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Cease and Desist Order from Sears?


crix101

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My husband signed up for a different black friday site last year (trator!) and they just sent him an email stating that Sears had file a Cease and Desist order requiring the ads be taken of the web. Is this a bunch of bull? I hadnt heard of anything and I thought it might be a ploy to get people to thier site. What do you guys think? Brad, Ross?
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I actually had an IM conversation with the owner of that other site yesterday. Apparently it is true. We haven't been contacted yet (knock on wood) but still I would suggest that if anyone wants to have the Sears scans that you download them very soon.

 

Sears was one of only 2 stores that made us remove the ads last year (Home Depot was the other), so it is not too surprising.

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Guest Frieked

Isn't that really kind of stupid on Sears part?

Isn't this basically free advertising for them?

 

Anyway you can just claim fair use?

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If we have to remove the scans and the list, we'll still keep the items in the database - they just won't be shown, but then a few days before BF they will magically re-appear and still be in your shopping lists, so don't worry about that. We might even let them stay in the shopping list part of the site and just not have them shown with the rest of the ads. Like I said, we haven't even been contacted yet, so don't get too worried yet. If you print out your shopping list on Thanksgiving day, the Sears items will be on the list either way.
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Guest Frieked

1. Competitors could see it and adjust their BF pricing accordingly.

 

2. They could lose out on their weekly sales before BF.

Good point, I still think it'll bring in more people that it will keep away though
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I wish I still had Kmart here. Then I could get the ads, because I knew in my area where they kept all the ads. It my area they always kept them in the layaway department. You might go to your Kmart and nose around back there and see if you can find a stack of brown boxes full of ads. The have dates on the boxes so just look for 11/25. Hope someone gets lucky.
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Why would sears worry about someone undercutting their prices. Most of their producst are Craftsman and Kenmore, and you can't get those anywhere else. I found a few things in there I was not planning on buying, but am now. They are getting $300 in sales because the add was posted here. If they force it to be removed I might reconsider where I do my shopping.
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Why would sears worry about someone undercutting their prices.

I don't think they are. And even if they did undercut them...w/ their pricematching plus 10% who wouldn't go to Sears anyway? I think it must just be a principal thing or the like someone else said that they will lose out on their preblackfriday sales from the people that are going to wait for the lower price.
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1. Competitors could see it and adjust their BF pricing accordingly.

 

 

Not very likely. Lots of lead time goes into corporate(s) deciding what will be on sale on BF. Most, if not all, of the BF ads have already been printed and are just waiting distribution through the newspapers, with pricing already set. And you can bet if Brad & Ross are able to get their hands of the different ads then the competitors already have their hands on them, too...

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Not very likely. Lots of lead time goes into corporate(s) deciding what will be on sale on BF. Most, if not all, of the BF ads have already been printed and are just waiting distribution through the newspapers, with pricing already set. And you can bet if Brad & Ross are able to get their hands of the different ads then the competitors already have their hands on them, too...

Exactly. These big companies likely have people entrenched in their competitors' organizations for things like this. I think the stores' main complaint (other than being embarassed when these get leaked so early) is that people won't buy as much before BF (when they stand to make more $) if they know a better deal is coming.

 

That argument doesn't have much validity to me. How many people were originally planning on buying a laptop AT WALMART but now won't because they think they are going to be one of the select few to get the $398 model. Everyone knows there are going to be great deals on BF, whether the ads are out or not, so people are going to be waiting anyway.

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If it weren't for this site, I guarantee you that I would never head out on BF! Any store that receives my business on BF has this site to thank. That's all I'm saying.

Ditto. I go through the ads each year but I need more time than just a day or two to figure out what is worth it, where I need/want to go, etc.

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I think the stores' main complaint (other than being embarassed when these get leaked so early) is that people won't buy as much before BF (when they stand to make more $) if they know a better deal is coming.

That arguement doesn't do much for me either. In our house ALL our big ticket items and 90% of the electronics get bought on Black Friday, by me. DH always has to work. I knew what I would be looking for last year, so we could budget for it. Tonight, we just discussed what we should be looking for next year, ('06), based on what is likely to be at the end of it's life at that time.

 

The only exceptions to this rule are any sales tax holidays. On them we replace stuff that isn't likely to make it to BF.

 

Knowing what is on sale where, helps me plan my shopping day quickly and easily. For example, last year when Wal*Mart's BF "sale" was so awful, I knew to focus my attention on other stores.

 

I think DH and I are retailer's worse nightmare anyway. We buy needs, not wants or fads. We always shop sales, coupons, seconds, don't buy extended warranties, sometimes layway and pay with cash/debit. So the bank doesn't like us either. :D

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