[Lex]

Quote:

I didn't mention "theft" or anything like it.
That was entirely his choice of words.

 
and then i was all like, 
 
O.M.G. 

 

[tdockweiler]

UPS came and picked mine up today. They had to pry it from my hands. Ok, not really and it didn't bother me that much. I'm aware of two other people on here that are probably returning theirs also.
I have zero guilt about buying them. NONE and that's not why I returned them.
 
My opinion is that if you're dumb enough to list an expensive item for $11 (and not correct it after THREE HOURS and then ship it!), then a customer has every right to buy it at that. Nobody is stealing to me and I don't care if anyone thinks differently. It is nice to see everyone else's opinions, but I don't agree with some of them. BTW I've never stolen a thing in my entire life. Well kind of. More on that later.
 
One time when I was working retail when I was 17 and I saw 4 hundred dollar bills on the floor near the lay-away department. I pocketed them and it's their own mistake. Free money. Sorry, I'm kidding! I gave it to the store manager and in the end some mom working there had just cashed her pay check and dropped it on the floor on accident! I felt good about this and I would hate for someone to lose a pay check and not be able to feed their children. If someone came forward and I knew someone was really hurting because of the lost sales on the headphones, then I'd feel guilty, especially if someone lost their job. For a larger company, losing out on 21 (whatever it was) headphones isn't going to hurt for very long. I put myself in their shoes and felt that If I was them I'd just take a loss and take better care next time. Now THAT'S the right thing to do, not the other way around and try to make it look like the customer's fault. It does feel like kind of a slap in the face though for not even giving me a discount on one of the pairs while someone out there probably won't return them even if asked.
 
I stole one item in my life and i'm proud of this fact. When I was 7 or 8 I found a coin on the floor and pocketed it. I took it home to find out it was actually a piece of chocolate! Don't ask me why, but I felt bad knowing I had accidentally stolen it! I ate it anyway. I've found two wallets in my life and I've always returned them. With the money still inside!
 
I don't think that message sounded like he was calling anyone a thief. If he was, that's just wrong in every way. You're fully responsible for the mistake and all of a sudden you blame the customer? I've said it before, but in retail stores, if you label an item with the wrong price, you're usually getting it at that price. Online the same exact rules should apply!
 
Have any of you who think this is wrong actually worked in retail? Doubt it.
 
BTW I still have my email from Amazon and they said "There isn't a need to return the item. You can keep the item. "
 
Actual quote there. I returned them anyway.
 
I still think there is something funny about all of this. How on earth could someone accidentally list 20+ pairs of headphones for 11? That's not just a simple mistake, but beyond dumb and careless.
 

 
Quote:

 
. Not like anybody would return them... Now I'm glad I never bought one.

 

[thinkpol]

No, I quoted the representative from 17th street photo who, out of nowhere, implied that purchasing the cans for $11 was thievery.

 
Quote:

You mentioned the word theft...

 

[Stevtt]

It is extremely interesting on how this whole thing played out. I will admit the first thing I did when I saw this thread was to look to see if the deal was still available (which I will admit was over a beer and pizza prior to doing the midnight showing of Rocky Horror) . Would I have gone through with it? Who knows,  What is fascinating is the ebb and flow of the expression of various values and how people reacted to those expressions.  I'm not sure if there is actually a moral right or wrong here. One thing I wll say is I am really impressed by the quality of people and dialogue that are in this forum. 

 

[Asr]

Quote:

Apparently they consider it theft

Quote:

The pricing was an error.

In reference to theft, let your conscience be your guide.

Regards,

Mark Martin
17th Street Photo Supply Inc.

 
I think you and other people may have mis-interpreted Mark Martin's wording, as he did not specifically state anything was theft. What he seems to be saying is, it's theft if you think it is, and conversely, not theft if you don't think it is. In other words, he's taking responsibility for the mistake and not accusing anyone of necessarily stealing, and leaving a buyer the right to decide what to do.

 

[DrWebster]

Quote:

 
I think you and other people may have mis-interpreted Mark Martin's wording, as he did not specifically state anything was theft. What he seems to be saying is, it's theft if you think it is, and conversely, not theft if you don't think it is. In other words, he's taking responsibility for the mistake and not accusing anyone of necessarily stealing, and leaving a buyer the right to decide what to do.

I think it would be most helpful if we could see the wording of the e-mail sent *to* Mark, in order to put Mark's words into context. A sentence beginning with "In response to..." like Mark wrote infers that the person who wrote to him specifically mentioned something to which he is referring, in this case, theft.
 
IMHO, using the cliche "let your conscience be your guide" is used to leverage guilt. He wants everyone to send their headphones back.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Good for you, tdockweiler. I hope others consider doing the same. It has gone mostly unsaid, but everyone who ordered these knew that the pricing was a mistake. A few years back, I came out of a local bookstore and found a wallet in the parking lot. I drove over to the police station and turned it in. They took down my info and I said it was OK for the owner to contact me. I missed the call, but I got a voicemail where the guy sounded like he was almost in tears over getting it back intact.

 

[Lex]

 

 
Quote:

It is extremely interesting on how this whole thing played out. I will admit the first thing I did when I saw this thread was to look to see if the deal was still available (which I will admit was over a beer and pizza prior to doing the midnight showing of Rocky Horror) . Would I have gone through with it? Who knows,  What is fascinating is the ebb and flow of the expression of various values and how people reacted to those expressions.  I'm not sure if there is actually a moral right or wrong here. One thing I wll say is I am really impressed by the quality of people and dialogue that are in this forum. 

You know 

 
 
 
 
 
Quote:

Good for you, tdockweiler. I hope others consider doing the same. It has gone mostly unsaid, but everyone who ordered these knew that the pricing was a mistake. A few years back, I came out of a local bookstore and found a wallet in the parking lot. I drove over to the police station and turned it in. They took down my info and I said it was OK for the owner to contact me. I missed the call, but I got a voicemail where the guy sounded like he was almost in tears over getting it back intact.

Had a similar experience 2 Christmases ago. Found a briefcase in the street, obviously having been left on the roof of a car in error. It's owner and I met after I called one of his contacts in his PDA and asked him to contact his friend. The gentleman was beside himself with gratitude. All together a very heartwarming experience.
 

 

[Slaughter]

I don't think the pricing error was "dumb". Mistakes happen. What if you posted your HD600 for $15, instead of $150 and received a PM. Would everyone being calling you dumb? Would you honor it?

 
Quote:

UPS came and picked mine up today. They had to pry it from my hands. Ok, not really and it didn't bother me that much. I'm aware of two other people on here that are probably returning theirs also.
I have zero guilt about buying them. NONE and that's not why I returned them.
 
My opinion is that if you're dumb enough to list an expensive item for $11 (and not correct it after THREE HOURS and then ship it!), then a customer has every right to buy it at that. Nobody is stealing to me and I don't care if anyone thinks differently. It is nice to see everyone else's opinions, but I don't agree with some of them. BTW I've never stolen a thing in my entire life. Well kind of. More on that later.
 
One time when I was working retail when I was 17 and I saw 4 hundred dollar bills on the floor near the lay-away department. I pocketed them and it's their own mistake. Free money. Sorry, I'm kidding! I gave it to the store manager and in the end some mom working there had just cashed her pay check and dropped it on the floor on accident! I felt good about this and I would hate for someone to lose a pay check and not be able to feed their children. If someone came forward and I knew someone was really hurting because of the lost sales on the headphones, then I'd feel guilty, especially if someone lost their job. For a larger company, losing out on 21 (whatever it was) headphones isn't going to hurt for very long. I put myself in their shoes and felt that If I was them I'd just take a loss and take better care next time. Now THAT'S the right thing to do, not the other way around and try to make it look like the customer's fault. It does feel like kind of a slap in the face though for not even giving me a discount on one of the pairs while someone out there probably won't return them even if asked.
 
I stole one item in my life and i'm proud of this fact. When I was 7 or 8 I found a coin on the floor and pocketed it. I took it home to find out it was actually a piece of chocolate! Don't ask me why, but I felt bad knowing I had accidentally stolen it! I ate it anyway. I've found two wallets in my life and I've always returned them. With the money still inside!
 
I don't think that message sounded like he was calling anyone a thief. If he was, that's just wrong in every way. You're fully responsible for the mistake and all of a sudden you blame the customer? I've said it before, but in retail stores, if you label an item with the wrong price, you're usually getting it at that price. Online the same exact rules should apply!
 
Have any of you who think this is wrong actually worked in retail? Doubt it.
 
BTW I still have my email from Amazon and they said "There isn't a need to return the item. You can keep the item. "
 
Actual quote there. I returned them anyway.
 
I still think there is something funny about all of this. How on earth could someone accidentally list 20+ pairs of headphones for 11? That's not just a simple mistake, but beyond dumb and careless.
 

 

 

 

[TLDMan]

I would like to remind everyone that comparing a money loss to a single person is much different than a money loss to a large company. If a man loses $1000, his setback is huge. If a company (more specifically, 17th Street Photo) loses $1000, they can make up the difference by selling one or two more lenses. If you look on their site, the ATH-M50s are pretty inexpensive compared to everything else.

 

[JxK]

Quote:

I don't think the pricing error was "dumb". Mistakes happen. What if you posted your HD600 for $15, instead of $150 and received a PM. Would everyone being calling you dumb? Would you honor it?

 

 

What's unique about the deal/mistake (let your preferences decide) is that the company didn't do anything about it. Pricing errors like this are not unheard of. What typically happens is that the company will just cancer your order, issue a refund, and send an e-mail apologizing. Maybe they'll include a small coupon for your trouble. I also took advantage of the error, but to be honest, I just did it on the off chance that it would go through. I didn't expect anything to come of it, so getting that e-mail confirming shipping left me more than a little surprised. I'm still not sure why the company didn't just cancel the orders. It would have been standard procedure, and would have raised no eyebrows.

 

[mootookang]

Quote:

 
I think you and other people may have mis-interpreted Mark Martin's wording, as he did not specifically state anything was theft. What he seems to be saying is, it's theft if you think it is, and conversely, not theft if you don't think it is. In other words, he's taking responsibility for the mistake and not accusing anyone of necessarily stealing, and leaving a buyer the right to decide what to do.

This is not true.
 
I'm a marketing student, and from my studies, his statement would be phrased very differently if he have no intention to guilt the customers to return the products.

 

[midnightwalker]

LOL I think it's a "steal" deal so that's why he metioned "theft" ^_^

 

[soundeffect]

Quote:

I would like to remind everyone that comparing a money loss to a single person is much different than a money loss to a large company. If a man loses $1000, his setback is huge. If a company (more specifically, 17th Street Photo) loses $1000, they can make up the difference by selling one or two more lenses. If you look on their site, the ATH-M50s are pretty inexpensive compared to everything else.

sorry
 
I don't agree with you here.  This is like you saying that it's okay to keep/take or whatever from a rich person, but not from a poor person.  Although it doesn't hurt as much from a rich person, it's still sucks that it happen.  Nobody likes to be taken advantage of or of a situation. 
 
  Either way, this situation is one of those depend on how you look at it. It's one of those "it would be a nice thing to do."  
 
I've been in a situation some what similar to this before.  I was working as a restaurant and a customer dropped $1400 in an envelope while I was cleaning a table booth. I didn't see the person just the envelope.  I held the envelope for about 3 hrs. thinking to myself if I should return it or not.  At that time I was 16 yrs old making minimum wage, so the money was a huge amount.  In the end, I decided to give it to the manager and the manager told me that they will tell me if someone comes in so I can give it to them personally. Guess what?  The customer came in and I hand it back to them. I didn't even get a thank you or anything. LOL, that's how the world goes sometimes.  Funny how I ended up feeling like a victim at that time. Oh well, is what I ended up thinking.
 
  Basically it's a "would be a nice thing to do".  You might get thanked and you might not.  I don't think anyone is going to be hurt if you keep it, but it can make someone feel better because of there mistake.  This is not an act of crime so yeah.

 

[TLDMan]

Quote:

sorry
 
I don't agree with you here.  This is like you saying that it's okay to keep/take or whatever from a rich person, but not from a poor person.  Although it doesn't hurt as much from a rich person, it's still sucks that it happen.  Nobody likes to be taken advantage of or of a situation. 
 
  Either way, this situation is one of those depend on how you look at it. It's one of those "it would be a nice thing to do."  
 
I've been in a situation some what similar to this before.  I was working as a restaurant and a customer dropped $1400 in an envelope while I was cleaning a table booth. I didn't see the person just the envelope.  I held the envelope for about 3 hrs. thinking to myself if I should return it or not.  At that time I was 16 yrs old making minimum wage, so the money was a huge amount.  In the end, I decided to give it to the manager and the manager told me that they will tell me if someone comes in so I can give it to them personally. Guess what?  The customer came in and I hand it back to them. I didn't even get a thank you or anything. LOL, that's how the world goes sometimes.  Funny how I ended up feeling like a victim at that time. Oh well, is what I ended up thinking.
 
  Basically it's a "would be a nice thing to do".  You might get thanked and you might not.  I don't think anyone is going to be hurt if you keep it, but it can make someone feel better because of there mistake.  This is not an act of crime so yeah.

Sorry, should have clarified. I didn't mean that it was morally okay because they're well-off. I just noticed that many were comparing this situation to a person dropping several hundred dollars and not having it returned, but it's not the same case at all.