60% off at Hamleys - website glitch now rectified

sindy_2

:rotfl: I like this bit - "Three years ago this sort of thing didn't exist in any real way," said Martin Lewis of moneysavingexpert.com. "Companies spend billions on advertising, marketing and sales but until the internet we had no way to fight back. Now all the tricks they use on us, we can turn back on them."

CitizenBidet

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=3777669#post3777669

I obviously put this in the wrong place! couldnt find the original thread for some reason

GRR

but good on em

Shoppaholic12345

CitizenBidet wrote:

Good on 'em
http://technology.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,1975079,00.html

[not sur eif this is the right place to post this]

Fantastic news!!! Had a feeling they would.

I'm disappointed I only placed an order for £240, which came to £95. :rotfl:

doe

Yipeee. My first time at this. Now wish i went for the snooker table.

reehsetin

oh wish id actually ordered something now

emmajk42

rosebyanyothername, can I ask you to change your avatar so people don't confuse with me from the HUKD forum?? Please.... ?

adrian2000

Wow, I now believe in Santa again!!!

Just hope it arrives before Christmas now.

Great publicity for Hamleys though.

Happy Christmas

Adrian:T

Hamleys stocks pillaged in internet error


Bobbie Johnson and David McCandless
Tuesday December 19, 2006
The Guardian


An internet loophole has left Hamleys toyshop facing a retailer's nightmare - a shortage of toys for sale at Christmas.
Users of the HotUKDeals website spotted a glitch in a voucher scheme which allowed customers to claim a cumulative 60% discount if they bought goods from the Hamleys online store. Within hours of details of the offer being posted on the internet, thousands of shoppers across the web had taken advantage of it - selling out most of the company's festive supplies for a fraction of the original price.


Article continues

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The rush took managers and IT workers by surprise, and brought the Hamleys website to a virtual standstill. And although the offer was quickly withdrawn, it is not yet clear how many people took advantage of the error. Since the store uses a central warehouse for both its actual store and its online store, the shortage will affect both outlets.
The full details of the anomaly emerged on the internet on Saturday afternoon, and by Sunday morning the Hamleys site had been picked clean - with more than half of the top-selling doll and toy ranges out of stock.

"It's like the Vikings have been to Hamleys" reported one surfer. "If you get on to their site, it's been emptied and pillaged."

Some consumers bragged about their bargain finds online, including one who boasted about ordering a full-size snooker table worth £13,000 for just over £5,000.

The company yesterday admitted that it had fallen foul of the loophole and promised to honour any orders made as a result of the blunder. "We can confirm that this weekend our website experienced a technical error," said Hamleys chief executive Nick Mather. "We addressed this issue immediately and it was resolved within 24 hours. We would like to apologise to customers who were unable to access the website and place orders during this time."

A spokeswoman said such mistakes were "one of the downsides of e-commerce", but refused to say how many customers had taken advantage of the error.

One expert said the Hamleys case was another example of the rise of so-called "consumer hackers", individuals who put huge effort into finding tricks and ploys that can save money. "Three years ago this sort of thing didn't exist in any real way," said Martin Lewis of moneysavingexpert.com. "Companies spend billions on advertising, marketing and sales but until the internet we had no way to fight back. Now all the tricks they use on us, we can turn back on them."

His website has 1.5 million users each month, and is flanked by a range of other popular portals. The sites allow consumers to track faults across thousands of retailers.

zorber

i was very good and only went for £100 worth of items, wish i had the £800 remote control car now .
Seriously this is good news for us.
i bet loads will find its way on to ebay after xmas though

Sarahsaver

THis was on radio 4 this morning. It was a loophole that has been rectified now. THose of you who needed bargains well done but it is a bit late to be xmas shopping online.
As for greed, well I'm saying nothing;)

lisa_75

This is wonderful new! It has been a tight year for us and this means I can give the kids just that little bit extra.

Fantastic! Many thanks to the original poster for finding this.