[oicdn]

A buddy of mine, who we'll call Jason, is in a predicament of sorts. And before you go thinking...this IS NOT ME, lol.

He works at a large retailer and found that some copies of Windows Vista rang up for SIGNIFICANTLY LESS than thier marked price. I'm talking less than 1%. How's 1 cent sound?

So, he bought all of them for 34 cents.

Now, thing is, they rang up that way, and even said on the register "Windows Vista; Amount Due .01". No price over-ride, no "bro-deal", nothing, a completely legal transaction with the retailer at fault for having an incorrectly priced UPC.

Can they sue or prosecute him if he has a receipt for the purchase he paid for in cash? He asked me since I've worked in retail for years and I told them basically they're SOL. There was no dubious activity with the exception of him taking advantage of knowing and buying them all up without letting somebody know the pricing was incorrect. It's like a customer going up to the register to buy a $150 jacket, and it ringing up for $10...if they complain enough, they pretty much get it. Or the retailer has the right to refuse the sale at the time of purchase....

So where does he stand? He paid for it and has a receipt....is he in the clear?

 

[KYTGuy]

It amounts to theft, as he knew it was wrong. You know it is wrong. He had a duty to report it to his employer. He might be able to argue that he can keep the software, but it will surely come at the cost of his job. End of discussion.

 

[oicdn]

Well, he knows he's gonna be terminated...but otherwise, it was a legal purchase right?

 

[KYTGuy]

Nope.

 

[Rrose Selavy]

They may never know it's him. Did he pay in cash?

 

[gpalmer]

I assume that was 34 copies of Vista. Does he really have 34 computers he needs brought to a crawl or is he planning to punish random strangers with the upgrade?

 

[oicdn]

Hahaha...yeah it was 34 copies. He has a receipt and the assets protection guy already has pics of him on camera at the register and copies of the receipts, assuming from recorded media he had to retrieve. So they already know it was him. He just wants to know if that whole prosecuting thing is a bluff or if he can really get ****ed...or they use that as a threat to get him to sign something, then terminate him, he wants to know if he has a leg to stand on...

 

[KYTGuy]

They either already know, or they will - they have cameras on the registers. They will be incensed that it is an employee. It is like finding $100,000 in your bank account - it is not rightfully his, and he knows it, and you know it. He can plan on being sued. The only windfall from this is that some Lawyers will be enriched.

Microsoft may sue the retailer and the friend. The retailer will sue. Your friend will have to spend MUCH MORE for Lawyers defending the windfall, than it is worth, EVEN IF HE WINS, and this will hover over his reputation for as long as it takes to resolve - three to five years, Hmmm? Does he want to devote that amount of time from his career/schooling/life for that little amount of money?

 

[lan]

Wow. Vista isn't worth a penny. He got ripped off.

My 2 cents

Stealing is no good. It makes the price of everything more expensive for everyone else.

 

[nickknutson]

He was an idiot for thinking he could even get away with it! He should play by all the rules they set for him, he could get in some real big trouble otherwise.

 

[zotjen]

Sorry, but what he did was wrong. If he happened to be buying a copy for himself and it rang up as .01, that might be a different story. But the fact that he knowingly purchased 34 copies because they were .01 shows that he was clearly taking advantage of his employer's mistake. Whether or not charges can be brought against him is not my area of expertise, but I suggest your friend be prepared for the worst.

 

[rb67]

It is theft. It all depends on your intentions when you purchase the product. Did you willingly take advantage of a mistake only you knew in order to cheat the company out of large amounts of money?
He knows the value of the actual thing and willingly took advantage of an error. The best mode of action is to return the vistas. If it were one copy, it would not be too big of an issue because you could still claim that it was just an accident. The moment you take that mistake and then decide to screw the store placed the fault directly on yourself and equates to theft.

Let's take it from another view. Say I was an accountant at the company. One day the stock person comes back and says that 34 copies of vista have sold. I look at today's sales, and something doesn't match up. What I see is that one person has purchased 34 copies of it at $0.01. I can guarantee you that the first thought that crosses that persons mind and the manager's mind is that someone with knowledge of the system hacked into it and then told a friend to purchase all those copies.

Would a person with good intentions buy 34 copies? The answer is a resounding no, and thinking otherwise is extremely wishful thinking.

 

[KYTGuy]

Thinking on the situation a little further out...

Microsoft may take the serial numbers that they know are in the range of the S/W involved, and refuse registration/updates/validation, etc...it may not function at all well. The final "Customers" (essentially receiving stolen goods) may also get sued, and they will for sure be mad at the "Reseller" (your buddy) because the software is non-functional. Microsoft is getting really agressive about going after stolen S/W. Does your friend want to walk into that briar patch?

 

[splaz]

I don't know if he has a leg to stand on legally.

I mean if he was a customer and the employee unknowingly sold it to him that may be different. He was an employee though, knew in advance it was an error and took advantage.

Other thing is if he was a customer he probably could have got some pretty good leverage for a discount or possibly though I doubt it, that actual price, as often retailers don't wont to go through the trouble of a customer pestering them about having incorrect prices, threatening to bring in consumer protection etc.

If you actually bring up the price doesn't seem right as well that helps in getting it cheaper as they appreciate not losing a lot of money, so can stomach letting you get it for cheaper, considering how much more money you've saved them from losing.

I mean, they may have appreciate him bringing it to their attention and he could have dropped a hint he wouldn't mind a discount "I've been waiting for vista to drop in price so I can get it, but this a little ridiculous, 1c."

Anyway that's just my take, what he did is completely dishonest and close enough to stealing that we might as well put it in the same basket.

 

[Davesrose]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KYTGuy /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thinking on the situation a little further out... Microsoft may take the serial numbers that they know are in the range of the S/W involved, and refuse registration/updates/validation, etc...it may not function at all well. The final "Customers" (essentially receiving stolen goods) may also get sued, and they will for sure be mad at the "Reseller" (your buddy) because the software is non-functional. Microsoft is getting really agressive about going after stolen S/W. Does your friend want to walk into that briar patch?

I don't know if it would be provable that this person knowingly bought 34 copies of Windows for way less then their price. But the minute he sells them....well that's provable as well he's violating Microsoft licensing laws. He's not a retailer, and he's trying to sell his own software license: not really the copy of Windows. So there is evidence of violating laws with a possibility of not just large fines, but some jail time as well.