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http://www.macnn.com/articles/10/07/26/apple.refuses.to.honor.cheaper.orders/

Mac mini pricing gaffe may lead to Taiwanese lawsuits

updated 01:30 pm EDT, Mon July 26, 2010

 

Apple refuses to honor cheaper orders


A serious pricing mistake may have legal repercussions for Apple in Taiwan, reports say. On July 23rd, Apple briefly listed a Mac mini with 8GB of RAM as costing only $19,900 NT, or $619 US. A Mini in that configuration would normally cost $47,000 NT in the country, or about $1,462 US.

While companies would normally be expected to either honor the prices or cancel the orders, Apple is said to have simply changed orders back to the original $47,000 NT pricetag. Angry customers are said to be preparing lawsuits, though none have been formally filed yet. The Consumer Foundation, a local organization, is stating that companies like Apple should fulfill contracts once money has been paid.

Apple would not be the first major Western company to be penalized in Taiwan for failing to live up to pricing errors. In 2009 Dell posted mistaken prices for its notebooks, and was fined $1 million NT by the Law and Regulation Commission of the Taipei city government when it didn't meet demands for consumer compensation. Apple has yet to respond to complaints.




by MacNN Staff

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 lawsuits, Mac mini, Taiwan, Apple

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Comments

  1. bobolicious

    Junior Member

    Joined: Aug 2002

    +1
    07/26, 02:29pm | report spam | Reply |

    why no security slot?

    ...on a machine touted (server) for mall business - another 'error'?

  1. testudo

    Forum Regular

    Joined: Aug 2001

    0
    07/26, 03:05pm | report spam | Reply |

    Re: why no...

    Because there wasn't room for it, otherwise Apple would have needed to move stuff around and s**** up the outside aesthetics of the mini.

    And, seriously, what's more important: that you have some nice looking hardware that garners oohs from everyone who sees it, or having computers that aren't just going to walk out the door? I think a few stolen minis is a small price to pay for having such a work of art on your desks.

  1. testudo

    Forum Regular

    Joined: Aug 2001

    +1
    07/26, 03:08pm | report spam | (1 reply) Reply |

    Changed the order?

    Why in the world would Apple change the order? That's just plain stupid. How'd you like to buy a new MacBookPro and then find out the next day they tacked another $1200 onto the price?

    Also, I didn't think they took the money until the order was processed (this is how Amazon does things). Accepting a credit card isn't accepting payment, since you haven't taken the money as payment yet, just their means of how they want to pay.

  1. wrenchy

    Forum Regular

    Joined: Nov 2009

    -1
    07/26, 03:41pm | report spam | (1 reply) Reply |

    What if the mistake


    went the other way? If Apple advertised the mini at $92,000 NT and then corrected it, would anyone complain then?

  1. stevechen

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Jul 2010

    0
    07/26, 07:03pm | report spam | (1 reply) Reply |

    They need a serious kick in the butt

    Apple Taiwan branch's services is so bad that most loyal Apple users here are just waiting for some whopping to happen out of spite. I, myself, has been using Apple products since 1990 and I resent Apple Taiwan. We pay just as much (actually, slightly more) for Apple products here comparing to the States, and we're treating like dirt. Just an example, a in-warranty repair in Taiwan takes about freaking 7 business days! And the dealers here are force by Apple to "impound" your machine without a substituting machine. That's more than a week without your working machine! If it weren't for the excellent services provided by some of the dealers here. I would refuse to buy anything from Apple. The marketing strategy here is virtually none-exsistent.
    This incident was also handled so poorly it's not even funny.

  1. Feathers

    Grizzled Veteran

    Joined: Oct 1999

    0
    07/26, 07:08pm | report spam | Reply |

    Missing the point...

    The day that advertised prices become arbitrary, that is, when the vendor can simply change, modify or alter the price at their whim after a transaction has been committed to, we are all scr+wed and pricing becomes meaningless. Should vendors be held to account for mistakes? Of course they should. What other incentive would there be to ensure that they get things right to begin with. Otherwise, they can simply argue that any price was a "mistake". Apple handled the matter badly. They should have notified the customers of a change in price and asked whether they wished to proceed with the transaction. They can't just change the price in the order (although this is something that Amazon also do).

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