Office Depot
Deceptive price matching and rebates

I researched buying a Brother MFC-465cn color flatbed all-in-one printer, fax, copier.

Office Depot had this item for $149.99 in store price with a $50.00 mail in rebate.

Best Buy stores have the exact same item on sale for $99.99 in store price.

You would think that Office Depot Low Price Guarantee would be cheaper by at least a penny for in store pricing. This is not true. They will only match and that match the net price. The net price will be YOUR net cost after everything including rebates even if they are from outside vendors. Home Depot deliberately fails to tell you this on any of their store rebates nor do they post this in their store where you can read it.

Regarding the item above; Office Depot has it for $149.99 plus 7.75% sales tax = $161.62 then you apply for the $50.00 rebate. Dont forget you are using your stamp, envelope, time and wait the weeks before you get maybe your rebate check. Your total net cost, less your effort for the rebate, is $111.62.

If you use the Office Depot Low Price Guarantee the cost is $99.99 plus 7.75% sale tax for a total net price of $107.74 and NO Rebate.

Why no rebate? Because, it is YOUR net cost that matters to the Office Depot Low Price Guarantee.

If Office Depot is aware that Brother has manufacture rebates, or that the government is offering rebates, or any other rebate is being offered, this will impact YOUR net cost using the Office Depot Low Price Guarantee.

This is unfair and deceptive.

In addition Office Depot also puts in the following caveat in their Office Depot Low Price Guarantee We reserve the right to modify or cancel the Low Price Guarantee at any time without prior notice. The above basically nullifies any effort to shop and receive a lower price from Office Depot on YOUR net price.

See the following Office Depot web page for details:
http://espanol. Officedepot.com/renderStaticPage. Do? File=/customerservice/lowPrice. Jsp&template=customerService
Note: This is not posted in the store where consumers can read it.

One other thought. If the Office Depot company in-house rebate process is part of their calculation of net price and do they report the consumer sale at the after rebate net cost of sale? If so, what do they do with the difference of sales tax collected between the gross in store price and the final net price for accounting? Do the pocket the difference? Are they not only cheating the Government and the consumer by this slight of hand accounting? Is this fraud?

In the case above the tax difference is ($11.63 - $7.75 =) $3.88. Multiply this small amount by the thousands of items sold each day with Office Depot.

Company: Office Depot
Country: USA
State: California
City: La Mesa
Address: Home Depot Fletcher Parkway
Phone: 8009373600

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