Editorial: If it seems too good to be true, it probably is

Anyone who's ever made a mistake at work must have cringed in sympathy for whoever was responsible for the "technical glitch" on Harvey Norman's website this week.

Bargain-hunters thought all their Christmases had come at once when they logged onto the website this week to find hundreds of furniture products on sale for ridiculous prices - some less than $100.

The website sold the products at the wrong prices for eight hours until the error was fixed.

So should it honour the prices?

Harvey Norman says while it's very sorry for the mistake, it was a "genuine error" and the small print on its website's terms and conditions means it has the right to "reject any offer to purchase" and correct any errors.

However, Auckland barrister Patrick McGrath said in his view the company was on the back foot legally because the sale and purchase had been completed.

More than 300 people took advantage of the online discounts and have been told they would get a refund and a $100 voucher instead.

But some customers felt that was unfair and the company should stand by its mistake and suck up the consequences.

After all, they're not some two-bit outfit, they're a big company that no doubt has specialists doing its website and online sales and is used to operating over the internet. They should know better, you could argue.

While it would be great public relations for them to honour the prices, presumably that would cost a significant amount of money.

And you have to question whether people really believed these were legitimate prices.

Three-piece lounge suites for $103, two-piece suites for $95 and a wooden tables and chairs for $159.

I would have snapped one up as well - heck, I would have got three - and hoped I got away with it. All the while knowing there was something not quite right. As the old saying goes, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

While I have sympathy for those that thought they'd scored the deal of the century, most will probably accept that even big companies make mistakes and grudgingly accept their $100 vouchers. After all, there are far greater injustices in the world to worry about.