Monday, March 16, 2009

T-Mobile G1 $100 off: Costco bait and switch

There was a persistent rumor that Costco is selling G1 for $79.99. Turns out, nope, it's the same $180 as it was before (see the comments for the original link).

I wonder
  • Whether it is the initiative of some overzealous T-Mobile reps at Costco (it's not quite Costco that sells mobile phones, the relation is not that clear);
  • Why Costco didn't say a peep about the fact that the actual price is going to be $100 more than advertized (false advertizing?)
  • Does this situation qualify as "bait and switch"?
  • How Costco is going to handle this PR disaster - I'm sure the Internet is about to explode in criticism in a few hours.
Nice try, shooting themselves in the foot.

Oh, and by the way, the $97.99 G1 from Amazon is apparently sold out.

UPDATE: There are price discrepancies. Sometimes it is $180, sometimes it is $129.99 for a new line and $169.99 for an upgrade.

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