Wal-Mart Can't Decide If The Web Is A Lawsuit Target Or A Marketing Opportunity
from the thanksgiving-tradition dept
This is becoming something of an annual ritual. Every year, websites obtain leaked copies of retail stores' day-after-thanksgiving sales circulators and post the prices. Every year, retail stores sue those websites claiming they're guilty of copyright infringement. And every year, Techdirt points out that prices are facts, and facts can't be copyrighted. The New York Times had a good write-up of the controversy. The offenders this year are Wal-Mart and Macy's both of whom have sent threatening letters to a site called BFAds warning them not to post information from their ads. The Times story has a couple of interesting tidbits. When confronted by the reporter, Wal-Mart couldn't provide a specific explanation of what was illegal about posting prices. We also learn that at the same time Wal-Mart is sending BFAds threatening letters, it's perfectly willing to send them money as part of its "affiliates program." You would think that the operators of BFAds would take a stand and refuse to do business with them until they retract their lawsuit threat. Meanwhile, a story in USA Today suggests that Wal-Mart might be realizing that the web is an important part of its marketing strategy and not just a place to send cease-and-desist letters. They've started offering special online sale prices for Black Friday, and they offer free shipping to customers who choose to have the purchases sent to their local Wal-Mart store. Maybe next year Wal-Mart should spend less time looking for people to sue and more time looking for ways to attract customers online.
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Filed Under: black friday, thanksgiving
Companies: wal-mart
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Why refuse to do business?
Hmm...maybe Wal-Mart and BFAds actually staged this whole thing...
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Maybe Walmart does have it figured out
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Think a little deaper
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Jerks.
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Newsflash...
It's a gift card, so Best Buy already has the money. They don't care if you come on Friday or not. In fact, they probably would prefer that you didn't, because if you don't come on Friday then you're probably getting less for your money than you could be, which means that they're making higher margins than they would if you used that gift card on a Black Friday "doorbuster".
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Re: Newsflash...
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And evrey year...
Techdirt fails to point out companies using the Streisand Effect to their advantage.
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wow
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Please be careful dismounting from your high horse
Hey something else I just noticed. What the heck do either of these stories have to do with Tech?
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Funny thing
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Publicity Stunt
Of course another press release stated today that some gay rights group wants people to not shop at Wal-Mart because they do not offer health benefits to those that have "partners" instead of spouses.
What's next? Press releases to notify the public that the CEO of a company picked his nose but everything is O.K.?
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Too bad that BFAds...
"Black Friday" (much like Christmas) is basically a pain in the ass, anyway. I had been ignoring it in the past, but I got a notice from Fry's about some things I thought I might like to buy at pretty good prices, so I actually went out there at 5:00 this morning. I was expecting maybe a couple of hundred die-hard shoppers to be waiting at the door, and I was planning to just park in the far part of the lot and wait in my truck for the line to get in.
OH. MY. GOD.
I was off by about two orders of magnitude. Not a parking spot within a quarter-mile (not even any illegal ones left).
I'm somewhat embarrassed that I factored myself in with the epsilon-minuses, even just this once. But, lesson learned; never again will I lose any sleep worrying about getting to the store on time to get a Black Friday special.
Fry's is now on my list of places to avoid until at least the end of January. Sorry, but there isn't a hard drive or LCD display priced low enough to make me stand out in the cold for over an hour while the Fire Marshall makes sure that the building capacity is not exceeded. I don't care if the damned things are FREE!
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Walmart Black Friday Deals
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Walmart's Legal Team
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