When a store mismarks several items should you be able to buy the item at the mismarked price?

Question

A store that starts with a "w" and ends in mart had several computers marked $98 sitting on the shelf we took one to the register and they told us they could not sell them for that price . It was $798. is that fair? Should they have sold it to us for the marked price

The price on the box was not switched. it was a printed computer generated sticker. they had 8 or then of these things on the shelf. They admited that an employee did not get the sticker on correctly.

Answer 1

They HAVE to sell it at that price! It's the law. Otherwise that is false advertising, but if you take them to court you'll run up huge lawyer fees. I dont know if you can call the police in on this or not, but it is the law. They have to honor the price.

Contact your State Attorney General. Stores Must Honor Shelf Prices

If your attempts to negotiate with the store owner fail, you may wish to contact Attorney General Their Consumer Protection Section offers an informal, non-binding mediation service free of charge. A mediation specialist will work to open lines of communication with the company and work towards a favorable solution to the problem on your behalf.

If all negotiation efforts fail, you have several choices. You could pay the higher price and then sue the store to get back the overcharge. Or, if you can find the item at a lower price somewhere else, you can go buy it there, and then sue the first store for whatever amount you may have had to pay above the first store’s advertised price of $250. In fact, if you have to go to court and the court rules there have been violations of the Consumer Sales Practice Act, you may be entitled to $200 for each of those violations. In some situations, with further research, you may recover three times the price difference. Be sure to get a photo of the shelf price and product so you can prove what the shelf price was, though. Otherwise, it is just your word against their word.

As long as the amount of money involved is less than $3,000, you can file your case in your municipal or county small claims court. If you choose this option, you do not need an attorney. The Consumer Act, however, allows you to recover your attorney fees if you decide to hire an attorney to handle your case for you.


Recently a popular travel agency online accidenly priced airline tickets to Oregon from the east coast for 10.00 a piece. A man bought 10 of them and they HAD to honor the price!

Answer 2

It all depends on what you mean by the computers were "marked $98." Did the computers actually have a tag ON them that said that? If so, then I totally think they should have sold you the computer for that price--but they're only required to sell you one at that price.

If on the other hand there was a price tag on the shelf below the computers, then it all depends on if the skew numbers matched up. If they did then you got ripped off, if they didn't then it was the idiot stock clerk that put the computers there and didn't bother taking down an old price tag.

Answer 3

No they don't. It would be illegal if they advertised the computers for $98 and then told you they were out of $98 ones here buy the $798 ones. That's called 'bait and switch' but a pricing error in the store without the item being advertised at the false price is not illegal.

Answer 4

The posted price is the actual price.

To do so otherwise is referred to as "bait and switch" and
is illegal across all 50 states of the Union. Now, they may
have put a lower price on unintentially, but the law is pretty
clear here.

However, just because somebody makes a mistake, doesn't
mean you have to slaughter them.

For instance, if someone inadvertently marked an automobile
$1500.000 instead of $15000.00, doesn't mean you're obligated
to take them to the cleaners.

However, the posted price is the posted price. If they try
to renig on it, tell them they are in violation of the law.

See how quickly they check the prices in the rest of the store!

Answer 5

No, they are under no obligation to honor a misprint. If they had sent out advertisments about $98 dollar computers, then maybe you'd have something. Otherwise, did you lose anything? It's not like you lost time, because you were already in the store, and you didn't lose money because you didn't spend any. So, what's the problem?

Answer 6

Absolutely!. You could have fought that and got it for 98 dollars. It is the stores responsibility to represent the correct price for an item.

Answer 7

from the answers ive read it sounds like a general YES they should have cuz of law.
i live in the UK and recently i bought sumtin 4 my phone. the price said it was 20 pounds but when iwent 2 pay they said it was 30.
obviously its on a completely different scale, but i got it 4 the cheaper of the 2 and i think u should complain, call the police, etc. and get it for the $98!!!!! they screwed up, its THEIR fault, NOT yours!!!

Answer 8

well if the box is marked that price, then yes they have to sell you it for the price on the sticker. if it was only a price on a sign, then no, they are to easy to change, or play with (such as bored kids that are shopping with mom). i worked retail for many years and unless it is marked on the box, or an old sale sign that they forgot to take down, then you answer is no.

Answer 9

there's a lot that goes into a situation like this:
1. did the price tag description match the item
2. was it a sale sticker that had expired
3. was it just a situation where a customer had "misplaced" the item where it did not belong

otherwise, i'd say you were right and walmart should suck it up....

Answer 10

No they do no longer. yet years in the past whilst bar code scanners have been nevertheless new at registers one grocery chain had a coverage that if an merchandise scanned at a distinctive fee than marked on the shelf it exchange into loose. i offered 2 cans of Asparagus. The scanned fee exchange into below the priced maked on the shelf. i discussed it and that they shown the fee on the shelf exchange into distinctive so it exchange into loose. with the aid of fact the fee scanned exchange into decrease i did no longer assume that .