Black Friday Fails: Victoria’s Secret, Lowe’s, Walmart (x2)

Black Friday online sales hit a record $5 billion last week. But not everyone got the deal they were hoping for. As we careen into the holiday shopping season, here are four online offers that TINA.org readers said left them wanting more.

• Victoria’s Secret’s “free Beauty gift” with a purchase: While the offer was advertised as good on accessories (among other items), a TINA.org reader said only certain accessories were eligible, and the $15 Angel City Tote she selected on Victoria’s Secret’s website as her “free Beauty gift” wasn’t one of them.
• Lowe’s saw switcheroo: A TINA.org reader who said he visited a Lowe’s store after seeing a Black Friday sale on a Dewalt circular saw on the company’s website says the saw on sale for $99 was an inferior model that Lowe’s “brought in only for the sale period,” adding: “They don’t usual[ly] stock the sale model.” The Dewalt circular saw that Lowe’s normally sells for $119, which was not marked down according to the reader, has a bevel capacity 7 degrees higher than the discounted model and is also half a pound lighter. It also has 37 reviews compared to only one for the marked-down model.
• Walmart’s wheeling and dealing: A TINA.org reader who said he had been tracking the price of a Power Wheels ride-on toy on Walmart.com for weeks said Walmart on Black Friday “jacked the price up and said it was on sale for the original price of $199.” Which is to say, there was no sale at all, according to the reader.
• Walmart.com — not a pretty site: Another TINA.org reader said Walmart’s website presented higher prices on video games than what was advertised in a Black Friday specials insert.

Check back for more substantial ad alerts on holiday shopping deals gone awry. And send your complaints here.