Fashion

Bloomingdale's Gave Away Free Money By Mistake

by Sienna Fantozzi

Aug. 18, 2015

Imagine if your wildest dreams came true, and just as you were floating off on cloud nine, someone came and snatched everything away from you — well, that's exactly what happened when Bloomingdale's accidentally gave shoppers $25,000 in store credit. And then made them return the items they spent with it. Talk about totally crushing your spirit.

Bloomingdale's Loyalists had possibly the best start to a work-week ever when the company sent out emails to shoppers accidentally putting dollar signs in front of their Loyalist points. To break it down: 5,000 points=$25 dollars, but customers instead saw "$5000" (or however many points they have accumulated) on their morning email. When you have free money, you OF COURSE spend it. And that's just what they did. According to Racked, one woman wrote on Facebook, "Wouldn't you know, the order went through with no issue. Later in the day, I went back into my Loyalist account and the balance of the reward card, about $7,900, was gone." I'm guessing some shoppers made serious headway on their Pinterest wish boards today.

One shopper ended up with a whopping $25,000 in credit, which he spent $17,000 of at the Manhattan flagship store. A pair of diamond earrings, one watch, and a Louis Vuitton bag later, Bloomingdale's called him and asked him to return everything to the store or else he would be banned from the loyalty program. Ouch.

The $100 gift card they offered as an apology seems so lame after that shopping spree.

But if Bloomingdale's ever starts dolling out free money again, here's a few things I'd buy...