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If a deal on Amazon.com seems too good to be true, chances are it might be. A Seattle small claims court judge ruled Wednesday that Amazon.com could cancel a sale in which it accidentally discounted a $1,049 TV by 90 percent. Although buyer Barry Sweet’s order and credit card information went through, Amazon contacted him two days after the August 2002 sale to notify him of the mistake. The company canceled the order and did not charge Sweet’s credit card. But Sweet, who had received a confirmation email with a shipping date, felt that the 36-inch RCA television was rightfully his for the listed price of $99.99. When the company offered the set for the corrected sale price of $849.99, Sweet refused and instead challenged the about-face. In court, Amazon lawyers said that about 6,000 customers ordered the incorrectly priced set, and all orders were canceled. Lawyers argued that the price was clearly a mistake and that, although the company certainly does not intend them, errors will happen. The judge agreed, nullifying the sale for a second time.
Brit bosses crack down on at-work surfers
British bosses are apparently a bit more strict than American ones, or at least a little quicker on the uptake. While at-work personal internet use continues to rise in the United States, a new study shows that British workers are increasingly waiting until off hours to do their surfing, thanks to stricter at-work monitoring. British electronics group Amstrad Plc found that 26 percent of workers have paid for home internet connections because they were scared of being caught surfing at work. More than 30 percent said that their bosses read their email, and 39 percent said that if they were discovered surfing the net for pleasure on office time, they would be punished. And yet, British workers still spent more than two work hours per day on personal internet and email use. Not surprisingly, another recent British poll found that the biggest cause of disciplinary action in the workplace is internet abuse, accounting for more dismissals than violence, dishonesty and health/safety violations combined. Twenty percent of firms surveyed monitor employee internet and email habits each day. That’s about double the percent that did so a year and a half ago.
Fly the friendly skies, with MP3s and satellite TV
Remember the good old days, when airlines used to have price wars? Well, the latest permutation is technology wars. Delta Air Lines, hoping to compete with entertainment-savvy discount flyer JetBlue Airways, has introduced a low-fare subsidiary, Song. Song promises to go JetBlue’s live seatback television one better by giving customers their own MP3 audio. Singapore Airlines has already introduced this feature, which allows flyers to create their own song lists while in their chairs. They’ll also, of course, get the seatback TV offered by JetBlue. In the next few months, even more innovations are set to debut. Two phone companies, AirCell and Verizon Airfone, are competing to produce the first usable in-flight cell phone. And a new Delta outfit will offer 24 satellite television channels starting late this year, although movies will cost extra. Interactive seatback trivia games, onboard shopping, interactive maps and internet connections are also on the way.
Study: DVD fastest-selling tech gadget ever
A new report from Jon Peddie Research tabs DVDs as the fastest-growing new technology product. Researchers predict that by 2006, more than 420 million DVD systems will have been sold. It predicts an annual system sales growth rate of about 31 percent. By ’06, production of DVD discs will exceed 1.6 billion. The report also says that, since its 1996 introduction, DVD technology has been the fastest-growing consumer electronic product ever. When the first DVD players hit the market they cost more than $500. Now units average about $129. DVD player technology is also available via computers, laptops and car systems, the latter of which is growing by 71 percent per year.
Media Audit, comScore pair for local measuring
The Media Audit and comScore Networks have partnered to create a new local market internet measurement service. The new service will measure online and traditional media consumption, buying behavior and consumer attitudes by merging comScore local market services with Media Audit’s. One important aspect of this will be LocalScore, a system that correlates online audience behavior in the top 78 U.S. local markets to offline product and service spending. ComScore web metrics are based on the company’s Global Network, which monitors the internet activity of more than 1.5 million internet users.
January 31, 2003© 2003 Media Life
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