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Am I a completely immoral person?

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MotionMan

Lifer
Jan 11, 2006
17,124
12
81
What you did was wrong. You knowingly paid less for an item than you should have - sounds like theft to me. The store employee made a mistake, but it was not condoned or approved by the store. In the end, we all end up paying for these "discounts".

Is this what we want to teach our children to do? Would you proudly tell this story around the Thanksgiving table with all your family, friends and clergy present?

I think not.

OP, were you really confused as to whether what you did was immoral? Of course it was.




That being said, we have all done it and would probably do it again. I just do not think it is something to brag about, be proud of, encourage or condone.

MotionMan
 

BoomerD

No Lifer
Feb 26, 2006
66,296
14,712
146
Originally posted by: MotionMan
What you did was wrong. You knowingly paid less for an item than you should have - sounds like theft to me. The store employee made a mistake, but it was not condoned or approved by the store. In the end, we all end up paying for these "discounts".

Is this what we want to teach our children to do? Would you proudly tell this story around the Thanksgiving table with all your family, friends and clergy present?

I think not.

OP, were you really confused as to whether what you did was immoral? Of course it was.




That being said, we have all done it and would probably do it again. I just do not think it is something to brag about, be proud of, encourage or condone.

MotionMan

First of all...how would the OP KNOW it wasn't on sale or marked down for some other reason?

Next, if they scanned the UPC and the system gave them the incorrect price, again, how is that stealing? She paid the price the business asked for the item.

YES, if she changed the price tags...THAT would be stealing, but because the store screwed up? Nope.
 

WHAMPOM

Diamond Member
Feb 28, 2006
7,628
183
106
Originally posted by: gingerstewart55
I was in a Microcenter yesterday, browsing. Husband wants to return to watercooling his computer (moved to air cooling and hates the noise!) and has been buying parts over the past week or two.

One of the last things to buy is the radiator which is where I come into this. This Microcenter had a rather large stock of Swiftech and Thermochill radiators. While I don't get deeply involved in this, I do know about what the various parts cost and looking at the Swiftech 120x3 radiators, noticed they'd had their prices raised recently...new price sticker on top of old one (some overlapped badly and were obvious they'd been just put on) and the price was now $59.99.

Now, I know online the price for the same radiator is under $50, so despite me wanting to buy one for his Valentine's Day present, albeit belated, I passed on them. But underneath the stack of Swiftech rads was one Thermochill 120.3 radiator, so I pulled it out from underneath and took a look....he's wanted one but just couldn't justify the high price.

Well, lo and behold, it seems that some worker at Microcenter repriced this rad with the same price sticker as on the Swiftech rads....$59.99, and had the same overlapped price stickers.

So I picked it up and checked out......paid $64.19 for it....pretty much less than half retail, esp. from Microcenter.

Now he's all up in arms about how I should have alerted the store to the pricing mistake and paid its true full price, and on and on. Oh, he's already cleaning it, so I guess it doesn't bother him TOO much.

Should I have told them or am I OK with taking advantage of a store's ignorant clerks?

Looks like it did not bother him much, so is he just setting you up for guilt sex?
 

mrSHEiK124

Lifer
Mar 6, 2004
11,488
2
0
Originally posted by: MotionMan
What you did was wrong. You knowingly paid less for an item than you should have - sounds like theft to me. The store employee made a mistake, but it was not condoned or approved by the store. In the end, we all end up paying for these "discounts".

Is this what we want to teach our children to do? Would you proudly tell this story around the Thanksgiving table with all your family, friends and clergy present?

I think not.

OP, were you really confused as to whether what you did was immoral? Of course it was.




That being said, we have all done it and would probably do it again. I just do not think it is something to brag about, be proud of, encourage or condone.

MotionMan

Wow, once mommy gets you off your moral high chair, listen up.

I bought an Alpine iDA-X001 headunit at Best Buy for $80. This headunit sold for $350+ just months ago, and was clearanced WAY down at certain BBs. The only BB in my area that had it for $80 was sold out; I bought it at another one and took it to the OOS store and they willingly price matched it. Am I the spawn of satan?
 

Mr Incognito

Golden Member
Feb 20, 2007
1,035
0
0
Originally posted by: BoomerD
First of all...how would the OP KNOW it wasn't on sale or marked down for some other reason?

Next, if they scanned the UPC and the system gave them the incorrect price, again, how is that stealing? She paid the price the business asked for the item.

YES, if she changed the price tags...THAT would be stealing, but because the store screwed up? Nope.

I think her husband just got hooked up because he bought her all the expensive quilting stuff she wanted. I say don't ask questions.
 

MotionMan

Lifer
Jan 11, 2006
17,124
12
81
Originally posted by: BoomerD
Originally posted by: MotionMan
What you did was wrong. You knowingly paid less for an item than you should have - sounds like theft to me. The store employee made a mistake, but it was not condoned or approved by the store. In the end, we all end up paying for these "discounts".

Is this what we want to teach our children to do? Would you proudly tell this story around the Thanksgiving table with all your family, friends and clergy present?

I think not.

OP, were you really confused as to whether what you did was immoral? Of course it was.




That being said, we have all done it and would probably do it again. I just do not think it is something to brag about, be proud of, encourage or condone.

MotionMan

First of all...how would the OP KNOW it wasn't on sale or marked down for some other reason?

I believe her posts make it pretty clear that she knew the real value of the item and that she knew the item was mistagged. If I got the wrong impression, then the OP can correct me.

Next, if they scanned the UPC and the system gave them the incorrect price, again, how is that stealing? She paid the price the business asked for the item.

It is theft because she knew it was a mistake by a clerk and not a sale by the store. Just because a clerk makes a mistake does not give us carte blanche to take advantage.

YES, if she changed the price tags...THAT would be stealing, but because the store screwed up? Nope.

If she knows that the price is a mistake and goes through with the transaction anyway, I believe that is theft. The mistake by the store does not excuse her actions.

And, BTW, even if it is not theft, it is immoral (which was the issue raised in the title of this thread).

If you saw an old man make the mistake of dropping his wallet without realizing it, would you keep it or give it back? Morally, does a store deserve anything less than the old man? Do morals not apply to our dealings with stores? Don't we expect the store to do the right thing for us?

MotionMan
 

MotionMan

Lifer
Jan 11, 2006
17,124
12
81
Originally posted by: mrSHEiK124
Originally posted by: MotionMan
What you did was wrong. You knowingly paid less for an item than you should have - sounds like theft to me. The store employee made a mistake, but it was not condoned or approved by the store. In the end, we all end up paying for these "discounts".

Is this what we want to teach our children to do? Would you proudly tell this story around the Thanksgiving table with all your family, friends and clergy present?

I think not.

OP, were you really confused as to whether what you did was immoral? Of course it was.




That being said, we have all done it and would probably do it again. I just do not think it is something to brag about, be proud of, encourage or condone.

MotionMan

Wow, once mommy gets you off your moral high chair, listen up.

I bought an Alpine iDA-X001 headunit at Best Buy for $80. This headunit sold for $350+ just months ago, and was clearanced WAY down at certain BBs. The only BB in my area that had it for $80 was sold out; I bought it at another one and took it to the OOS store and they willingly price matched it. Am I the spawn of satan?

I do not believe that what you did was immoral since the BB knowingly and willingly did the price match. It appears that there were no mistakes or sneakiness involved.

Do you think you got away with something immoral?

MotionMan
 

BoomerD

No Lifer
Feb 26, 2006
66,296
14,712
146
Originally posted by: MotionMan
[And, BTW, even if it is not theft, it is immoral (which was the issue raised in the title of this thread).

Again, just because she knows what the unit SHOULD sell for, that doesn't make her dishonest nor immoral if it's priced lower than what she expects. Yes, if there's obvious signs of price tampering, then she SHOULD ask, but if it scans for the "sale" price...no foul. THAT is the price the company has it listed for.


Originally posted by: MotionMan
If you saw an old man make the mistake of dropping his wallet without realizing it, would you keep it or give it back? Morally, does a store deserve anything less than the old man? Do morals not apply to our dealings with stores? Don't we expect the store to do the right thing for us?
MotionMan


Obviously, in that case, a person should have a moral (if not legal) obligation to return the wallet in tact. (without removing any cash as a "finder's fee."

We expect the store to do the right thing for THEM, believing anything else is idealistic.

It's not my job to question every low price I encounter. As I said above, if there appears to be evidence of price tampering, then yes...I have an obligation to question that price, if only to cover my ass so I don't get charged with said price tampering.
As the OP stated, many units of both brands had multiple price stickers, which would lead me to believe there had been price mark-downs on the units. How am I to know (and truthfully, why would I care?) if there had been an accidental mark-down of the wrong product? THAT is the store's problem, and if it was incorrectly priced, the scanner at the cash register should have caught the mistake. If it doesn't, then wouldn't that indicate that the marked-down price was indeed the correct price?
 
Jan 12, 2008
137
0
0
In Minnesota its illegal to raise prices on products already marked. Back about 20 years ago a large independent discount store was shut down because they did this all the time. If a retailer marked up the price and you could see the old price sticker, one way or the other I'd make them sell the product for the lower price originally marked.
 

mrSHEiK124

Lifer
Mar 6, 2004
11,488
2
0
Originally posted by: MotionMan
Originally posted by: mrSHEiK124
Originally posted by: MotionMan
What you did was wrong. You knowingly paid less for an item than you should have - sounds like theft to me. The store employee made a mistake, but it was not condoned or approved by the store. In the end, we all end up paying for these "discounts".

Is this what we want to teach our children to do? Would you proudly tell this story around the Thanksgiving table with all your family, friends and clergy present?

I think not.

OP, were you really confused as to whether what you did was immoral? Of course it was.




That being said, we have all done it and would probably do it again. I just do not think it is something to brag about, be proud of, encourage or condone.

MotionMan

Wow, once mommy gets you off your moral high chair, listen up.

I bought an Alpine iDA-X001 headunit at Best Buy for $80. This headunit sold for $350+ just months ago, and was clearanced WAY down at certain BBs. The only BB in my area that had it for $80 was sold out; I bought it at another one and took it to the OOS store and they willingly price matched it. Am I the spawn of satan?

I do not believe that what you did was immoral since the BB knowingly and willingly did the price match. It appears that there were no mistakes or sneakiness involved.

Do you think you got away with something immoral?

MotionMan

I definitely believe it was sneaky. I knew that store was out of stock, took the unit there, returned it to "add a warranty" and rebought it. They were :confused: as hell when it rang up as $79.99 after giving me back $340, but their inventory system said $79.99 so they honored their price. You probably shouldn't ever visit slickdeals.net.
 

everman

Lifer
Nov 5, 2002
11,288
1
0
Hey if the store labels it as such and is willing to let you pay for it then it's a done deal. They may have the right to refuse to sell it though, depending on the laws in your area.
 

imported_Imp

Diamond Member
Dec 20, 2005
9,148
0
0
I wouldn't do that so.... yes, you are immoral;). You could claim ignorance and didn't know that it was worth more than labelled if it helps you sleep.
 

DangerAardvark

Diamond Member
Oct 22, 2004
7,559
0
0
This should have been a thread bragging about the awesome price. Morality is subjective, so I don't what the point of asking random people on the internet about it is.
 

pyonir

Lifer
Dec 18, 2001
40,856
321
126
Originally posted by: bctbct
Originally posted by: gingerstewart55
As for a great wife, I only can try. He jsut bought me a lot of stuff I'd been wanting for my quilting hobby.....the top-line quilt making software, an excellent quilting rack, and a completely unexpected wide format printer. The radiator is really small potatoes compared to what he got me.


got a pic of the rack?

LMFAO
 

MotionMan

Lifer
Jan 11, 2006
17,124
12
81
Originally posted by: BoomerD
Originally posted by: MotionMan
[And, BTW, even if it is not theft, it is immoral (which was the issue raised in the title of this thread).

Again, just because she knows what the unit SHOULD sell for, that doesn't make her dishonest nor immoral if it's priced lower than what she expects. Yes, if there's obvious signs of price tampering, then she SHOULD ask, but if it scans for the "sale" price...no foul. THAT is the price the company has it listed for.

If she knows or suspects the price is ridiculously low and knows or suspects that it is an error, wouldn't proper morals dictate that she ask to confirm that the price is actually just a great sale?

Originally posted by: MotionMan
If you saw an old man make the mistake of dropping his wallet without realizing it, would you keep it or give it back? Morally, does a store deserve anything less than the old man? Do morals not apply to our dealings with stores? Don't we expect the store to do the right thing for us?
MotionMan


Obviously, in that case, a person should have a moral (if not legal) obligation to return the wallet in tact. (without removing any cash as a "finder's fee."

We expect the store to do the right thing for THEM, believing anything else is idealistic.

So because it is idealistic, we should not follow our morals? In reality, morals cause us to do things that are not in our best interests, just to do what is right. If we want others, including businesses, to do what is right, don't we have the duty to do what is right, even if it is only unilateral?

It's not my job to question every low price I encounter. As I said above, if there appears to be evidence of price tampering, then yes...I have an obligation to question that price, if only to cover my ass so I don't get charged with said price tampering.
As the OP stated, many units of both brands had multiple price stickers, which would lead me to believe there had been price mark-downs on the units. How am I to know (and truthfully, why would I care?) if there had been an accidental mark-down of the wrong product? THAT is the store's problem

Obviously it is the store's problem, but I believe it is immoral to take advantage of that error, especially if you know or suspect the error before you make the purchase.

Why should you care? Well, I guess that is a question you have to ask yourself when you examine your morals, especially when it comes time to pass them on to someone else (children, employees).

, and if it was incorrectly priced, the scanner at the cash register should have caught the mistake. If it doesn't, then wouldn't that indicate that the marked-down price was indeed the correct price?

The OP stated that they scan the tag, not the UPC, so if the tag was there in error, then the scanner would not pick it up.

Look, I am not being a goody two shoes. I know the difference between reality and fantasy. However, to say that knowingly allowing a store to undercharge you for an item is moral I think is incorrect. Based on my legal background, I also think it could be theft.

MotionMan
 

MotionMan

Lifer
Jan 11, 2006
17,124
12
81
Originally posted by: mrSHEiK124
Originally posted by: MotionMan
Originally posted by: mrSHEiK124
Originally posted by: MotionMan
What you did was wrong. You knowingly paid less for an item than you should have - sounds like theft to me. The store employee made a mistake, but it was not condoned or approved by the store. In the end, we all end up paying for these "discounts".

Is this what we want to teach our children to do? Would you proudly tell this story around the Thanksgiving table with all your family, friends and clergy present?

I think not.

OP, were you really confused as to whether what you did was immoral? Of course it was.




That being said, we have all done it and would probably do it again. I just do not think it is something to brag about, be proud of, encourage or condone.

MotionMan

Wow, once mommy gets you off your moral high chair, listen up.

I bought an Alpine iDA-X001 headunit at Best Buy for $80. This headunit sold for $350+ just months ago, and was clearanced WAY down at certain BBs. The only BB in my area that had it for $80 was sold out; I bought it at another one and took it to the OOS store and they willingly price matched it. Am I the spawn of satan?

I do not believe that what you did was immoral since the BB knowingly and willingly did the price match. It appears that there were no mistakes or sneakiness involved.

Do you think you got away with something immoral?

MotionMan

I definitely believe it was sneaky. I knew that store was out of stock, took the unit there, returned it to "add a warranty" and rebought it. They were :confused: as hell when it rang up as $79.99 after giving me back $340, but their inventory system said $79.99 so they honored their price. You probably shouldn't ever visit slickdeals.net.

Getting a deal while following the rules (being a Devil as the CEO of BB called us) is not immoral. Obtaining a sale price on an item that is offered to the general public is not immoral. I do not think what you did was immoral at all. I do not think it was sneaky, either - I think it was a very smart way of getting the best deal possible within the system.

MotionMan
 

Delta6Echo

Senior member
Jun 1, 2007
837
0
0
Originally posted by: gingerstewart55
I was in a Microcenter yesterday, browsing. Husband wants to return to watercooling his computer (moved to air cooling and hates the noise!) and has been buying parts over the past week or two.

One of the last things to buy is the radiator which is where I come into this. This Microcenter had a rather large stock of Swiftech and Thermochill radiators. While I don't get deeply involved in this, I do know about what the various parts cost and looking at the Swiftech 120x3 radiators, noticed they'd had their prices raised recently...new price sticker on top of old one (some overlapped badly and were obvious they'd been just put on) and the price was now $59.99.

Now, I know online the price for the same radiator is under $50, so despite me wanting to buy one for his Valentine's Day present, albeit belated, I passed on them. But underneath the stack of Swiftech rads was one Thermochill 120.3 radiator, so I pulled it out from underneath and took a look....he's wanted one but just couldn't justify the high price.

Well, lo and behold, it seems that some worker at Microcenter repriced this rad with the same price sticker as on the Swiftech rads....$59.99, and had the same overlapped price stickers.

So I picked it up and checked out......paid $64.19 for it....pretty much less than half retail, esp. from Microcenter.

Now he's all up in arms about how I should have alerted the store to the pricing mistake and paid its true full price, and on and on. Oh, he's already cleaning it, so I guess it doesn't bother him TOO much.

Should I have told them or am I OK with taking advantage of a store's ignorant clerks?

lol
 

Whisper

Diamond Member
Feb 25, 2000
5,394
2
81
I don't know that I personally would have bought the item, but I doubt you'll burn in the eternal fires of hell for it.