
lenses, lens cleaners,
bags, and other
accessories that pump
up the price. Even
worse, these shady
stores sometimes
remove the charger, battery, and straps from
the kits and then try to sell the items to the
consumer, claiming the lower-priced versions
don’t include them. A bold-faced lie, of course.
Why would Canon, Nikon, or Olympus sell you a
camera without a charger and battery?
In many instances, consumers report that
after they’ve “purchased” a camera at the unbe-
lievably low price, the camera is suddenly “back
ordered” for weeks or months until the consumer
gives up and cancels the order. The consumer is
then given the run-around on obtaining a refund
from the store. In the end, the shady store either
sells you the camera with items you don’t want
(and for prices that exceed the normal street
price) or it gets to “borrow” your $900 for a
month or two. The basic lesson, as always, is that
if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
In the case of Newegg,
and other legitimate retail-
ers, the Dog has queried
attorneys on the subject of
incorrect advertisements
and the answer is thatadvertisements are not contracts with consum-
ers. If a newspaper ad mistakenly says you can
get a new black Escalade for $5,000 instead of
$50,000, you have no recourse. And, in fact, if
you look at the Newegg ad in question, the fine
print clearly says: “Newegg is not responsible for
pricing or other errors and reserves the right to
cancel orders arising from such errors.”HARRY POTTER FOR YOUR PORTS
I recently had a host of troubles with AOL’s new add-in
Port Magic. It downloads and installs itself, and sud-
denly, all my carefully arranged home networking is
destroyed. When I called AOL for help, they couldn’t
tell me what the program had done, and suggested
I call Port Magic’s authors, Pure Networks. Pure
Networks wasn’t helpful either, as they just wanted
me to reinstall the software. Doesn’t AOL under-
stand there are users who don’t want the rest of
their settings messed with? Can you find out what
this program does, so other people with this prob-
lem don’t have to waste as much time as I have
getting things back on track?
— Will KenyonMA XIMUMPC MARCH 2006Our consumer advocate investigates...
PNewegg PPort Magic
PDell PNikon
Maximus, Watchdog of the monthGot a bone to pick with a vendor? Been spiked by a fly-
by-night operation? Sic The Dog on them by writing
[email protected]. The Dog promises to answer as
many letters as possible, but only has four paws to work with.Our consumer advocate investigates...
MaximusRead the fine print: It’s pretty difficult to force vendors to sell a
product at a super-low price if that price is a boo-boo.houses. Once our inventory is depleted, ‘outscam the Dog sees, cameras that sell for
$1,500 at legitimate stores can be found