Buyer Beware: How To Get $7 Worth Of Candy For $50
September 4, 2003
By KOMO Staff & News Services
MOUNT VERNON - You might want to think twice when you order gifts on the Internet.
We received an e-mail from a viewer in Mount Vernon who just received a special delivery from her daughter in Arizona. It's a birthday box of goodies from ftd.com.
You may be expecting a box filled with cookies and candy -- so was she. But 'filled' is not the operative word here.
June Keepers' daughter called ahead and told her to expect the overnight Federal Express delivery from FTD.com.
"Wow! A lot of candy, I thought," June Keepers said.
She was excited, until she untied the ribbons and pulled away the cellophane.
Inside: a 2 ounce pack of Skittles, a 2 ounce Starburst, a chocolate bar in birthday wrap, a Kit Kat bar, 2 packs of M&Ms, 2 ounces of Famous Amos cookies, 6 Oreo cookies, and 1 Rice Krispies treat. A total of 9 goodies and 2 party blowers.
The rest is packing material.
The bill? $30.99 for the box plus $18.99 for postage and handling for a grand total of $49.98.
"We knew it couldn't be what she intended, so that's when my daughter looked it up on the Internet," Keeper said.
The picture on the FTD.com Web site looks like the box is overflowing. But look closer: there's only one of each item. The Web site doesn't say how many you get.
When asked how much she thought it would cost to go out and buy the same amount of candy on her own, she replied, "I had thought it would cost, probably $5."
She's not far off. We went to the store and purchased the items retail. With the exception of one item, they cost less than 70 cents a piece.
The store didn't have the 2-ounce Famous Amos, so I bought the 5-ounce pack for $1.79.
Even with that, our total, including tax, came to $6.97!
Now, check out what June just got after her daughter complained to ftd.com: Nine more goodies in the same $31 "Happy Birthday" box.
In all fairness, the $18.99 shipping charge was for overnight delivery. Regular delivery would have been $12.99, so June's daughter could've gotten the same thing for $44 dollars.
The birthday box of goodies is made by a vendor in California. Ftd.com says you're paying for convenience and service and the box of goodies is exactly what the Web site says it is.
September 4, 2003
By KOMO Staff & News Services
MOUNT VERNON - You might want to think twice when you order gifts on the Internet.
We received an e-mail from a viewer in Mount Vernon who just received a special delivery from her daughter in Arizona. It's a birthday box of goodies from ftd.com.
You may be expecting a box filled with cookies and candy -- so was she. But 'filled' is not the operative word here.
June Keepers' daughter called ahead and told her to expect the overnight Federal Express delivery from FTD.com.
"Wow! A lot of candy, I thought," June Keepers said.
She was excited, until she untied the ribbons and pulled away the cellophane.
Inside: a 2 ounce pack of Skittles, a 2 ounce Starburst, a chocolate bar in birthday wrap, a Kit Kat bar, 2 packs of M&Ms, 2 ounces of Famous Amos cookies, 6 Oreo cookies, and 1 Rice Krispies treat. A total of 9 goodies and 2 party blowers.
The rest is packing material.
The bill? $30.99 for the box plus $18.99 for postage and handling for a grand total of $49.98.
"We knew it couldn't be what she intended, so that's when my daughter looked it up on the Internet," Keeper said.
The picture on the FTD.com Web site looks like the box is overflowing. But look closer: there's only one of each item. The Web site doesn't say how many you get.
When asked how much she thought it would cost to go out and buy the same amount of candy on her own, she replied, "I had thought it would cost, probably $5."
She's not far off. We went to the store and purchased the items retail. With the exception of one item, they cost less than 70 cents a piece.
The store didn't have the 2-ounce Famous Amos, so I bought the 5-ounce pack for $1.79.
Even with that, our total, including tax, came to $6.97!
Now, check out what June just got after her daughter complained to ftd.com: Nine more goodies in the same $31 "Happy Birthday" box.
In all fairness, the $18.99 shipping charge was for overnight delivery. Regular delivery would have been $12.99, so June's daughter could've gotten the same thing for $44 dollars.
The birthday box of goodies is made by a vendor in California. Ftd.com says you're paying for convenience and service and the box of goodies is exactly what the Web site says it is.
