Did I screw this guy?

[FieroCDSP]

Evan, I also am interested in where this place is. There's a lot of smaller shops in Ohio, so I'm curious where it is and to make a mental note to avoid it. Seriously, there's no reason he should have refused to honor an old tag on a dusty box. A new box, maybe, but not an old one.

 

[longdayjake]

A business has the right to change prices with regards to what it will cost them to replace it.

Yes they have the right to charge whatever they want, but what I hate is when they get that gleam in their eye when they see someone with an old dusty box walking toward the counter and they think "1000% markup baby!!!" It happens all the time. They aren't out anything when they sell it for more than they bought it for. They are simply just looking for a higher profit. In regards to what it will cost them to replace the items --who cares? They are going to mark it up from what it cost them to replace it anyway. No one gets hurt. Uless of course they treat their customers like that and lose their business. Then everyone suffers.

 

[Grandpa Shooter]

Evan,

I recently cleaned one gun shop and one pawn shop out of all the lead bullets they had in the calibers I shoot simply because they were marked at the old prices relevant to when they were purchased. I remarked that they wouldn't be able to get them for what the price tags said and in both stores the answer was, THAT'S OK, OBVIOUSLY NO ONE BUT YOU WANTED THEM. THANKS FOR CLEARING OFF OUR SHELVES. I got bullets for .04 each and the deal benefitted both parties.

Not all gun shop owners are jerks. It seems to be according to what state they are in.

 

[searcher451]

He had the right to negate the deal, just as you had the right to change your mind had he insisted upon upping the price of the merchandise. The fact that the deal was consumated, even with bad feelings on both sides, indicates not only his compliance but his tacit agreement to the exchange. I wouldn't spend another waking moment thinking about, let alone lose a night's sleep. I wouldn't go back to the shop again, however. Life is too short to deal with nitwits and bozos -- unless, of course, you have to. And in this case, you don't.

 

[trailgator]

The owner says, his cost to replace those bullets is much much more than that.

That's the same BS logic that gas stations use. He had the same cost/profit margin as he would have if he sold them the first day they were on the shelf. If the next ones cost more, charge more for them.

 

[Ash]

trailgator, the problem with gas stations is that when prices go down, they have to sell gas at a loss to compete. He has to raise prices to provide a buffer for when (or if) prices drop and he has a whole tank full of the more expensive stuff. It can be entirely possible that a station pumps gas for a week at a loss. The only way to stay in business is to go up or down with the market.

Otherwise, folks would pass his $3.89 per gallon to buy the guy down the street's gas at $3.75. And prices do go up and down. In this crazy market, it's impossible to know how to play it. That is really the way it works.

Ash

 

[86thecat]

The owner was trying to rip you off. He purchase the bullets, added his mark up and put them on the shelf. Now that prices have increase he feels he is entitled to a 500% markup instead of 40%. How can he justify that?

Ash- I understand what you're saying, these price wars for gas are so bad I don't understand how a station can stay in business selling it so cheap.

 

[Ash]

I want to emphasize that I don't support the seller. I neither saw the shop nor was privy to the tone of the speakers. There are shops and there are shops. It may very well have been worth burning the bridge.

Ash

 

[American_Pit_Bull]

IMO, the owner was right and you got a good deal by acting like an ass. The owner had no obligation to sell his inventory to you, no matter what price (outdated, error, etc...) was listed on the boxes.

Posted by 86thecat:
The owner was trying to rip you off. He purchase the bullets, added his mark up and put them on the shelf. Now that prices have increase he feels he is entitled to a 500% markup instead of 40%. How can he justify that?

It's called the market price and it is not a hard concept to grasp... If you purchased gold for 175/oz., a few decades ago, would you be ripping someone off by selling your gold at $940/oz? I think not.

What about all of the people that sell the auto sears, that they picked up for ten times less than what they are worth now? Should they be selling them at the price that they paid for them in 1982?

 

[Wayne02]

Your behavior strikes me as rather juvenile and low-road, regardless of who was right or wrong in the particular situation. You may be feeling guilty more so for your junior high school behavior rather than the specifics of the transaction itself.

 

[divemedic]

How was his behavior juvenile?

He tried to buy a product for the price as it was marked. The seller tried to change the price. The buyer negotiated the original price, paid for the product at the agreed upon price, and left. How is that any different than negotiating the price of a car? He didn't FORCE the seller to sell the product. It was a voluntary transaction that BOTH parties voluntarily participated in.

 

[Kitchen_Duty]

The shop did not have to sell him the product. He also didn't sure have to say that exit phrase. I say, take a good deal, smile, and don't return. Or you could go talk to the guy later and find out what the deal is with his attitude/shop.

 

[Dave Workman]

Okay, I'll make this simple.

You screwed him. He had it coming.

Feel better now?

Why even ask???? Especially on a public forum like this!

 

[86thecat]

quote-
It's called the market price and it is not a hard concept to grasp... If you purchased gold for 175/oz., a few decades ago, would you be ripping someone off by selling your gold at $940/oz? I think not.

If I advertised at $175/oz and tried to triple the price after someone accepted at the advertised price then it's wrong.

If a seller is going to charge market price they need to keep product pricing current. That concept isn't too hard to grasp either.

 

[coloradokevin]

A lot of this has been covered, but here's my take:

1) I wouldn't have pushed the issue if it was an honset pricing error (it doesn't sound like it was). I'm not going to take someone for a ride because they meant to make a tag that said "$100" and it read out as "$10". Mistakes do happen.

2) This guy's excuse for a "pricing error" was nullified by the statement where he said prices have gone up. He didn't pay that much for the product, wasn't originally intending to ask more than he wrote on the box, no one was buying that product, and he was just trying to bring the price back up to market level... He bought cheap, and still turned a profit (he just felt he should be able to make more of a profit). You didn't take food off of his table, you put an extra $45 on his table, minus his overhead and purchase price.

3) Customer service is clinging by a thread at many small stores, which might explain why many small stores are barely holding on. I'm far more likely to shop at big-box stores these days, just because the service is so much better.

4) I can't stand when retail stores raise prices on inventory on their shelves. I've had places tell me "hey those widgets are going to go up in price $10 with our next shipment", and that is fine... prices change as wholesale/shipping prices change. What I really hate is when the widget that they bought for $10, which they were selling for $15 today, gets re-priced to $20 tomorrow just because it hasn't sold! I don't consider this the same thing as commodity price changes, which are always fluid. It isn't like you were buying these bullets as bulk pounds of lead, or barrels of oil... It was a value-added retail product.

5) I wouldn't recommend you go back to this place. Hope you don't mind, but you burned a bridge (whether you like it or not). Sometimes I won't push an issue at a store I like, just to avoid burning a bridge. Other times it just isn't worth it to go back, so I might speak my mind on an issue I feel righteous about!


Ultimately, it sounds like you guys both pushed harder than you should have. But, you came out on top.

 

[kwelz]

The shop owners argument on Replacement Cost was Valid. His attitude was not.

 

[Pilot]

I've had places tell me "hey those widgets are going to go up in price $10 with our next shipment", and that is fine... prices change as wholesale/shipping prices change. What I really hate is when the widget that they bought for $10, which they were selling for $15 today, gets re-priced to $20 tomorrow just because it hasn't sold! I don't consider this the same thing as commodity price changes, which are always fluid. It isn't like you were buying these bullets as bulk pounds of lead, or barrels of oil... It was a value-added retail product.

Its a commodity until its sold. In fact its still a commodity becuase until its used you can resell it. Prices are based on the market, not what they cost to produce or for the retailer to buy. During the housing boom, houses were selling for MORE than their asking price through consumer bidding. Now they're dropping in price. The store owner has every right to raise prices, but not at the register after he falsely advertised the price marked on the product. The store owner was lazy and lost money because of it.

 

[woody5401]

Replacement costs? You dont sell something in order to replace it, you resell something in order to make a profit on your initial investment. You screwed everybody that was too lazy to look in the bargain bin for all of the old crap that this idiot store owner couldnt sell. Thats the whole reason there is a bargin bin, to move old stuff out of the way and liquidate it.

 

[jakemccoy]

The price tag is an advertisement and not necessarily an offer.

The surrounding circumstances indicate whether or not the price tag is an offer. When you pick up the item and bring it to the register, at that point, you're offering to buy the product. The store can accept your offer or not.

Here, the store is not bound by the price tag on the box. In this case, the price tag is simply wrong because the price tag was clearly old and overlooked. The price tag, in this case, is an invitation for you to deal. When the product was sitting on the shelf, the store owner had not agreed to sell the product at the price tag amount. Later on, the store owner accepted your offer to buy the product at the price tag amount. Once you paid, consideration was transferred, and you were both in a binding contract.

All the other crap they pulled is off the chart.

DISCLAIMER: This is not legal advice.

 

[jakemccoy]

The more I think of it, in simple legal terms:

1) Offer - this is his advertised price. Absent clear mistake or revocation before acceptance it is a valid offer;

2) Acceptance - your taking it to the register is acceptance. An offer can't be revoked after acceptance.

3) Consideration - further evidence of a done deal because your deal was binding when you accepted it with your cash as consideration.

That's incorrect. An advertisement (the price tag) is not necessarily an offer.

 

[Prince Yamato]

I think many- not all, but many- gunstores are charging obscene amounts for items based on speculation and scare tactics. I saw a box of Wolf 5.45x39 ammo today for $10.25 + tax. I'm honestly not making this up. I mean what...the...hell... I think a lot of these podunk stores are getting shut out by online distributors and Walmart. They never decided to upgrade to online sales or bulk purchasing, so now they thrive on "customer loyalty" for sales. There is no amount of customer loyalty that would make me pay double the price for any item.

The hell with those people who were trying to rip you off. The whole dumping the stuff in the bag was just bumpkin' to me. They not only lack any sense of business values, but apparently they operate their business with the mentality of spoiled third-graders.

Oh their poor kids- well, if you're not turning a decent profit and you don't modernize (ie, computerized POS purchasing or internet sales)- then let your kids eat dirt.

 

[jakemccoy]

It may not be honorable (although sometimes it may simply be a mistake), but a store isn't under any legal obligation to honor prices on mismarked items. I'm afraid I have to disagree with leadcounsel, though: In this situation, having the item on the shelf with a marked price is an advertisement, not an offer. The offer is you taking the item and saying you'll pay $X (the marked price) for it. Acceptance is them ringing you up at that price. Consideration might only be relevant if he'd rung you up but changed his mind before taking your money, but isn't all that relevant if he ended up completing the sale. At any point before ringing you up, the store can decline to sell you the item at the price (they can also let you know that the item is on sale even when not marked as such, and you've probably had that happen before).

I agree.

 

[vis-à-vis]

Without reading the ensuing pages, I wouldn't pay anything over the sticker even if the guy has the right (which he does) to increase prices on a whim. Since the stuff is obviously old, he probably bought them before the spike in price occurred and should still be able to profit from the sale. If he was lazy in adjusting prices then that is his problem because I am convinced of whether or not to buy a good on the basis of the sticker and he could have simply refused your sale. He was a prick in wishing you harm; hope he goes out of business. Good for you for getting a deal. I'd not go back there again.

 

[outerlimit]

It's called bait and switch.

 

[jrfoxx]

The owner had no obligation to sell his inventory to you, no matter what price (outdated, error, etc...) was listed on the boxes.

yes and no. In some states, he is rquired by law to sell it for the price marked. He can refuse to sell, but is then subject to a $10,000 fine, per item mismarked. So yes, he can refuse, but it would be against the law, and he would lose WAY more money.Just like most things, it will vary by state.

I say, if you are too dumb or lazy to update a simple price on an item, then dont be surprised when you have to sell it for less, or lose all your customers.Sounds like the store owner knew prices had changed, but he couldnt take 5 seconds to change the price? B.S.! He was hoping for a sucker (I beleive this is pretty similar to the old "bait and switch"), and was mad when he didnt get one.