Well first of all, at our store did honor this promotion at our store. However, look at the fine print, it says you can get COD3 WHILE SUPPLIES LAST. So this isn't bait and switch. Putting on your ad describing that your location will have limited quantities of a certain items isn't bait and switch. This also isn't false advertisement because they actually did honor the offer.

@Asvetic:

I know this is a old topic but just to let all of you know I am a manager at the Naperville store (3121) and we honored this offer with no prob. In fact this was not an add misprint at all, they just did not update our system with this offer so we were told to manually price adjust the items. I would guess that the person you talked to at 3111 was just a new associate.

Uhhh...if you refuse to buy anything from them, how can you say you didn't have a problem getting the COD 3 promo for free??

--

I didn't get anything for free. Where did I say I did? I won't buy *anything* from Circuit City. I prefer to buy from companies who don't wake up first thing in the morning and figure out how they will screw their customers that day...

So i was one of the lucky Circuit City shoppers at store # 3175 and I went to pick up my copy of Call of Duty 3 & 4, however when i got there they were all out of the 3rd one. So they were discounting the price of Call of Duty 3 right off the top of the price of Call of Duty 4!!! I was lucky enough to get there before they changed there prices and I picked up my copy for $29.99. I did try going back and they said, well it is what it is now. Things changed, take it up with Corporate. Corporate said sorry, but its out of our hands.

A "misprint" means that the printer is at fault because of a typographical error (such as offering something for 4.99 when it was supposed to be offered for 54.99). This may be a mistake of Circuit City's marketing department, but they must honor the ad as it was printed.

This is at the least Circuit City illegally not honoring it's own ad, and at the worst Circuit City blatently pulling a "bait and switch" scam.

Buy online people! and not these retailer's websites, online STORES I mean

@JayDeEm: That doesn't always work out. You might get a box full of bathroom tile.

This guy is reporting what is so far an isolated incident, so I see no reason to get angry at all of Circuit City about it.

The reason this probably happened is there was a bug in Circuit City's computers that when the regular or gold editions of Call of Duty 3 (not the Platinum Hits edition) were added to Call of Duty 4 on the register ticket, it not only discounted CoD 3 to free (as it's normally $30) but it was discounting CoD 4 $30 as well. So you were getting a brand new, top-tier game, as well as its previous version, for a grand total of $30. Here's the original thread on CAG:

[www.cheapassgamer.com]

I thought COD3 retailed for 25

I refuse to shop at Circuit City.

Period.

I won't take anything from them for free."

Uhhh...if you refuse to buy anything from them, how can you say you didn't have a problem getting the COD 3 promo for free??

It's the little things in life that make me happy =)

I refuse to shop at Circuit City.

Period.

I won't take anything from them for free.

They are as bad as Best Buy.

You know what's funny? I work at Circuit City, and we honored this at my store. I wasn't around too much, but I sold two copies of the game. Each one had Call of Duty 3 for free included. Sounds like store #3111 has managers who are either cheap, or have no idea what they're doing. =/

It's 10:26PM EST and on CC's website, when you look up COD4, it lists right there:

Special offers

• Free: Call of Duty 3 with purchase

It ALSO lists COD4 like THIS:

Out of stock online
Notify me when available
Not available for in-store pickup

[www.circuitcity.com]

-Jeff
[alinktothefuture.com]

Sounds like one franchise owner just didn't want to honor corporate's promo.

I find letting the Attorney General's office know about these instances of false advertising works wonders. Corporate is more than happy to straighten out the offending manager.

I much prefer Best Buy over Circuit City.

That's right, I said it.

BUT: Now, it looks like Circuit City is taking advantage of people like me who give them the benefit of the doubt by lying about a misprint.

Ok, if it is a misprint, what did it mean to say? That is, if someone typed something in wrong, what was the correct text?

Clearly BS on their part.

CC won't see another dollar from me and I will badmouth them to anyone who will listen.

I can't prove they're lying about their stock, but it's the only way to ensure I actually get the game I want, especially with all the ebay hoarders out there.

Regardless what Circuit City may state, consumers should put the pressure on Circuit City stores nationwide with boycotts and reporting this to your local media to try and get as much bad publicity for Circuit City as you can.

Fight fire with fire. This is just another example of a big company that thinks they are above the law and can do whatever they want.

The first time I wasn't upset, but once a month? Definitely bait-and-switch. If you bitch about it, they just say, "Oh, well, you know...Corporate." :shakes head: Which is why I do all my shopping with Amazon.

Price match plus BB will beat the price by 10%, I suspect.

And none of the game shared any story line except for the era that the game was taking place in.

Or are you going from COD2->COD4 and taking advantage of getting COD3 for free and planning to take a week off from school/work to conquer two versions in a row?

signed,
CompletelyIgnorantAboutSuchThings

With enough complaints, the government will step in (like they did to CompUSA) and give dishonest merchants some lessons.

So, I went to Best Buy with my Frys ad, they matched it no questions asked and I was in and out in 10 minutes. I used to shop CC, but now BB will be earning my $$$ if I ever need to get anything there.

I got my copy of COD4 and 3 after mentioning to a manger how I spoke to executive services for avaialbility and asked him if I could get his name and the store number. After I bought my two copies for me and my friend the employees bought the rest.

I got my copy Today made them get the COD4 from the back and COD3. One manager playfully said he doesn't think they had it. I then mentioned I talked to ezxecutive services earlier to verify availability and asked if I could get his name and the store number. All of a sudden he went to let me check one more time. After I bought my two copies for me and my friend at work the employees bought the rest.

Or should I say least values?

Maybe these people should pick up the phone and call corporate while in the store? I think that would solve problems pretty quickly if this is supposed to be a corporate sponsored event.

@warf0x0r: I highly doubt this is the case. Usually when these types of promotions go on, there's some 'deductions' that corporate absorbs so help offset (or completely cancel out) the losses. Franchises are usually the exception.

What this store is trying to do is get ahead by reselling the items that were already accounted for, essentially double dipping.

@warf0x0r: It seems crazy that CC corporate would creat a promotion and then penalize stores for participating. I'm not saying you're wrong, just that it's extremely short sighted. Since I don't play video games the only time I go to a place like this is to buy a TV...which isn't often.

It's not a misprint, it's not false advertising, it's a store that doesn't understand their own promos. They'd have a communication if it was a misprint.

@Scazza: @tomok97: #47875830790 is the Cicuit City part number. Heres the website link [www.circuitcity.com]

Not quite a misprint when its clearly setup on their website...

I don't understand what an individual store gains out of declining this promotion. CC isn't made up of franchises so why would a store manager care?

Here's the address and phone number:
Circuit City Sotres, Inc.
5555 Saint Louis Mills Blv.
Hazelwood, MO 63042
(314) 227-5350

At times like this, you really have to wonder, indeed, how stupid does CC actually think their customers are?

This is one of the main reasons I just don't bother with CC anymore, its not like I can't get "it" online at the same price or cheaper. Every time I have gone into their stores in the past there has been at least 5 or 6 signs stating supposed "misprints". This was happening week after week so eventually I just stopped going, no other store has 5-6 signs up on the ad rack stating misprints every week..

At least when best buy or another store has a legitmate misprint they do everything in their power to inform the publc, such as pulling it from their website and making a large announcement on the front page of their website, plus putting huge signs up on the doors of the stores, I don't see CC doing any of this stuff to inform customers of misprints in their ad.

Sure.

I'd go to a different Circuit City, and if you get the same response I'd dig into Consumerist's archive to see if there's ECS carpet-bombing information.

It doesn't appear that my previous comment went through, so to be clear this was the Schaumburg, IL store, not Naperville.

Just for clarification (I submitted this story), this happened at the Schaumburg, IL store (#3111) which was closer to my office, not the Naperville, IL store, althought I wouldn't expect better treatment there.

Also, isn't it considered bait and switch if it causes you to ENTER the store (like, if it was a mislabeled price on an item IN the store, its not fine for the company to turn the offer down) therefore they have to honor it if its a reasonable offer (which, a free game from the same series sounds very reasonable, and not done in err.)

Apparently, the store in Naperville is just a bunch of cheapskates that clearly are going above corporate and refusing to honor.

Circuit City should have more respect for its customers.