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It's 2019 and still retailers haven't quite got a grip on their online shopping websites. Coles, a large supermarket in Australia, sold products with deep discounts due to a glitch until the company found the problem and restored the system. This story comes with a modern twist with users going to social media to spread the word about the glitch on the site so others can quickly take advantage. The store was able to get ahead of the surge in online shoppers and cull some of the carts, but not before the front runners picked up their discount goods.
Oh, look, a good use for social media. What are we up to, 5, or 6 now? =)
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Online Shopping Site Glitch Slashes Prices for Happy Social Customers
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The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
You know, the difference between this company and the Titanic is that the
Titanic had paying customers.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday February 06 2019, @09:13PM (4 children)
If you don't do it, somebody else will. Social media, deal sites, whatever, people catch wind of these mistakes (or any exploits) and they spread virally.
If you make an order, you're initiating a process that could be cancelled/not honored by the retailer. It's not theft, and it required no illegal "hacking". So while some might feel that it's stealing, others are going to feel that it's a completely legitimate transaction. Which it is.
Are we all morphing into sociopaths like Jake and Logan Paul? Do I have any emotions left at all? That remains to be seen.
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(Score: 4, Funny) by woodcruft on Wednesday February 06 2019, @09:27PM
Am I just getting old and cynical by thinking that's precisely the point?
Shove some goods up on your site at ludicrously low prices & drop a link to them on some other site saying "Look!!! Cheap stuff!!!"
Sounds like Coles' DBA had a cron job to update the DB a few minutes later...
Result: muppets grovelling around your site looking for other 'bargains' and hopefully buying some of your regular shitty and expensive goods.
:wq!
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 06 2019, @10:34PM
I gave you a related warning in another comment, I don't know how seriously you take your own words but I think you meant them as such.
You answered your question before you even asked it. Dehumanization, justification through the bad acts of others, and the worst cynicism of all "If you don't do it, somebody else will". It is technically a legitimate transaction but would you feel the same way if you paid with a $100 bill for a $30 purchase and they didn't stop you when you walked away with no change then blew you off when you came back for it?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 07 2019, @04:50PM (1 child)
> If you don't do it, somebody else will.
Not even a commons tragedy here. What you're saying is plain "if people think they can get away with it, they will steal."
Well, that's nice. I know communities of people who would not, without greater cause than personal gain.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Thursday February 07 2019, @06:20PM
You keep on using that word...
The circle of people who will jump on a price mistake is much larger than those who will steal (barring a post-apocalypse scenario).
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