OzBargain's "Tablet Headache" deal makes the Herald Sun, Gerry Harvey calls us professionals

neil on 29/12/2012 - 15:38
Last edited 30/12/2012 - 02:01 by 1 other user

As some may be aware, a member found the Asus Eee Slate Ep121 Windows 7 Tablet on sale for $122 at Harvey Norman on Boxing Day. The tablet sells at competitors for around $700 so most probably a price error although it was Boxing Day. Fast forward 3 days, and the thread has amassed 13 pages and 1,306 comments. Many members are yet to get a refund and the rep seems to be fighting an uphill battle.

Well, someone contacted the Herald Sun and they published the following article (pic):

Unhappy Harvey Norman customers say its online store reneged on a Boxing Day deal after a website bungle that could have cost the retailer close to $770,000.
Harvey Norman chief Gerry Harvey said a mistake occurred when uploading the sale price of an Asus tablet, which retails for about $800.

It was supposed to be discounted to about $600 but instead was listed as $122, the amount of the discount.

"It went up as a mistake around midnight and by 4am our people were alerted to it," Mr Harvey said.

But not before about 300 people snapped up 1600 of the bargain tablets, according to Mr Harvey, who said it was the work of professionals, not everyday consumers.

"It was obviously a mistake and they knew it," he said.

Mukul Singh and many consumer forum members said they had bought the Asus tablets in good faith.

The ACCC watchdog would not comment.

Pretty typical response but the best part is calling us professionals and not everyday consumers. I think that should be our new slogan (or at least a t-shirt design). Unfortunately, no mention of OzBargain, only consumer forum member.

EDIT: Screenshot of article

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Comments

  • tomorrows_angel on 29/12/2012 - 15:49
    +28

    Professional swindlers!!! Proud moment :p

    More professional than HN at any rate…

    • scrimshaw on 29/12/2012 - 15:54
      +68

      I believe GH's definition of an everyday consumer are people who shop at his stores and buy stuff at RRP.

      • tomorrows_angel on 29/12/2012 - 15:56
        +7

        Ohhh so the people he hoodwinks. Got it.

      • paragon on 31/12/2012 - 13:25
        +1

        This. Platinum right there

    • chansthename on 29/12/2012 - 20:24
      +14

      Scotty: Can we get a banner that says professional swindlers for a few days?

    • Elijah on 01/01/2013 - 17:51

      Weird, I wasn't even interested in the deal…, didn't even know people actually went crazy over it… lol

    • krutarthp on 01/01/2013 - 18:08

      It was fabricated - given chance I can prove it #webmaster

    • shadowx on 03/01/2013 - 08:43
      +4

      Professional ripoff artists need professional swindlers to keep them honest… ;)

    • user51 on 03/01/2013 - 18:36
      -1

      Don't be so naive guys. If it was anything close to 1600 tablets bought by 300 people like he claimed, there were definitely some 'professionals' involved. They use methods like using multiple addresses, po boxes, identities etc to get around the per person limit.

      Retailing at $800 each, thats a profit of at least $500 per tablet. Buy 100 using multiple accounts thats 50 grand up assuming they can sell it all. I'm guessing they have channels to offload them to real merchants or have their own ebay/online store.

  • retiredfeline on 29/12/2012 - 15:57
    +5

    Yes us professionals should not be allowed near his amateur site, ha ha ha.

  • ode1online on 29/12/2012 - 16:23
    +27

    300 people bought 1600 tablets, is that what ozbargain is about ? I don't think so.

    • AMLagonda on 29/12/2012 - 18:06
      -4

      Er, I thought it was about snapping up "bargains"

    • Devils Advocate on 29/12/2012 - 18:18
      +4

      Yeah haha! Wasn't it restricted to 2 per person? I think that Gerry is telling a few white lies.

      • strangeloops66 on 29/12/2012 - 20:37
        +1

        It's not lying if you believe the crap you spout.

      • highdealer on 30/12/2012 - 02:42

        you are the one telling a few white lies…

  • eve on 29/12/2012 - 17:02
    +5

    thumbs up to the t-shirt idea =D

    • chansthename on 29/12/2012 - 20:26
      +10

      I bought an ASUS EP121 from HN but all I got was Gerry calling me a professional [swindler]

  • iJebus on 29/12/2012 - 17:42
    +1

    Still waiting to hear my order was cancelled, and to receive the inevitable refund. What do you guys think I should do?

    • AMLagonda on 29/12/2012 - 17:53
      +2

      Cant you leave this in the old thread?

      http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/89032

      • iJebus on 29/12/2012 - 19:08

        Sure, done.

    • [Deactivated] on 29/12/2012 - 23:18

      enjoy the thought he might just hold on to your money as long as possible to accrue interest off it…

      • subywagon on 30/12/2012 - 15:40
        +3

        This might actually be a new venture carried out by Gerry… every so often make a "pricing mistake" like this one, and hold on to the money for as long as possible to gain interest on it…

  • AMLagonda on 29/12/2012 - 17:45
    +2

    Ozbargainer professionals Unite!!!!

    LMFAO

    Glad Im a pro at something!

  • aerona on 29/12/2012 - 19:36
    +5

    I'll take 10!

    Professionals not everyday consumer crew
    -Specialising in pricing technical errors against Harvey Norman.
    -PhD certified / years of experience in the field

  • stargalaxy on 29/12/2012 - 19:46
    +2

    Suddenly I am a professional for buying from HN Online, will I be a everyday customer if I walk into HN retail shop to buy something??

  • ricodbn on 29/12/2012 - 20:01
    +1

    So you need to be a "professional" to use the HN site.

    I fell prey to marketing- brochure, tv and big running sign in front of the Bundall store. Needed appliances so thought it would be worth a look. Store was very quiet this morning. Was fobbed of by two staff members in two different departments on the way to appliannces. Took my business elsewhere.

  • strangeloops66 on 29/12/2012 - 20:21
    +11

    The ACCC has a watchdog? And it talks?

    • Lord Fart Bucket on 29/12/2012 - 21:28
      +26

      Yes. It doesn't talk, bark or growl. Every so often it leaves the yard to take a piss on consumers.

  • strangeloops66 on 29/12/2012 - 20:52
    +9

    Asus tablet…$122.

    Being called a professional by the old pro himself…priceless.

  • nikey2k27 on 29/12/2012 - 21:23
    -3

    dicksmith a few years back discount there whole laptop computer down to .01 it was only meant to take 10% off. they putted website at 9am it only went up at 830am. people need to check this thing out some should be lost there job for it. they should have pulled it asap not on boxing day but masochist morning

    • Agret on 30/12/2012 - 17:14
      +9

      Someone has been taking advantage of wine discounts :P

  • MMM on 29/12/2012 - 22:09
    +2

    Thanks Neil for posting the image of the Herald Sun article quoting Mr Harvey.

    As the HN rep said we just all got upset over nothing as we misinterpreted Mr Harvey’s words. He called us “professional” that’s a good thing is it not? Thank you Mr Harvey a pat on the back for us at OzBargain!

    Now why are we all upset again? OzBargain - Liar’s and cheats you say Mr Harvey… but you meant it in the nicest possible way, well thank you and sorry I misunderstood.

  • jackau on 29/12/2012 - 22:34
    +1

    . Garry Harvey's professionals,

    Wonderful movie title… :) Guarantee australian style humor comedy hit

    Any one wanna do one for trop fes??

    The plot will be simple: story of how 300 hundred every day customers get connected together because of the deal and the aftermath of it.

    All I remembered was, back in 200x when the then ill fated grace bro backed mega store megamart launched, it had a special evening GameCube deal for 159, at the time, the cube only just launched for a few weeks. The ad was supposed to carry a first 50 customer condition, but that was missing from the ad and over 150 lined up, megamart hornered all those attended that evening.
    clearly megamart was an Honest business, and too bad honest business went belly up…

    • [Deactivated] on 01/01/2013 - 16:37

      There was the case where a company promised that whoever ordered the 100,000th car (or something like that), they would get it for free. So someone wrote to them, ordering the 100,000th car. Don't know how it panned out…

  • [Deactivated] on 29/12/2012 - 23:01
    +1

    Imagine if Gayry knew about the Braun Epilator's!

    • jackau on 29/12/2012 - 23:05
      +3

      Then the term would be either super hackers, secret agent or terrorists or something along the line.

  • [Deactivated] on 29/12/2012 - 23:30
    +13

    I'd say this is a bait and switch. And now HN is even getting free advertising as a victim… when will the shenanigans end? This is probably why our government feels no empathy when they say that overseas needs to be taxed… it shouldn't because there is very little competition in Australia and that's just how the big guys like it.

    • jackau on 29/12/2012 - 23:48
      +4

      Yes, it is possible that this is a kind of stunt.

  • AMLagonda on 30/12/2012 - 00:22
    +9

    The buyers are getting too savvy and the rich man don't like it!

  • annoynimous on 30/12/2012 - 04:24
    +3

    yay i'm a professional, never realised it, thanks gerry!

    so i'm not eligible to buy anymore stuff from HN for eternity wooo

  • [Deactivated] on 30/12/2012 - 05:05
    +6

    It's not every day someone tells me i'm a professional.

    • Lord Fart Bucket on 30/12/2012 - 06:30
      +18

      Don't get too proud. Anyone that can use the internet is a pro, in the world of Gerry Harvey.

  • yacman on 30/12/2012 - 09:59
    +9

    I can't believe no one has made comment on the fact that he claims the price was a discount from the usual price of $898 to $600 and yet that was meant to be a $122 saving the amount the price error occurred?!?

    I must say I was very skeptical this was some kind of 'stunt' by HN but does this not seem odd to others and even if it wasn't, they must have a good PR team to play victim in this because I did the math in the original thread and at a loss of $350 per unit at 1500 items and the number was around $500 000 loss. If he claims he was happy to sell it at $600 and say there was $100 profit margin at that point then at 1600 units there is no way he was loosing $770 000

    • [Deactivated] on 31/12/2012 - 18:24
      +3

      you're forgetting emotional trauma caused to Gerry

      • [Deactivated] on 01/01/2013 - 16:01
        +1

        Compounding the self-evident earlier blunt trauma.

  • lord henry on 30/12/2012 - 11:57
    +10

    He should have just allowed the 300 people to purchase 1 each and refunded additional. That would have been fairer.

    • yacman on 30/12/2012 - 13:02

      agreed!

        • lord henry on 30/12/2012 - 17:06
          +19

          and that's why we can't have nice things.

        • Lord Fart Bucket on 30/12/2012 - 19:55
          -3

          Sure you can… You could have bid on mine on eBay ;)

        • Mikeologos on 11/02/2013 - 20:37

          We don't like your type around here.

  • MMM on 30/12/2012 - 15:55
    +16

    Let’s create a fictional but realistic scenario.

    Asus Rep offers Harvey Norman a 90% off unbelievable deal on a Tablet. No Limit - take as many as you want. HN orders 10,000 units from Asus receive an order confirmation and HN pay in advance. Asus renege and claim rep made a mistake and claim HN showed Malice and that HN should have realised that it was a pricing error and should not have ordered so many, should have ordered only 1 and even then do not honour the 1 purchase as there was fine print that allowed them to cancel the transaction.

    How long do you think it would take Mr Harvey to have Asus apologise?

    Just as the expectation of HN in this scenario to make sure that Asus had their facts correct before they made the offer, so it was for us who purchased I don’t have a problem with ones who purchased 5, 10 tablets or more as that would be what HN would do if Asus made HN an offer too good to refuse.
    So all comments taking the high moral ground please be realistic the ones who ordered on boxing day did so in good faith not some sort of Malice as was suggested by Mr Harvey in his comment.

    • tonyjzx on 30/12/2012 - 17:47
      +3

      this is an unlikely scenario

      HN buy from Synnex or Ingram Micro and they know full well what their inventory and buy price is.

      They should, they run SAP and their IT spend is what other companies entire turnover is.

      Why should Harvey Norman get a free pass knowing what their position is Australian retailing is.

      • cwongtech on 05/01/2013 - 01:57

        +1
        ASUS does not distribute it's products directly, they do it through local distro's like Synnex.

  • Davo1111 on 30/12/2012 - 23:35
    +1

    Lol, we all know bargain hunters are pro

  • IMBI3 on 31/12/2012 - 05:00
    +3

    He still doesnt get it, does he?

  • wtfnodeal on 31/12/2012 - 10:29
    +6

    I wonder when HN is going to issue me a certificate for my "professional" qualification so i can update my resume as part of my experience and qualification.

    • super8 on 31/12/2012 - 18:05

      Good question, I was hoping to gain Recognised Prior Learning (RPL) towards this certification at TAFE: http://goo.gl/9dvak

      • Lord Fart Bucket on 31/12/2012 - 22:23

        AQF II is really an entry level cert now…

  • MMM on 01/01/2013 - 15:48
    +2

    Thanks to all the comment posters who are clearly part of the Harvey Norman in-house and outsourced social marketing team as they seem to have ready access to information that only staff would. I don’t wish you guys to take this the wrong way as you are just doing what you’re paid to do, protect Harvey Norman.

    I think most of us here on OZ bargain have now identified you as you have clearly had the most to say on the subject with some claiming that they have been victims as well but just trying to show a sense of fairness. I think that some of your comments have been worthy but some have probably done more harm than good for Harvey Norman as you have missed the points being made by the true victims, the customers who made a purchase of a tablet or tablets on Boxing Day “IN GOOD FAITH”.

    Most are not upset as much by the price error wether deceptive or genuine but rather the resulting manner it was handled along with the comment made by Mr Harvey that the people who purchased his advertised tablet showed Malice and that he is the victim in all this.

    An apology an admission of guilt and maybe even some form of restitution would have gone a long way and probably caused Harvey Norman far less harm than has been caused by all this.

    In just counteracting the tactics of the possibility that some employees of Harvey Norman social team that are masking themselves as having got a refund and now moving on, the rest of us will remember the words “divide and conquer” diffuse a situation by saying it’s all over now let’s all move on and just forget about it - ACCC won’t act etc. as they know many will give up because they see the situation as being hopeless.

    I have sent my email to Harvey Norman acknowledging that a refund is not acceptable, had no reply so will now move on to the next stage of making the formal ACCC complaint.

    • [Deactivated] on 01/01/2013 - 16:07

      In just counteracting the tactics of the possibility …

      I got stuck at about this point.

    • Moderatorneil on 01/01/2013 - 16:13

      Thanks to all the comment posters who are clearly part of the Harvey Norman in-house and outsourced social marketing team as they seem to have ready access to information that only staff would.

      Please report any comments you suspect are from in-house staff/outsourced social media.

      • [Deactivated] on 01/01/2013 - 16:29

        I've just reviewed all the comments to date and i can't find one that could be seen as supporting HN, let alone appear dodgy.

      • MMM on 01/01/2013 - 17:00

        Hossy2011 has identified himself.
        The others I will leave that up to each individual OZ bargain member to decide.

        Quoted from
        http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/89032?page=16#comment-11818…

        ——-hossy2011 on 01/01/2013 - 10:45

        Hello Gummibear,

        I have been a spectating member of the Ozbargain community for over a year. I work for HN, and the social team in particular.

        I became active on this thread primarily because we had been communicating to customers about the Asus error via social channels and this thread was by far and away the most active. One of the key criticisms of us was communication to consumers who went for the Asus pricing error and consequently we stepped in to answer some of the most common/pressing issues.

        In response to your questions/observations:

        1.A personal account was forsaken to post a response here. This was an innocuous legacy comment
        2.Massive Civ fan, this was a great deal and I originally had a question for the poster which I subsequently edited
        3.The competition was a bad idea that seemed like a good potential compensation idea at the time.

        Thanks for your feedback and if you or anyone else have specific queries or requests then please get in touch @harveynormanau on twitter or facebook.com/harveynormanau. Alternatively use the contact us tab on the website. www.harveynorman.com.au/contact-us

        • Davo1111 on 01/01/2013 - 17:08

          to be fair, he did declare himself as a rep. i don't see any problems with that

    • stargalaxy on 01/01/2013 - 17:21

      I think an apology and quick refund goes a long way but it is too late now for that as it is now 2013. I bought a Galaxy Nexus from Unique Mobiles some months ago which is also a price error but they quickly apologised and refund my payment and I moved on and will continue to buy from them in future. For HN though, I will never ever buy from them online anymore after this fiasco.

    • MMM on 01/01/2013 - 19:53
      +3

      I think Hossy2011 Identifying himself as a HN Rep was helpful and when I said that some have made some worthy comments I was talking about him as he has admitted that it was not handled in the best manner. I don’t agree with him in that we misunderstood Mr Harvey’s comments published in the Herald Sun.

      I am still however left with a few unanswered questions.

      1. Why did this offer remain on the table with some orders accepted at 5:30am when Mr Harvey stated they had been alerted to the “error” at 4am?

      2. Why did some who purchased not get charged till two days later, well after the announcement that it was an error?

      3. Why was this tablet not available to be picked up from in-store at the time of purchase? Please don’t state that it was 2am as I mean in principle. If it was at $899 and I paid that surely I would have been able to pick up in store later that day.

      4. Mr Harvey’s stated price reduction was intended to be $600 for the tablet markdown of $122. It was later offered to the Boxing Day purchasers for $877 as the correct price. What is the correct price?

      If these questions have already been answered then I apologise in advance for restating them, but as to date I am still waiting for answers from official Harvey Norman personnel not conjecture from what we think might have happened.

      If any have valid further questions that I have missed, I would be happy to include them in my submission. If Harvey Norman management are not at liberty to answer then I will be asking for answers from the ACCC

      • netsurfer on 02/01/2013 - 00:34
        +5

        HVN care more about $$$. They agreed to hold an item for me on the phone, but after I arrived at the store 30 minutes later, they sold it to another customer. They did not say sorry nor apologise. They regularly refused to price match MSY prices and some stores even refused to match prices from other HVN stores.

        It is best to let go. After knowing it is a pricing error, it is best to get the refund a.s.a.p. and move on. It's 2013 now. Answers to those 4 questions won't change anything. Just remember to be cynical about future HVN online deals. Also, if a deal appears to be too good to be true, there is generally a good chance it is a pricing error, in that case, you are taking a gamble. You win some and lose some.

  • MMM on 02/01/2013 - 12:46

    I am retracting my earlier conspiracy theory of HN operatives trying to disrupt and hijack real comments by effected OZ bargain members.

    These guys have worked very hard (some making 60 -70 comments) at keeping this thread going by making comments that have incensed the rest of us who are involved. I think this might have blown over if it was not for their helpful comments, so a BIG THANK YOU!

    Now I am convinced that you are not working for HN as you have been most helpful to the cause and in keeping this thread active.

    • [Deactivated] on 03/01/2013 - 11:03
      +1

      Mind you, i quite like a good conspiracy theory …

  • bargainbunny on 02/01/2013 - 14:54
    +1

    I worked in retail years ago and was always warned if you placed the wrong price on an item and a customer demanded the item be sold at that price you had to give it to them, otherwise it's basically false advertsing… the basic idea was DO NOT MAKE MISTAKES! If I had bought one I would sure as hell be kicking up a stink and demanding I get what I paid for. They can make up their losses somewhere else!

    • Davo1111 on 04/01/2013 - 00:43
      -1

      you're probably comparing a $10 item (or something with a HUGE markup) vs something worth hundreds.

  • annoynimous on 02/01/2013 - 15:48

    zappos.com loss 1.6mil to pricing error and the CEO honored it, that's how a man should behave,

    no idea on Gerry's gender.

    • Davo1111 on 02/01/2013 - 16:41

      well, zappos made 1 billion dollars last year. HN was less than 20% of that.

    • nubzy on 02/01/2013 - 18:29

      zappos is a great website, such a shame they dont ship to here. great prices, products and website design.

  • Icedvovo on 02/01/2013 - 18:03
    +2

    Back in the 'old' days before internet advertising all ads were checked and double checked before going to print. There were professionals involved - copywriters, art directors, account service managers, proof readers, finished artists and of course the client.

    These days it's usually a single web gronk and maybe his offsider in offshore office somewhere that will transpose a list of products and prices into a web template and then hit the 'live' button. They've taken the easy way out and removed all the safety nets in the process.

    When these 'errors' get through it's solely the fault of the retailer and their modern shoddy processes. It's absolutely preventable with more care on their part and they should be made to honour these prices.

    Serves you right HN.

    • [Deactivated] on 03/01/2013 - 06:04
      -1

      …web gronk…

      I'm gunna pack that in my knapsack for later deployment…

  • tonsta on 02/01/2013 - 18:33
    +4

    Proud "PROFESSIONALS" ripping off a bunch of "AMATURE" online retailers… Gerry should sack the amature "Online Team" and put in place some PROFESSIONAL OzBargainers.

  • Wally on 03/01/2013 - 01:22

    err! … it was Harvey Normans employees that uploaded and left the mistake on the site!
    Gerry has been caught out on the fact that Quality Control means nothing to his average Bogan customer!
    Welcome to the online world of the 21 century Mr Harvey!

  • djglenmcbride on 03/01/2013 - 08:23
    +4

    Quick! Someone send Gerry this http://www.scribd.com/doc/7771818/Butt-Hurt-Report-Form

    • hesokay on 03/01/2013 - 08:30

      lol or youareanidiot.org

  • AMLagonda on 03/01/2013 - 14:08

    I only just got all my money back today, is this how HN treat there customers?

    • nubzy on 03/01/2013 - 14:20
      +1

      Yep, I cannot stand HN. They rip the less informed customers off in store and their online setup is a joke. Took over a month and multiple emails (many not replied) to finally have my game delivered.

      • [Deactivated] on 04/01/2013 - 15:25
        +1

        Using the $5 voucher on batteries last week at HN was a joke. They had no idea what to do with an online order, took 3 staff members to work it out - wasted my time for what should've taken 2mins.

  • Spython on 03/01/2013 - 21:29
    +3

    I went to Harvey Norman and all I got was a professional t-shirt

  • MetalPhreak on 04/01/2013 - 14:16
    +1

    I think you guys are better than professionals.

    Bargain Engineers. Much better.

  • joannatan on 05/01/2013 - 03:06

    did he said that the 300 guys that bought those laptop are professional scum artist? any lawyer in here? any potential for making profit for that untrue comment that was made by him?

    • Davo1111 on 05/01/2013 - 13:22

      except he didn't say 'scum artist'.

      Considering they bought on average 5 laptops each, i think hes on the money by suggesting it was professionals.

  • WatchNerd on 12/03/2023 - 14:40

    Wow no comments on this legendary post for 10 years & Gerry is still ripping off Australians in 2023.

    • Meconium on 12/03/2023 - 20:04
      +1

      Of course he is, but sometimes HN deals happen to be the cheapest. I snapped up one of these C2s having waited since last year when the supply appeared to run out sometime in December. Or at least the deals did. https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/760174

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