# Alert Petco really messed up



## hyla23 (Apr 27, 2008)

I just bought 3 36x18x24 exoterras from petcos website for 25 bucks each get them while you can not sure how long this will last.


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## daggekko (Jun 27, 2011)

How'd shipping end up on that?


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## mydumname (Dec 24, 2004)

$5 or $6 actually.

This has happened before...expect the order to be canceled unfortunately.


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## hyla23 (Apr 27, 2008)

Id rather have the tanks then the refund


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## mydumname (Dec 24, 2004)

Umm........ok


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## Dragonfish (Mar 23, 2012)

In for 1!!!!!! You're the best! $5.99 shipping too!


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## Azurel (Aug 5, 2010)

They had this before with lighting fixtures....All orders were cancelled over the next few days....I would assume it will happen again.

sent from my Galaxy S lll


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## tarbo96 (Jan 12, 2006)

That sucks...how can they do that?


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## mydumname (Dec 24, 2004)

Because I'm sure they have had orders for 100s if not more already. They would most likely be backordered for a while plus suffer significant financial losses.


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

I feel dirty... 

I had another thing like this happen with an RC heli...I guess it was supposed to be 99.99, and they accidently put it online for 9.99...They cancelled the order. I suspect we will all be disappointed.


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## tarbo96 (Jan 12, 2006)

I hear ya, but I was in retail for years. If we messed up we honored the prices and it came out of our store totals. They could honor the orders in stock.


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## daggekko (Jun 27, 2011)

Well I will either get my money back or I will get some awesome tanks at awesome prices!


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## carola1155 (Sep 10, 2007)

I know its always nice to share a good deal with people... but when something like this is clearly a typographical error (I'm sure they meant to put $259.99) it is best to not post it on a forum and have tons of people go and scramble to buy it. 

You are better off keeping it to yourself and hoping it slips by unnoticed until it is shipped and at your doorstep. Then, its a lot tougher for them to go back on it.


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## tarbo96 (Jan 12, 2006)

Good call...so no one else place any orders


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

I paid with paypal...I wonder if you could do a dispute through paypal if they refuse to honor the order, like demanding they send the tank? I don't think I'd go that far personally...but I'm kinda curious  I'm sure they'll do the refund without a paypal dispute opened.


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## heyduke (Sep 19, 2006)

They have fine print in their order agreement that says they don't have to honor pricing blah blah blah...


Sean


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

heyduke said:


> They have fine print in their order agreement that says they don't have to honor pricing blah blah blah...
> 
> 
> Sean


Boo!!!
Quick someone open an online store and list those exoterras for $25... We'll use price matching as a loop hole


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## Splash&Dash (Oct 16, 2012)

Azurel said:


> They had this before with lighting fixtures....All orders were cancelled over the next few days....I would assume it will happen again.
> 
> sent from my Galaxy S lll


yeah, no way they are just going to eat that one


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## azn567 (Jan 11, 2013)

Just ordered 6 of these. Keeping my fingers crossed...


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## Reptile Island (May 10, 2011)

Unfortunately, here is no way this is not a mistake. Hagen (Exo Terra) has just put out minimum pricing guides that take effect next week stating that this cage must be sold for $259.99 or higher. All the other cages are priced at the new minimum pricing, with the exception of this cage which appears to be missing a "9". I know for a fact that no supplier gets more then 50% off Hagen's list price, which means that Petco paid over 5 times more then they are selling it for. Petco is charging $6.99 for shipping 3 of these cages, when it will cost them at least $50 to ship. Going by the craze of posts on forums (not even reptile forums), I'd say Petco has sold more of these cages tonight then Hagen has sold in the past 5 years. I know a few people who ordered over 100 cages; there simply won't be enough cages to go around.

It will be nice if they honor this but I don't see how they physically or financially can. And to those who are wondering, Petco is not legally required to ship the items in cases of obvious error. Consumer Advertising Law Blog: Oops! Pricing Mistakes By Online Retailers has a few details on that.


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

Reptile Island said:


> Unfortunately, here is no way this is not a mistake. Hagen (Exo Terra) has just put out minimum pricing guides that take effect next week stating that this cage must be sold for $259.99 or higher. All the other cages are priced at the new minimum pricing, with the exception of this cage which appears to be missing a "9". I know for a fact that no supplier gets more then 50% off Hagen's list price, which means that Petco paid over 5 times more then they are selling it for. Petco is charging $6.99 for shipping 3 of these cages, when it will cost them at least $50 to ship. Going by the craze of posts on forums (not even reptile forums), I'd say Petco has sold more of these cages tonight then Hagen has sold in the past 5 years. I know a few people who ordered over 100 cages; there simply won't be enough cages to go around.
> 
> It will be nice if they honor this but I don't see how they physically or financially can. And to those who are wondering, Petco is not legally required to ship the items in cases of obvious error. Consumer Advertising Law Blog: Oops! Pricing Mistakes By Online Retailers has a few details on that.


Good info. Ya I think 99% of us are S.O.L... The very first to spot this and order may luck out and get processed before they get on the ball and nip this in the butt, but I saw in my confirmation email *"Usually Leaves Warehouse in 5-7 Business Days"*

...That is plenty of time for them to catch this and pull back most if not all the orders....still I'm crossing my fingers


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## that Frog Guy (May 13, 2012)

Wow. Deal of the Century.

300 on sale for 25


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## jacobi (Dec 15, 2010)

This happened last year, nobody got a thing. There's a thread somewhere here about it, some people got really riled up about it....


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## carola1155 (Sep 10, 2007)

Reptile Island said:


> I know a few people who ordered over 100 cages; there simply won't be enough cages to go around.


Can you do me a favor and smack them? I'm sure they know it was an error... So I really don't understand the point of letting petco have over $2600 from you for a few days.

Like I said before... If you see something like this, just keep it to yourself. Posting it on forums alerts the idiots that will order over 100 of them so then the company will definitely catch the error and nobody will get a thing.


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## easternversant (Sep 4, 2012)

This made it to Slickdeal's frontpage.....no way folks will be getting their tanks. I'm not even going to try.


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## B-NICE (Jul 15, 2011)

I think they do this on purpose lmao. Corp. America will always get over on us, we will never get over on it.


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## froggies3 (Feb 1, 2011)

I just tried to order one and if you scroll up in the payment processing page it corrects the mistake and changes it to $259.00, but you can go through the whole checkout process without seeing the price after the change. So, before you pay thousands of dollars on a mistake, check the price!



***Edit: I did not mean to come off as mean, but as I read through my message, I realized the fact.


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## JJuchems (Feb 16, 2004)

carola1155 said:


> I know its always nice to share a good deal with people... but when something like this is clearly a typographical error (I'm sure they meant to put $259.99) it is best to not post it on a forum and have tons of people go and scramble to buy it.
> 
> You are better off keeping it to yourself and hoping it slips by unnoticed until it is shipped and at your doorstep. Then, its a lot tougher for them to go back on it.


And not spreading it on Facebook...


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## Dragonfish (Mar 23, 2012)

It really pisses me off when something like this happens and some joker has to buy tons of them. Being a member of slickdeals for years, the first rule of price mistake is ONLY BUY 1 or 2!!!! Don't people realize that it sets off a red flag when one guy buys 5+ of a normally expensive item? (rule #2 is never call the store if anyone was wondering) And I agree, keep it quiet. Now that said, a couple years ago some pet chain (can't remember which) screwed up and posted an RO/DI filter for $.01 and they honored the orders. Unfortunately three idiots ordered 50 each and the company shut it down immediately after that.


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## carola1155 (Sep 10, 2007)

it has now been corrected on the main page... it is listed at $259.99


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## JJuchems (Feb 16, 2004)

PetsMart misprinted Zoo Med Frog and Tadpole Bites about 2-3 years ago. Sale price was $1.99 from 2.99 but they listed it at $0.09. I purchased 10, didn't say anything on the forums, ect and they honored it. I thought I might get the same treatment on the Exo Terra light fixture till it blew up on Facebook and on the Forums. 

That was PetsMart, now that this went viral, it is not going to happen folks. I search the sites for deal.


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## that Frog Guy (May 13, 2012)

I got it last night for 25.99

My Debit Card was billed too.

So it is paid for.

Does that mean I will get it.

I just got one so I was not being greedy like others.


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## brog32 (Oct 28, 2005)

Unfortunately you'll receive your payment back and no tanks.... But hey, maybe they will honor the first couple.


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

that Frog Guy said:


> I got it last night for 25.99
> 
> My Debit Card was billed too.
> 
> ...


Ya 1 is all I tried for...I think the people who ordered dozens, or 100+ probably killed it for us. I can kinda understand why they'd get excited and give it a shot, especially if they planned on re-selling them. They essentially have nothing to lose by trying and could make a ton of money, but it is unrealistic to think that the company would honor that...and it ruins it for the rest of us.

1-3 they _*might*_ honor, and I suppose there is a chance for some of us that ordered fast and only ordered 1 or 2, that it may get honored...but I'm not holding my breath. 

No word from them yet on my order being cancelled though, so fingers still crossed. I'm hoping they decide to honor it for people who didn't get to greedy 

I actually used to work for Petco...and am currently up for a couple positions LOL


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## Reptile Island (May 10, 2011)

Dendro Dave said:


> Ya 1 is all I tried for...I think the people who ordered dozens, or 100+ probably killed it for us. I can kinda understand why they'd get excited and give it a shot, especially if they planned on re-selling them. They essentially have nothing to lose by trying and could make a ton of money, but it is unrealistic to think that the company would honor that...and it ruins it for the rest of us.
> 
> 1-3 they _*might*_ honor, and I suppose there is a chance for some of us that ordered fast and only ordered 1 or 2, that it may get honored...but I'm not holding my breath.
> 
> ...


Even ignoring the people who ordered three or more of these, its likely thousands of people tried to order one or two of them. Getting to the front page of slick deals killed the chance of this getting through just as much as people ordering hundreds of them. My educated guess is that before the price was taken down, Petco sold over 2-3 times as many of these cages overnight then Hagen has ever sold since they made the cage (its just not a popular size). 

Assuming the impossible happens and Petco honors the deal and hagen has a full giant warehouse dedicated to just storing large tall enclosures, it would be interesting to see how it would effect the reptile economy. This would be the single largest event that puts an increase in demand for animals and decreases the demand for enclosures. Cages would be on CL for $100, then $70, then $40 as people trying to flip these giant bulky cages find that every person who could possibly want one has more then they need. Sales of all mid to large size reptile enclosures at regular retail price would grind to a halt and it would be years before the prices on cages stabilize.


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## Pubfiction (Feb 3, 2013)

I have seen price mistakes like this go a lot of ways so its really up in the air. Because this is so big though I expect they wont want to bother and will likely cancel all orders.

1. Cancel everyone's order. Most common and most likely.
2. Cancel all item only orders, but some people who threw another item in the order end up getting there's, say you bought a bottle of supplements too. I believe this is due to them not actually looking through the orders, they use a query to search for all orders only containing the item and arbitrarily cancel every one of them but end up missing the ones that have other items. It's also possible they figure people who bought more are real customers. 
3. Fill first orders till stock is out then cancel all the rest.
4. Only fill a single unit for each order. (personally my favorite)


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## Dragonfish (Mar 23, 2012)

Got my order cancelation notice


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## brog32 (Oct 28, 2005)

Cancelled.


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## carola1155 (Sep 10, 2007)

Yup...


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## ALLEN HUNTER (Jun 9, 2009)

DOG	CAT	FISH	SMALL ANIMAL	FERRET	REPTILE	BIRD 
Dear Pet Parent,

This is to inform you that your recent online order for the Exo-Terra Glass Terrarium has been cancelled due to a pricing error on our website. Please accept our sincere apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused you. Note, you have not been charged for this order.

Please feel free to call 877-738-6742 if you have any further questions, or if you would like assistance in placing a new order from one of our customer service agents.

Thank you for your understanding and continued patronage.

Warm regards,

Your friends at petco.com


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## Nismo95 (Jul 30, 2011)

seems like petco and petsmart always run into this issue with exo terra setups when they try to set a sale on them.. maybe Petco should just push more dollar per gallon sales.. we always love them and its hard to mess that one up haha


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## JJuchems (Feb 16, 2004)

I called the 1-800 twice and got a busy signal, I was just seeing how busy their phone lines got, I don't want to talk to someone over this issue. Looks like a tough day for a call center in India.


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

Nismo95 said:


> seems like petco and petsmart always run into this issue with exo terra setups when they try to set a sale on them.. maybe Petco should just push more dollar per gallon sales.. we always love them and its hard to mess that one up haha


Ya, I love my $30 oceanic cube  (They nipped that in the butt pretty fast). Sadly I was responsible this year and didn't blow a bunch of money on $1 per gal tanks. I had a couple 30's and 55, and a 10 still sitting empty so it was hard to justify it. Next time though! 

On a side note, I have not yet gotten a cancellation notice for my 1 tank order.

*Edit:*
Checked again right after posting this...cancelled


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## frogface (Feb 20, 2010)

Now, see, if I noticed an error like that, I'd probably call them up to let them know, instead of order 500 tanks. That's why none of the cool people like me, lol. 

disclaimer: some of the people who like me are, in fact, cool.


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## frogface (Feb 20, 2010)

In a perfect world, your orders would be honored, but, charged at the intended price, haha.


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

frogface said:


> In a perfect world, your orders would be honored, but, charged at the intended price, haha.



You're so cruel*!*


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## JJuchems (Feb 16, 2004)

Interesting note I received a phone call apologizing for the cancellation today, from a live person.


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

JJuchems said:


> Interesting note I received a phone call apologizing for the cancellation today, from a live person.


Wow, that is kinda shocking.


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## JJuchems (Feb 16, 2004)

And now I just got an email stating my order is being processed...


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## Bcs TX (Sep 13, 2008)

JJuchems said:


> And now I just got an email stating my order is being processed...


I received the same e-mail but when I logged on and looked at status it said cancelled.


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## JJuchems (Feb 16, 2004)

Bcs TX said:


> I received the same e-mail but when I logged on and looked at status it said cancelled.


Mine does not, as of now.


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## Groundhog (Dec 17, 2006)

1) I cannot/will not read this whole thread;
2) Can we at least try to be ethical?
3) Hmnnn... In New York, something is mismarked, customer pays marked price. Otherwise, it is seen as a bait and switch... Guess this does not legally apply to internet sales?
4) Can we at least try to be ethical?
5)Dave looks like Sean Connery
6) Can we at least try to be ethical?

Now me, I would (try to):

1) receive the tank;
2) Call THEM, apologize, and offer to return it if they send me a comparable Zoomed for $50. They'd be making $25--and I would feel quite:

ETHICAL

3) If they say no, I believe the liberal/Buddhist/Christian/ethical solution involves a pair of pliers and a blowtorch.
4) Not kidding about #3 (wouldn't be ethical


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## Bcs TX (Sep 13, 2008)

Maybe you will get them....
Don't hold your breath.


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## carola1155 (Sep 10, 2007)

So here's a question... Anyone actually get their money back yet? If so, how did you pay for it?


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## Cfrog (Oct 28, 2011)

Got an email orig. that it was cancelled and I would not be charged. I was charged and this is what it looks like when I go to my account.


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## Bcs TX (Sep 13, 2008)

I called and a representative told me it would be 3-5 days for the refund to show up (I payed with paypal - ordered 2 vivs) plus I had some expired pals points that she renewed for me due to the inconvenience. She thanked me several times for being cordial. Guess a lot of people are calling in hacked off, maybe understandable but in reality it was a company decision nothing these representatives can do about it.


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## that Frog Guy (May 13, 2012)

I called and got a 10 Dollar Gift Card that I can use in store.


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