Items that are still a penny
on Amazon: http://t.co/wHdKf8rD0I pic.twitter.com/dgeTKueD2k
—
Michael Rundle (@michaelrundle) December 15,
2014
An error in Amazon’s software has resulted in hundreds of items on its
Marketplace sold for 1p, turning the all important holiday trading period
into ‘a Nightmare before Christmas,’ which could cost retailers up to
hundreds of thousands pounds.
The pricing glitch affected prices Friday evening between 7pm and 8pm,
involving retailers who used the online tool RepricerExpress. The software
firm states on its websites that its tool “auto-optimises” prices for
retailers which allows them to “sell more and keep listings competitive”
all day. Brendan Doherty, CEO of Northern Ireland and New York based
RepricerExpress said that he was “deeply sorry for the disruption.”
The error is believed to only have affected a selected group of independent
retailers on Amazon’s Marketplace, but many of them have expressed concerns
regarding their business if they are forced to honor the 1p sales. However
Amazon stated that the majority of the orders had been cancelled after the
error was discovered.
A spokesperson for Amazon said: “We are aware that a number of Marketplace
sellers listed incorrect prices for a short period of time as a result of
the third party software they use to price their items on Amazon.co.uk. We
responded quickly and were able to cancel the vast majority of orders
placed on these affected items immediately and no costs or fees will be
incurred by sellers for these cancelled orders.”
“We are now reviewing the small number of orders that were processed and
will be reaching out to any affected sellers directly.” Some users have
taken to online social media platforms such as Twitter to confirm their
purchases and brag about the number of items they bought during the glitch.
I’ve just spend 80p on
Amazon… for a few thousand pounds value… Loads of things are 1p…
Hacked? xD
— Quirky Jezza (@QuirkyJez) December 12,
2014
All of that in the last
hour. I’ve ordered about 500 things in total tonight. I would laugh if
any of them arrive 😮
pic.twitter.com/HuGdjKUiK2
— Quirky Jezza (@QuirkyJez) December 13,
2014
Doherty added that RepricerExpress would investigate the cause of the
software error, noting: “We have received communication that Amazon will
not penalise sellers for this error. We are continuing to work to identify
how this problem occurred and to put measures in place to ensure that it
does not happen again.”
However a number of independent businesses have already been affected, such
as family owned Kiddymania. Judith Blackford from the children’s wear
outlet spoke to Sky News this weekend and stated that although she had
requested that Amazon cancel orders made during the glitch, deliveries were
still being sent out. “I have lost about 20,000 pounds overnight,” she
said. “Surely someone has to be accountable for this. I will be bankrupt at
this rate by the end of January.”
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