Side-Socket.com Another dirty trick of SideSocket.com Internet

To Sidesocket & Their Marketing Company:

In response to a Google Mass Marketing email I rec'd today, I opted to click on the Offer link to see if this SideSocket Product would be something I would like to purchase. I viewed the Video & all the Printed info on your site at

https://www.sidesocketdeal.com/?mid=5095030&a=271561&s=&ClickID=01_50282634_7ee41d9c-2fdf-46b5-8e3c-21aa34d256c6

I found that the info available is minimal, prior to submitting a Credit Card account to make a purchase.

I had questions about the specifications: i.e.  actual jolts protection, per socket & overall as well as Warrantee specifics; Which are not available. At least not without submitting Credit Card Info.

Also, the Current (and I presume, Past, Sales Committment/Purchase Price) Offer Details is posted as:

Did they credit your account immediately and cancelled your order?????

I just had almost the same exact thing happen to me...only they ended up charging me $55.90 for two sets!
My page also said:

Offer Details:
When ordering today you will receive the Side Socket™ for just $10.00 +$7.95 P&H, plus we will include a second Side Socket™ for FREE. Sales tax may apply. LIFETIME MONEY BACK GUARANTEE (minus p&h).

**An additional $10 p&h is added for items sent to Canada, Guam, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, US Virgin Islands and Alaska.

Please allow 2-6 weeks for delivery.

THIS IS WHAT I WAS CHARGED:                                                                          SHOULD BE:

Qty 2  Buy 1 Get Free set     $20   =  $40   (WHAT???)                                               $20

Processing                                   = $15.90 (WHAT???)                                             $7.95

Tax                                             = $00.00                                                               $??.?? (I'm in OH not sure why no                             

                                                                                                                                                tax)

TOTAL                                        = $55.90 (WHAT????)                                           $27.95


Customer care closed until 8 am tomorrow.  I am SO annoyed right now!!!

It clearly does not say additional postage required for the additional free unit. Her is a direct copy and paste from the site. 

Offer Details:When ordering today you will receive the Side Socket™ for just $10.00 +$9.95 P&H, plus we will include a second Side Socket™ for FREE. Sales tax may apply. LIFETIME MONEY BACK GUARANTEE (minus p&h).**An additional $10 p&h is added for items sent to Canada, Guam, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, US Virgin Islands and Alaska.Please allow 2-6 weeks for delivery.

As you can see.. it does not say it. Also increased the s&h

i would have never completed this transaction if i was aware of how much they charge to ship. it was not listed in the summary of the items purchased until after i entered all my info and clicked to complete it was i informed that 4 sockets would cost me 166.86. so save your comments about being dumb. your calling others that because you are the dumb a**.

Many years ago, I used to see the infomercials that stated that the product being advertised was not available in stores. I find that most of the time, a product that I see on a ad on TV will be available soon after in many different local stores such as Walmart, Walgreens, etc. I can bypass the feeling that I am being taken advantage of by waiting a short time and looking for what I want locally.

On the site, it clearly states this in plain view....It's not a Rip Off...

Offer Details:
When ordering today you will receive the Side Socket™ for just $10.00 +$7.95 P&H, plus we will include a second Side Socket™ for FREE, just pay the additional $7.95 P&H. Sales tax may apply. LIFETIME MONEY BACK GUARANTEE (minus p&h).

**An additional $10 p&h is added for items sent to Canada, Guam, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, US Virgin Islands and Alaska.

Please allow 2-6 weeks for delivery.

I would suggest asking questions and reading everything before handing over your money. 

I dislike hidden charges as much as the next guy, BUT, if you look around, they are specified.  I have seen this commercial and they make it clear in the commercial that the second side socket is "free" BUT you will need to pay a seperate ship/handle fee on the free one  Therefore, if you pay attention, you would know that already before going to the website  Secondly, companies like these are notorious for suggesting "options" and "upgrades"  A person can decline these if they so choose, but cannot say the company "ripped them off" if they elected to add these special options and upgrades and end up paying more. Ceratainly any person with any intellect at all should be able to figure out that any additional features ordered will NOT be free of charge. If you order an item in a restaurant and elect to upgrade it or add an additional item with it, you are never "surprised" that it costs more So, why be surprised if you do the same when ordering a product from a tv commercial?  A person needs to do their homework when ordering from companies for "seen on TV" products.  Just because THEY do NOT-- does not automatically make that company a rip off. In life, due dilligence is required for ANY situation that requires shelling out money!

RE SIDESOCKET: Correction to the rebuttal that plus Shipping & Handling are clearly staed in the TV commercial. This is nit accurate. What the commercial stes is "plus Processing and Handling. Which means Shipping and Applicable tax are added. So in the end when you place an order it does cost much more than you were led to believe.

I do not consider this to be a "Rip-off" but do consider it to be mis-leading.

The TV ad clearly shows that you must pay separate shipping and handling charges for the "Free" Unit. The TV ad also shows that the upgrade to surge protection is an option.

I was thinking of ordering this item and liked the two for one option. I would pay $7.95 for each of the two units so I don't think that the requirement to pay a separate shipping charge is ridicilously high.

I wonder if the ad said: Get your side socket for $10.00 plus s&h plus $7.95 for a second unit, if there would be an up-roar about the "offer".

I do however have a problem with the surge protection issue in that I went to the website to find a price for the surge protection option but would have had to place an order to find the price. That is not right - there should be no reason to place an order to get a price; I wouldn't order a burger in a restaurant if the menu did not have a price attached to it even if I did "upgrade" that burger to a more deluze burger, I would still want to know the price of the upgrade before submitting my order.

There is something that no one else seems to have addressed here:

That is the use of transformers with these units will basically be impossible for several reasons.

    1. The space between "sockets" is to small to accomodate a transformer unit

    2. The thickness of the unit itself to allow furniture to be "up against the wall" is to small to allow for the typical extra thickness of of a transformer.

    3. There are other electrical reasons as well but I am not qualified to speak on those terms other than to warn someone interested in using the product for a transformer plug to avoid the unit altogether

BUT

The biggest clomplaint should be the term "up against the wall" for the furniture. The unit itself is no less thicker than the common plug that is plugged into the wall in the first place so that the furntiure cannot really be "up againist the wall" in the first place even with or without the unit.

One there are several competing products already on the market and already in Home Depot and Leows et cetera. More online as well. These alternatives may not offer the swivel sockets or surge protection.

HOWEVER,

The best solution already exists and sells for around $10 each at many retailers. The standard power strip with surge protection. The standard power strip plugged into the wall is about the same thickness as the unit and can handle surge protection and/or transformers.

Although the product looks cool and fun, in reality it really does not solve a problem but provides a solution to a problem with an alternative that is second best at that.

They don't state how much the postage and handling is before you hit the submit button. Why would anyone pay s&h knowing it would be 3 times more than the purchase price of the plugs. Also, they don't let you check your order before you hit the submit button to confirm address and card number. If I had known the s&H would have been $64 I would have cancelled and waited until its available at Lowes or Home Depot.

Here is how Side Socket rips consumers off. I placed and order that should have totaled 82.70 with the shipping included and they inflated the coat to 146.67. The shipping should have been 23.85 and I was charged 47.70. They also charged 10.1% sales tax (CA sales tax is not that high) I put a hold on my credit card as soon as I noticed the overcharges.

While I don't agree that the above case is a dirty trick, my own experiance is not exactly ethical.

The Side Socket commercial shows only (Surge Protected) sockets, with the $10 price tag always near by. When I logged on their website, the units had no obvious surge protection. There was however, a video on the site which replayed the commercial again showing all units surge protected. So I placed an order.

At ths point I was prompted to include a bunch of stuff I didn't need and declined. THEN THEY GOT ME.

An offer to upgrade to the (Deluxe Surge Protected Side Sockets), would cost an additional $10 each. Turns out the original $10 offer is not protected and the commercial clearly states that surge protection is an OPTION.

By the time you reach this point you cannot back out of your order. Nothing but bad choices here: $26 total for unprotected sockets or nearly $50 to purchase what your eyes saw in the commercial.

Instead of $10 for the first it's $20. Instead of the second being free, it's $10 and shipping with handling is about $16 for the two.

$46 plus tax equals $50.....

The TV commercial and online website clearly state that you must pay separate S&H for the free item. I dislike the $7.95 cost but there is no rip off involved. Personally I will wait for consumer reports on the quality of the product. If it is safe, it will be for sale at Wal Mart or at a "on TV" store and buy it without S&H costs. Don't blame the business for clearly stated charges if you are dumb enough to agree to the charge