i went into walmart and saw a futon with price on futon for6.97 .there were no other price on it or posted. when i got to cashier, they couldnt find price via product code on box...after an hr the manager came and rip bar code off and it scanned at 89.00 now as far as i know they are suppose to give it to me for the price that was on the box am i correct? this happened in maryland and i live in mass and i know if it happened in mass they would but here they would not honor price or any type of price reduction? anyone have any ideal of any law in regards to this?
need help with pricing law?
- Thread starter smokewarlock
- Start date
"Supposedly" they are supposed to give it to you at that price. I'm not sure is there a law but you could threaten to sue. (Thats what all the customers at OM do when they find stuff ppl left out of place)
Short answer...No, they don't have to give it to you for that price.
Long answer (with experience)...
A few years back we were moving some stock around. One of these was a standard glass case with tape recorders in them. Well, to save time, we didn't take out the stock and instead moved it, which caused some of the recorders to shuffle around. That whole week, if something "looked" out of place by a hair, we generally apologized about the price because we were moving, the customer always agreed and we never had to mark down a price. Well, in that glass case, one of the tape recorders, which was going for around $60 slid over and fell onto a $25 or so recorder. It was about halfway on there to be exact.
Anyways, a woman comes in and wants to see the "$25" recorder so I grab the real one. She says no, the other one. We talk about it and she finally says "So am I going to get it for $25?" I say No because it's marked for $60. She throws a fit and I got probably the second best yelling I had ever gotten in retail. So she asks me the same question again. I say No and she wants to speak with a manager. They were busy so I grabbed a supervisor. She said No too. The woman starts saying that it's against the law and we HAVE to sell it to her. She storms out and says she'll never shop there again. Oh well...
So I look into it and it really isn't against the law. Since it's the store's stock, and we can say who we want to sell it to (to the public, but there can be exceptions). Fact is, the store doesn't have to sell it you if they don't want to. The only thing that is really against the law in retail is bait and switch and having a lower number of stock than what is advertised (so if you see a $299 TV on sale for $79 at Circuit City and wait until Wednesday to get it, don't complain, most likely they ran out of stock on Sunday) Same thing if they listed "25 ONLY IN STOCK"
Wal-Mart would probably argue that the price could've been placed there by anyone and typically stores won't match the price because anyone, even you, though you're not suspected, could switch it.
Long answer (with experience)...
A few years back we were moving some stock around. One of these was a standard glass case with tape recorders in them. Well, to save time, we didn't take out the stock and instead moved it, which caused some of the recorders to shuffle around. That whole week, if something "looked" out of place by a hair, we generally apologized about the price because we were moving, the customer always agreed and we never had to mark down a price. Well, in that glass case, one of the tape recorders, which was going for around $60 slid over and fell onto a $25 or so recorder. It was about halfway on there to be exact.
Anyways, a woman comes in and wants to see the "$25" recorder so I grab the real one. She says no, the other one. We talk about it and she finally says "So am I going to get it for $25?" I say No because it's marked for $60. She throws a fit and I got probably the second best yelling I had ever gotten in retail. So she asks me the same question again. I say No and she wants to speak with a manager. They were busy so I grabbed a supervisor. She said No too. The woman starts saying that it's against the law and we HAVE to sell it to her. She storms out and says she'll never shop there again. Oh well...
So I look into it and it really isn't against the law. Since it's the store's stock, and we can say who we want to sell it to (to the public, but there can be exceptions). Fact is, the store doesn't have to sell it you if they don't want to. The only thing that is really against the law in retail is bait and switch and having a lower number of stock than what is advertised (so if you see a $299 TV on sale for $79 at Circuit City and wait until Wednesday to get it, don't complain, most likely they ran out of stock on Sunday) Same thing if they listed "25 ONLY IN STOCK"
Wal-Mart would probably argue that the price could've been placed there by anyone and typically stores won't match the price because anyone, even you, though you're not suspected, could switch it.
Wow, with stories like that, who wouldn't want to work retail? 
I remember more than a few times where I'd see a product underneath a price sign but without a price sticker on it, where I took it to the counter and they wouldn't give it to me for the lower price. But I've never contested it because it seemed reasonable that the product could've gotten misplaced or the sign switched or something. It's easier when stores list the UPC number on the price sign so you can compare the #'s. Wal-mart has those price checker scanners around the store now, so I doubt you can take anything against them, if the price is available by scanning the barcode. But legally speaking I don't know. EDIT: Sorry, realized the UPC wasn't accessible in your case.
I remember more than a few times where I'd see a product underneath a price sign but without a price sticker on it, where I took it to the counter and they wouldn't give it to me for the lower price. But I've never contested it because it seemed reasonable that the product could've gotten misplaced or the sign switched or something. It's easier when stores list the UPC number on the price sign so you can compare the #'s. Wal-mart has those price checker scanners around the store now, so I doubt you can take anything against them, if the price is available by scanning the barcode. But legally speaking I don't know. EDIT: Sorry, realized the UPC wasn't accessible in your case.
I'm always a little amazed when people complain about not being able to get a futon for $7, and the like.
If you bought an item at a store and on your way out realized that they had overcharged you by $50, you'd run back in and demand your money back. You'd argue it was a pricing error, and you'd argue that you should be charged the correct price. But in these cases, people want to believe there's a "law" that means they should always pay the lowest possible price for an item. No such law exists.
I myself have taken advantage of pricing errors (many thanks to this forum). But I don't order 50 of something that is mispriced, and I'm not that disappointed when an order gets cancelled. Getting a great deal is one thing, but being upset that you weren't allowed to rip a business off is another.
If you bought an item at a store and on your way out realized that they had overcharged you by $50, you'd run back in and demand your money back. You'd argue it was a pricing error, and you'd argue that you should be charged the correct price. But in these cases, people want to believe there's a "law" that means they should always pay the lowest possible price for an item. No such law exists.
I myself have taken advantage of pricing errors (many thanks to this forum). But I don't order 50 of something that is mispriced, and I'm not that disappointed when an order gets cancelled. Getting a great deal is one thing, but being upset that you weren't allowed to rip a business off is another.
Walmart carry so many item that a lot of the time they have no shelf space to put it at. I've seen item placed in the wrong slot so many times. Either by other customer or the Wal-mart associates themself. Just becare full at check what you are grabbing off the shelf. When you check out, look at the price on the display. Don't assume that it's b/c it's Wal-mart, there will be no mistake and won't get rip off. If you find a 1 or 2 dollars mistake after you got home. Trust me, just bite it yourself. It's not worth standing in long line to talk to the one or two customer service rep that they have there!
wrob
So I look into it and it really isn't against the law. Since it's the store's stock, and we can say who we want to sell it to (to the public, but there can be exceptions). Fact is, the store doesn't have to sell it you if they don't want to. The only thing that is really against the law in retail is bait and switch and having a lower number of stock than what is advertised (so if you see a $299 TV on sale for $79 at Circuit City and wait until Wednesday to get it, don't complain, most likely they ran out of stock on Sunday) Same thing if they listed "25 ONLY IN STOCK"
I don't doubt you at all but wouldn't that get a little hairy in regards to the store not selling to young people, minorities, old folks, etc.?
So I look into it and it really isn't against the law. Since it's the store's stock, and we can say who we want to sell it to (to the public, but there can be exceptions). Fact is, the store doesn't have to sell it you if they don't want to. The only thing that is really against the law in retail is bait and switch and having a lower number of stock than what is advertised (so if you see a $299 TV on sale for $79 at Circuit City and wait until Wednesday to get it, don't complain, most likely they ran out of stock on Sunday) Same thing if they listed "25 ONLY IN STOCK"
I don't doubt you at all but wouldn't that get a little hairy in regards to the store not selling to young people, minorities, old folks, etc.?
Cyberian: They're always being prejudiced to young people. I just get "Can I see your ID" this, or "We don't sell porn to children" that. Just today I tried to get a bottle of lubricant. It happened to double as lighter fluid. The guy at the counter asked for an ID. I told him I left it in the truck. He didn't seem to buy it.
Hehe... that isn't bad, my circuit city refuse to honor it's low price guarentee despite the clear evidence that I bring in. They say they get specific orders from the corporate not to honor low price guarentees on certain items because the difference was too much. I call the district manager and he seems to be on a permanent vacation... I wish I can sue them if I had the money...
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