Zappos, one of our favorite online stores here on Your Next Shoes, took a devastating $1.6 million loss on their sister site 6pm when they discovered an error in the pricing of the products on the website a little too late.
6pm already offers huge discounts on amazing deals. Still, last weekend on May 21, they took their motto of finding favorite brands for less a little too seriously and accidentally capped off EVERYTHING on the website at just $49.95.
The bargain of a lifetime continued on for six hours that day, and by the time they discovered the pricing mistake, they were already out by a whopping 1.6 million dollars.
Zappos and 6pm are both websites owned by Amazon that offer shoes, clothing, and accessories, with Zappos offering a premium selection with a focus on customer service and 6pm being a discount retailer with deals on various brands
The amazing part of this news is not the great deals that buyers could take advantage of due to the pricing mistake but how Zappos handled the whole situation. Even though they’re not legally bound to honor any purchases made during the error, they still decided to fulfill all the orders because, according to Tony Hseih, it felt like “the right thing to do.”
How many other CEOs would say that? Start taking notes on multi-million dollar businesses because this is how a company should be run. Zappos may have lost $1.6M now, but the advertising and publicity they’re getting and are going to get from this customer-oriented move are going to win them back that money many, many times over.
So, way to go, Zappos! You’ve more than proven that you’re a company that really cares about its customers and not just about making a profit. This is exactly why we buy from Zappos and why we will continue on doing business with your company in the future.