Official Wii U Thread!: Pokemon Rubmle U coming to Wii U

[milkyjoe]

Wyrdness said:

milkyjoe said:
Amazon don't have to honour anything, so I'm surprised if they have. In order for them to legally be forced to reinstate the pre-orders you'd have to prove that you had formed a contract with them for the sale of the console.

However, clicking pre-order now and going through the checkout doesn't count as a formed contract. The price they list on the website is regarded as an invitation to treat, and when you go through the checkout you are essentially making an offer to them to buy whatever it is you're ordering for that price. The contract isn't formed until they take your money and send out the goods.

Actually they do under certain circumstances, some people who pre-ordered are getting the same product under the same price as a result the courts here can rule that those who pre-ordered before are entitled to the same. Amazon send out confirmation emails as well and the previous pre-orders were under the Amazon price protection policy, something they broke by the cancellations, so that may very well be proof enough, they also can't just put a price up on their site and change it as then advertizing watchdogs and consumer rights start coming into play and they can be hit with price fixing fines, it's a retail outlet not an auction outlet they're giving you a price not you making them an offer.

The problem is the is no RRP in Europe apart from Nintendo restricting the price to not go over 300 for the premium alone so they have to honour the early prices they put up after the official launch announcement as they put it up as their official price and many people got it for the same original pre-order price, these can't be cancelled because Amazon themselves put these up as their own prices so would be hit by laws

I know it's a retail outlet and not an auction house, my first post details how a contract between a consumer and a retailer is formed in the eyes of the law in the UK, and it's only when a retailer can be found to be in breach of contract that a court would do anything about it. Of course, the contract has to be formed before that can happen, and it isn't formed until money is exchanged and goods are sent out/received. And again, listing the price on the website isn't legally viewed as an offer to form a contract by the retailer, it's an invitation to treat, and that's quite an important legal distinction because it prevents legal challenges in situations like this (you might want to read up about Fisher v Bell, as that is one of the key cases that set this precedent).

It might piss people off, and consumer groups might be up in arms, but legally, there's no case. Pre-order price guarantees and honouring previous prices in cases like this are essentially PR schemes. They are used to keep consumers happy, but ultimately, they aren't legally bound to uphold them. Which is why they're able to cancel orders where products have been incorrectly priced in spite of the existence of the guarantee.