Yahoo
Laser Printer Ad at $377 Became Laser Toner at Checkout

(I wish that I could send the 22 "screen prints" that I made at the time of the dispute.)

My wife and I decided that we could use a laser printer. I went to Yahoo.com and used the search menu to search for a Lexmark laser printer. The results showed a Lexmark Optra W810 printer. Displayed was a Yahoo "Product Guide" for the printer (a major hit). This screen then led to Yahoo screens listing specs, reviews, and the 13 vendors that were selling the printer for $377 to $548.

I went to the Lexmark site and researched the printer. It was really cheap for a good-quality printer, but the $377 price had been on several Yahoo screens. I talked over the purchase with my wife and we decided to buy it. I went back to a Yahoo screen, selected the vendor with the $377 price and pressed "BUY." The next screen showed the $377 price but a new product description: "laser toner"!

Thinking I had made a mistake, I retraced my steps. It turned out that all 13 vendors advertising the laser printer would change the description to laser toner after I pressed the "BUY" icon. That is a bait and switch by the classic and standard definition.

It took a lot of time on the phone and on hold to get to someone. Mr. Jaime Perez said that he could see exactly what I was seeing, but it was not his department. Then I was sent to Bernedette, to Manny, to Zack, and to Bert. It did not happen in one day; I had to leave voicemail and call several times, as well as send several emails with supporting screen prints.

Bottom line: the answer was, roughly, "Yes, the ads were misleading, and thanks for your help in pointing them out. No, we're not going to sell you a printer for $377."

Maybe I should have known that Yahoo was pulling a fast one. There were (are) four nested Yahoo screens, ending with the "BUY" screen, that were all listing the $377 price.

I want to buy the printer for the advertised price.

Company: Yahoo
Country: USA
State: California
City: Sunnyvale
Address: 701 First Avenue
Phone: 4083493300

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