Walmart is falsely advertising products.

I have proof for that statement. I dare them to say a word to me about it. Now before I get to the evidence, I will (fairly) say that they did fully refund me for my money. So this isn't a rip-off scheme. It's just that they're trying to sell you something that isn't what you ordered, hoping you'll keep it even if the thing you ordered is a better product than what you got. See what I mean? I'm sure there are people out there (my husband is one of those people) who are willing to settle for what they give you, even if its not what you want.

Not me!

Fred's like false advertising.

Last week I saw an ad for a Bissell Power Steamer in the Fred's sale paper. I went down there and guess what? No Bissell Power Steamer. What I should have asked, but never imagined that I should have asked, is if this was something that they actually carry. Instead I asked the manager if I could get a rain check for the sale price. "Sure!" he said and directed an employee to write me one.

She was very nice and explained that the trucks deliver on Wednesdays. "Just call after 1:00 to find out if our delivery arrived."

For me, that sounded like, "... it WILL come, I'm just not sure if it'll be before 1:00 or not." How silly of me to have believed that.

So I call today, figuring that the delivery is definitely there. I speak to a girl who said that they don't have any. "That's not something we normally carry," she explained. "Maybe it'll be on the next truck."

I seriously hoped that the "next truck" would not be another week, but my hopes were dashed when she told me it would be next Wednesday. "We don't always carry what is in the ad," she tried to explain.

Excuse me? Then what is the point of the ad and the rain check? My understanding is that the ad IS what you carry and it IS supposed to be on sale, except for "disclaimers" which I address below. I am reminded of the Jerry Seinfeld rental car.



My rain check is sort of the reservation. I have reserved this Power Steamer, but this is even worse. What if Jerry went up there and though he made a reservation for a mid-size car, he was told that they don't even HAVE mid-size cars at this rental place? How is this any different?

In any case, when you publish an ad for a product at a price and you don't have that product at that price, does this make it false advertising? You are advertising something that is false. Right? There was no "disclaimer" saying that it was only "participating stores" written anywhere. I checked. It's not there.

Add this to the list of stores with terrible customer service.

Checking online sellers, merchants or whatever you want to call them.

I buy a lot of stuff online these days. In fact, outside of groceries, cars and major appliances, I can say rather honestly that I buy everything else online. From auto parts to clothing to DVDs and books, they're all online to be had and you can comparison shop on prices. The web is just an amazing resource!

The only problem is whether or not you can trust these e-merchants that you find a great bargain on. The old adage, "If it's too good to be true, it probably is," applies here. While you can find good bargains, you risk getting ripped off. So the question is, how can you be fairly certain it is really a good bargain?