I've been following this thread with interest, and I've got to say - WHAT A CROCK!
I'm so sick of corporate America being able to get away with false advertising by shystering some 'disclaimer' across that states that they reserve the right to break the law (literally, that's what they're doing by not honoring their advertised price).
As a web/application developer, I've worked for a lot of big companies that market things on the Internet, and have had to sit through business meetings that discuss issues just like this, and it makes me sick how they throw some nicey-nice BS in front of a concept that is underhanded and morally corrupt. I've heard things that would make your skin crawl. Marketing people, and those that direct them to ride that line between honesty and greed are just plain crappy, dishonest (I'd really like to use a stronger word, but you get the idea) jerks.
When you shop at a big company like Sears that has high prices to begin with, you expect to at least be able to rely on the premise that there's no incompetence in something so important as the final draft of the catalog of goods that they sell, but like most of the other companies in the world, business decisions are made by the few at the top that have no qualms about screwing people to continue inflating their pocketbooks by hiring (at a reduced salary, of course) the kind of morons who would allow this type of mistake to "fall through the cracks".
I put quotes around that phrase because to me it seems that at $179 instead of $379, that's a big-assed crack, you know? Anyone working at a company as big as Sears who lets anything fall through a crack like that at final editing of a catalog has made a mistake worthy of immediate termination, but since they're saving a buck at all levels, they can't very well fire the 23 year old 'vice president in charge of yada-yada' (who, incidentally, after 'downsizing' replaced someone competent who was let go because they 'cost' too much to keep on the payroll), when it was the pocket stuffers who hired the inept knucklehead in the first place.
In days not so long past, a company like Sears would've honored the price for all those people (like you all) who were cagey enough to see the mistake and capitalize on it, and then afterwards heads would've rolled in the catalog department for such a colossal snafu.
Unfortunately, someone decided to hell with scruples and ethics, let's come up with some sneaky disclaimer that keeps us safe from our own stupidity, and save a buck on hiring someone who graduated 115 out of 130 in their MBA or marketing class to make some more money. [
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Sorry for the un-registered rant. I sorta lost it there! Holy crap, I think I just boycotted Sears. Buncha jerks. heh
