ABU DHABI // Frustrated shoppers who tried to snap up a cut-price iPhone online claim they were unable to complete the purchase.
The iPhone 5s was being offered on shopping website souq.com for just Dh999 on Sunday – close to a third of the Apple website's price of Dh2,599.
The deal was advertised as available between 9am and 11am on a “first come, first serve basis with limited stock”.
But shoppers who were online for the deal’s launch were told it had sold out in minutes, or had problems completing the transaction.
Souq.com’s Facebook page was inundated with customer complaints.
One wrote: “This is completely funny … iPhone 5s … sold out after 10 sec ... come on.”
Another read: “I’ve tried so many times and today, I thought it was my lucky day wherein I’ve been at the delivery page already when I found out that the item I put on my cart was not there! How could you make such things like this?”
One customer, Darren Kenton, contacted The National to complain.
“They advertised for a deal which ran out in less than two seconds. In the moment they put the offer of iPhone 5s Dh999, I clicked to buy,” he said.
“It went to my shopping cart, I go to it to pay and I see all is normal – the item is there with the correct price. When I click to continue to pay, I get a message telling the item is sold out. It was in my shopping cart then disappeared.”
Souq.com responded to many of the queries and complaints online with the same response: “Please be informed that the wow deal is 100 per cent realistic but unfortunately the offer doesn’t last for long time, since many customers were chasing it at the same launch time. It was only valid for a very limited quantity.
“We will do our best to increase the offer quantity limit next time. Regards.”
The chief executive of souq.com, Ronaldo Mouchawar, said there were usually between 100 and 150 phones up for grabs through these offers.
“It is sometimes frustrating to some members but if you look at our ranking in the UAE we are the 10th most popular UAE site in terms of traffic so it is a very popular platform and we understand some members are unable to buy these items,” he said.
“But we feel it is better than not having these type of deals, we feel that running them is still better for our members.
“Once we confirm these purchases then we ask the customer to post a message to our Facebook page to say they got the item.
“We run a lot of these deals, and we were overwhelmed with the response. But there are limited quantities so not everyone who visits the website will be able to purchase the item.”
ksinclair@thenational.ae
PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
The bio:
Favourite holiday destination: I really enjoyed Sri Lanka and Vietnam but my dream destination is the Maldives.
Favourite food: My mum’s Chinese cooking.
Favourite film: Robocop, followed by The Terminator.
Hobbies: Off-roading, scuba diving, playing squash and going to the gym.
The Florida Project
Director: Sean Baker
Starring: Bria Vinaite, Brooklynn Prince, Willem Dafoe
Four stars
Ain Dubai in numbers
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 611bhp
Torque: 620Nm
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Price: upon application
On sale: now
McLaren GT specs
Engine: 4-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: seven-speed
Power: 620bhp
Torque: 630Nm
Price: Dh875,000
On sale: now
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The Equaliser 2
Director Antoine Fuqua
Starring: Denzel Washington, Bill Pullman, Melissa Leo, Ashton Sanders
Three stars
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