So the PS3 and nintendo Wii are coming out soon, and there’s already a good line up outside all the Best Buy’s and Future Shops. I’m wondering if the people in these lines actually have any right to a product, providing there are enough. If im in the 19th spot and they have 20 systems, do the stores usually guarantee that I will get to buy it and that the 21st person wont be able to slip past me?
If you have any personal experiences, How strictly do they monitor the doors and the store? Does everyone mob around the door 10 minutes before they open? Is it a mad dash to the shelf once they do? I bet I could out sprint a lot of the people in the line up, especially if the thing is at the back of the store. Think they would sell it to me if they saw that? Though im sure i’d be torn to pieces by the mob, its probably not worth iit.
So basically my question is, do the people in line have any legal right to buy the product (if there are enough) or do the individual stores step in and enforce this?
In cases like this, “legal” has nothing to do with it. It is strictly a matter of store policy. It’s up to the store manager whether to simply fling the doors open at 9:00 and let everybody in, or to take the customers 1 at a time according to numbers that were passed out to those in line.
For that matter, it’s also store policy whether to limit sales to 1 per customer, or to allow the first person through the door to buy every unit in stock.
I’m sure to avoid a potentially dangerous mob-type situation and the ensuing lawsuits, most stores would be wise to hand out numbers and serve people in that order.
