# The cost of e-commerce?

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/1999/09/21/cost-ecommerce/
- Published: 1999-09-21T23:00:00+01:00
- Author: Howard Lake

Charities just beginning to sell products online should learn from the problems 
faced by consumer goods retailer Argos. Eagle-eyed shoppers on their online shop
noted that they appeared to be selling Sony TVs for £3. Word spread quickly and 
soon Argos received a number of enquiries and attempted orders.
Clearly a typo, 
what is the legal position for an online retailer in this position? Are they required
to honour the price offered? It is a position that charity traders should address
before their site goes live.

View a screenshot of the infamous £3 TV offer at [Need to Know](http://www.ntk.net/doh/990910cheaptv.gif).

A similar mistake was made by IBM in January 2000 when it featured its ThinkPad 
notebook PCs on its Web site for $1 each instead of the usual $1,499 and $1,899.

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 * **[Two more dates for Internet fundraising training](https://fundraising.co.uk/1999/09/21/two-more-dates-internet-fundraising-training/)**(
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