Dell Inc to compensate buyers after misstating monitor prices

Taipei - Dell Inc is expected to compensate tens of thousands of Taiwan shoppers after its website misstated the price for its LCD monitors, triggering rush orders from Taiwanese buyers, according to local media reports Saturday. According to cable TV channel TVBS, Dell (Taiwan) has apologized for the error and will discuss a solution with the buyers. 'It was a mistake in our labels. If we have caused inconvenience to any clients, we are deeply sorry,' TVBS quoted Wang Chen, sales manger for Dell (Taiwan), as saying, 'We will contact these clients and properly settle the issue,' she added. Dell's mistake occurred Thursday evening, when some Taiwanese shoppers noticed that Dell was selling its 19-inch and 20-inch LCD monitors at discounts of one-tenth of the normal price. The price for a 19-inch LCD monitor was listed at 520 Taiwan dollars (15 US dollars). Those monitors normally run for 7,500 Taiwanese dollars. Meanwhile the price for a 20-inch monitor was listed at 999 Taiwanese dollars, versus a regular price of 8,500 Taiwanese dollars. News of the offers spread quickly via e-mail, blogs and sites like Twitter. In the six hours before Dell corrected the prices Friday morning, tens of thousands of Taiwanese had placed orders online, some ordering dozens or hundreds of the monitors in hopes of reselling them for a profit. Lin Yi-hung, a video game company manager, ordered 200 Dell LCD monitors and paid for them with his credit card. 'I knew there was an error in the price, but I placed the order anyway,' he said on ERA TV. 'I will be happy if Dell can deliver the goods. If it doesn't, some kinds of compensation will be fine,' he said. Wang Chi-yu, a cabinet-appointed consumer protection officer, said that strictly speaking, Dell should deliver the goods as the deal has been closed. 'But since it is a mistake in labeling, Dell can pay compensation to the buyers, but not those who ordered hundreds of the LCD monitors, because an individual normally would not buy that many for personal use,' he said on ERA TV.