The Story of How Bargain-Hunting Moms Broke the Internet

Anyone who knows me is well aware that I am into children’s fashion. I love dressing my kids up in everything from Cougar jerseys and surf shorts to denim jeggings and socks that look like ballet slippers.

And best of all? I do it for a fraction of the retail price.

Coupons, Gymbucks, BOGOs, sales where I have to get up before 10 a.m. … You name it; I’ll pounce on it if it saves me a dollar to dress my kids.

So when a promotion from a new website called Axlscloset.com came along on Tuesday, offering $20 off your first purchase, I was intrigued. And when I clicked on the link provided in a popular couponing blog, I was thrilled. Roxy, Quiksilver, Billabong – all brands that I love to buy, and all brands that don’t exactly come with a bargain price tag.

I did a second read of the ad and noted that it said "one use per customer."

Sweet.

I battled through the intermittent site crashes and dwindling stock to place an order for a Roxy T-shirt for my daughter. I then pondered calling my husband at work to get him to sign up, realized he would not consider that important enough to warrant a call, and did it for him. It’s not the first time I’ve done such a thing. In my defense, at least I told him this time, unlike when, one night last year, he asked me why he was now getting e-mails from Old Navy. Whoops.

I had just ordered a FREE Columbia fleece for my son and was on the verge of doing a happy dance in my living room when my mom called. When I told her what I was up to, she told me to go ahead and order something for my nephew with her e-mail address.

Again, one per person.

Well, imagine my surprise yesterday morning when all three of us received cancelation emails stating that we had abused the code. I buzzed over to Axlscloset’s Facebook and read a zillion posts from people complaining about receiving similar e-mails – and the company’s official post stating that it was one per HOUSEHOLD. Never mind what their ad said.

Apparently, one person placed 100 orders for herself. Smart.

But even though these were three separate orders, because two of them were coming to my house, and all three were placed on the same iPad, they were considered fraudulent. That’s the company’s wording – not mine.

What?!?

Their ad plainly stated that it was one per customer, not one per household, and now not only were they backtracking, but they also were accusing customers of fraud – and not just those of us who unwittingly placed more than one order. People from all over the country were saying that their sole orders had been canceled.

Ironically, one of my friends who placed an order that was more than $20 and therefore had to pay a few extra dollars, did not have her order canceled.

Suspicious much?

Oh, and not only did they end the promotion early – it was supposed to go through Friday – but people logging onto their website on Tuesday were greeted with a message saying they had broken the Internet.

If I were a betting woman, I’d place my money on a little Utah company getting in over its head, not counting on everyone and their mom snapping up its merchandise for free – most promotions are a certain dollar amount off a certain dollar amount spent – and then backpedaling.

It’s not the first time a huge promotion has caused cyber-waves. In August 2010, Groupon crashed as shoppers flocked to buy vouchers for $50 worth of Gap merchandise for $25. But Groupon was smart. It limited every user to one voucher per account. Therefore, spouses, or two roommates in a dorm in Eastern Washington could both buy one.

After all, happy customers would be more likely to come back – not just to the Gap, but Groupon, too.

Axlscloset, on the other hand, will not benefit from this promotion in the long run. I can guarantee it. No one wants to be treated as the bad guy for doing something they were invited to do, and never mind that we provided our e-mail and mailing addresses for naught. 

We broke the Internet?

Try again, Axl. Try again.