Journal

E-Camerce?

PC Pro logo Posted: 1st April 2000 | Filed under: Press Articles
Author: Paul Ockenden
First Appeared in PC Pro 2000

If you follow the news from the world of e-commerce you can't fail to have noticed a little cock-up involving a camera listed on the Kodak Web site. The news wasn't just reported in the IT press - it also made the pages of the red-top tabloid newspapers. A camera which should have been priced at around £330 was in fact listed for £100. Word got around that there was a bargain to be had, and many tens of thousands of orders were placed. Kodak subsequently spotted the error, and tried to refuse the orders, the buyers (including Paul) resisted. The reason they could do this is that Kodak had sent out an automated order confirmation email which claimed to be a contract.

No doubt your lawyers will have updated you on the legal issues surrounding this case, but our own non-legal advice is "always get some legal advice". A few hundred pounds spent with a reputable e-commerce specialist lawyer might have saved Kodak a few million. Their shareholders must be horrified.