Don't buy from eStarland

[Mathius]

Sorry in advance if this is the wrong forum to post this in. I just couldn't find a proper forum for this subject.

Last week I found a copy of Earthbound w/ Players guide on eStarland.com for $79. WOW, great deal I thought, so I snatched it up. I have always wanted to play Earthbound, and with the high prices I never had a decent chance until then. I bought it, and paid for priority shipping. When I got my invoice I noticed that the shipping method read "First Class." So, I emailed them about the problem and they gave me my $2 back through store credit. Not a big deal, but I'd rather have had it back into my Paypal account.

The day the game arrived in the mail I immediately noticed the package was a little too small to hold a game AND the Players Guide together. Sure enough the players guide wasn't there(though the game is in flawless condition, which I credited them in my subsequent emails.) So I sent messages about the missing guide, and haven't received a response. So, out of curiosity, I checked my eStarland store account, and read the purchase invoice to make sure it still read "Earthbound w/Players Guide." What it reads currently is "Earthbound." Not "Earthbound w/ Players Guide" just "Earthbound!" THEY ALTERED IT!! I KNOW it read "w/ Players Guide" because I always read all my purchase invoices. Whether in email form or on-site.

The only thing I can figure is that Earthbounds with the guide are usually aren't that cheap, and they made an error in listing it that way. But, that shouldn't matter. I am in customer service where I work, and if it's the company's fault you give the customer the product at the listed price. There are very few exceptions to this rule, and my deal with eStarland isn't an exception!

This is an obvious attempt by them to screw me over for no good reason! I was kind and understanding in all my emails, and in return they screwed me out of the Players Guide I bought with my hard earned money. STAY AWAY!

[megasdkirby]

Question: By any chance do you have an invoice, or emails, stating it was with the Player's Guide?

If so, you have proof agaisnt them.

[Mathius]

Originally Posted by megasdkirby

Question: By any chance do you have an invoice, or emails, stating it was with the Player's Guide?

If so, you have proof agaisnt them.

Yes I do! Thanks for reminding me. I just found out they altered the on-site invoice, and in my fog of anger I immediately reported them to the forum not even thinking about my inbox. I feel a little better now. Thanks!

[lazyhoboguy]

I have bought 20 items from estarland.com and have never had any problems. Are you 100% certain you bought it with the players guide? Usually for games they will have several buttons to click next to each item. Like one button is for a copy of the game only, one is for with just the manual, one is for a complete copy, etc. Perhaps you clicked the wrong one?

[Icarus Moonsight]

I've never bought from eStarland, but I have abused their trade-in rates. Sometimes they offer more for things than you can sell it for here or on eBay. Maybe that's why they charge on the high end, sometimes even higher?

Earthbound for $79 is pretty decent (especially for them), but they should up the guide if you bought it that way. Keep us posted, I still have a credit balance with them. Might have to find something worthwhile and drain it before they change that too. :/

[Mathius]

Yep. It was most definitely WITH the guide. Like I said they changed the listing after i purchased it! They realized they made a mistake and were covering their asses. Can't really blame them but...still.

[lazyhoboguy]

What did they tell you when you contacted them about this?

[Icarus Moonsight]

My guess is he has not heard anything yet. They are notoriously slow in response. It could take into next week, considering the holiday.

[slip81]

so you got a near mint boxed earthbound for $79 and you're upset about it? dude, just take the $200 you saved by not buying it on ebay and get a guide.

and I'm sorry, I also work in retail and hate it when people damand to get certain deal that was posted by mistake. people make mistakes, things get misprinted, it isn't the customer's job to exploit someones mistake and get something dirt cheap and take advantage of the company.

yeah it sucks you thought you were getting the guide and you didn't, but the fact is someone mislabled the item and that's life, you still got a good deal on the boxed game itself.

[garagesaleking!!]

i have traded in and bought from estarland and always been very happy with it. the only complaint i have is they could sometimes pack games a little safer.

[TRM]

Originally Posted by slip81

so you got a near mint boxed earthbound for $79 and you're upset about it? dude, just take the $200 you saved by not buying it on ebay and get a guide.

and I'm sorry, I also work in retail and hate it when people damand to get certain deal that was posted by mistake. people make mistakes, things get misprinted, it isn't the customer's job to exploit someones mistake and get something dirt cheap and take advantage of the company.

yeah it sucks you thought you were getting the guide and you didn't, but the fact is someone mislabled the item and that's life, you still got a good deal on the boxed game itself.

First of all, I am not sure where the OP stated that he got the game boxed. Maybe I am reading something wrong, but seeing in his original post that the package was too small to also contain the guide, I figured that it was a loose copy of Earthbound with the guide. I never played Earthbound, so correct me if I am wrong, but I thought the guide was a pack-in, and Earthbound came in a big box. Is this true or not?

@Slip81: Nothing personal, but could you please remind me where and when you work? I won't be going there so fast, I think, as your attitude on customer service seems to be a bit off.

In this situation, I must say that Mathius is in the right. I have worked retail for about 4 or 5 years, so I also have had to deal with customer service issues before. In a brick and mortar store, if a mistake is made, it is easier to explain to customers that the price was listed wrong in the computer, or on the tag, and to try to remedy the situation somehow. As the original poster stated, however, in all of the stores I have worked at, if a price was listed in the computer for higher than what the price was listed on the tag, and the customer noticed and said something, we gave them the lower price of the two. Then we checked to see which price was correct, and corrected the faulty price for all subsequent sales. If the price came up lower than what the tag said, we usually sold for the price in the computer, and then checked again to see which price is correct. If there was a huge problem, we would talk with the customers about it, bring out a manager and what not, but usually the rule was that if it was advertised at the lower price, it is the company's fault, and thus the item is sold to the customer at advertised price.

With buying over the internet, this sort of customer service rule becomes even more important, since we are not dealing with people face to face, etc. If I personally had bought the game and guide for one price and had not received the guide, I would have felt cheated. If the transaction was later altered, to justify the absence of the guide, I would feel cheated and screwed. In actuality, this is kind of a bait and switch tactic, atleast it seems so to me. Advertise that the person is getting one thing, and then send them something different for the same price. Whether the company made a listing error is not important, this is not good business practice. I for one will think twice before buying from this company, if what the OP says is true.

[Poofta!]

contact paypal with your information and proof. they will refund you.

[LAGO]

Originally Posted by slip81

so you got a near mint boxed earthbound for $79 and you're upset about it? dude, just take the $200 you saved by not buying it on ebay and get a guide.

and I'm sorry, I also work in retail and hate it when people damand to get certain deal that was posted by mistake. people make mistakes, things get misprinted, it isn't the customer's job to exploit someones mistake and get something dirt cheap and take advantage of the company.

yeah it sucks you thought you were getting the guide and you didn't, but the fact is someone mislabled the item and that's life, you still got a good deal on the boxed game itself.

What you just described is false advertising. Definition by lawyers.com: the crime or tort of publishing, broadcasting, or otherwise publicly distributing an advertisement that contains an untrue, misleading, or deceptive representation or statement which was made knowingly or recklessly and with the intent to promote the sale of property, goods, or services to the public.

It is illegal.

[nhm]

Originally Posted by LAGO

What you just described is false advertising. Definition by lawyers.com: the crime or tort of publishing, broadcasting, or otherwise publicly distributing an advertisement that contains an untrue, misleading, or deceptive representation or statement which was made knowingly or recklessly and with the intent to promote the sale of property, goods, or services to the public.

It is illegal.

The key is "knowingly." Honest mistakes are not covered by this. Now, if they refused to return the person's money after correcting the mistake, that would be illegal.

[T2KFreeker]

Originally Posted by nhm

The key is "knowingly." Honest mistakes are not covered by this. Now, if they refused to return the person's money after correcting the mistake, that would be illegal.

I see your point, but wouldn't them correcting the mistake on the guys invoice after he paid for it become illegal? Chenging the terms of the sale after the fact is pretty crappy and should be illegal also.

[Icarus Moonsight]

Knowingly? A posted price is a posted price... Really, there is no argument. If an employ gives you hell about it, report them to management, and if management doesn't care, switch to a competitor. You don't need to raise a fuss or make a scene. Them not getting your money is the best way you can punish them for being assholes.

[LAGO]

Originally Posted by nhm

The key is "knowingly." Honest mistakes are not covered by this. Now, if they refused to return the person's money after correcting the mistake, that would be illegal.

"knowingly" is followed by "or recklessly". That covers all the bases. You either knew you did it or weren't paying attention when you did it.