Foo - How is this legal?

I went into fastenal today to buy some stainless metric hex nuts. I need them ASAP, and McMaster won't have it to me in time unfortunately. So I find them at the store, it was 20 bucks for a pack of 50 of the m10 type. And it was 12 for a pack of 100 m8's.
Well, I don't even need half of htat, but that's about what I would have paid at McMaster by the time shipping is factored in, so I went for it.
I go to the clerk, give him my check card, and he announces the total:
62 dollars!

I am thinking, wtf? Something is obviously not right. 20+12 = 62? There is no sales tax in NH...

So I ask him what is going on, that the sticker right on it said 20 for the m10 and 12 for the m8's. He says the stickers are "like 5 years old" and that this is the new price. I said no thanks, and I'll go for grade 5 zinc plated. Which by the way came up to a grand total of just under 15 dollars.

I mentioned to him that he may want to update this information, the new prices that is. I figure customers probably want to know what something costs before they checkout...
He says it's company policy not to change the sticker.

Is this actually legal?

I don't know if it's illegal, but widely publicizing their inane policy sure won't help their business. :p :D

I don't know if it's illegal, but widely publicizing their inane policy sure won't help their business. :p :D

The guy is actually a n00b, he said he has only been there a month. I don't think I would have gotten such an honest reply from the manager...

Legal? Dunno, but it seems like really bad business practice. I work at a hardware store, and if something is marked lower than it comes up at the register, we'll give you the lower price.

btw, you could probably buy them individually at any hardware store and save some money.

Legal? Dunno, but it seems like really bad business practice. I work at a hardware store, and if something is marked lower than it comes up at the register, we'll give you the lower price.

btw, you could probably buy them individually at any hardware store and save some money.

If only I could find a hardware store that actually sold metric stainless. FInding metric fasteners is hard enough, let alone stainless. I think I should have gotten it at the listed price, that is what has happened at every store I've gone to.

I suppose you're right, they aren't too common.

i was buying some snack bars at this corner store near me a few weeks ago. there were two stickers on the box...one for $2.99 and one for $3.49. I didn't say anything at first because i was curious to see what he would ring up. sure enough, on the register...$3.49! *******! i asked him to take it off and didn't buy it.

Varies state by state. Here in Cali, you have to sell by the advertised price.

And look around at all the other hardware stores within a reasonable driving distance. I've actually found a store that had 7mm bolts for my BBS wheels. Before that, once a year, I'd stop by a certain small store in Gilroy on my way up to S.F. Mail-order's always the best deal, just gotta plan your inventory-purchases in a timely manner.

Varies state by state. Here in Cali, you have to sell by the advertised price.

I believe that's true in Maine too.

That's bait-and-switch, and it's illegal in California at least.

Sears Hardware here has a nice selection of metric stainless.

Sears Hardware here has a nice selection of metric stainless.

I'm pretty sure I've seen metric stainless at Ace hardware here.

The Lowes near me sells metric stainless though its not a big selection. I avoid Fastenal whenever I can simply because unless you have a business account with them and buy high volume, you will get reamed. I had to go there recently for some CV axle bolts for my wifes VW as my dealer parts was closed (Saturday) and paid something ridiculous like 35.00 for 6 bolts.

I think it's technically only considered "Bait and Switch" if it's advertised outside the store. I could be wrong.

PC2, did you even ask to speak with a manager? At best, he might have given you the old price and smacked his peon upside the head. At worst, he'd have denied you this "discount."

What are the prices elsewhere, besides mailorder or internet?

Best justification for the five finger discount if I ever heard on. You just need a few, right?

Legal? maybe. Poor practice? Hell yeah. If they're so lazy that they can't be arsed to update their price tags anytime in the last five years (and while jacking you for the price of fasteners), just what kind of customer service can you expect for any other reason?

Doesn't sound like the type of place I want to take my business to.

Sounds like a bait and switch to me...

Here in Colorado the store has to sell the product for the advertised price. One day I noticed tuna steaks for $ .99 a pound, the nine for the dollar amount had fallen off the price sign. I asked the meat clerk about it and he said that he'd give me a pound of tuna for a buck, but joked with me that I couldn't have more or he wouldn't have a job the next day. It was awesome tasting tuna.

Metric hardware is a way of life here north of the 49th, common as dirt, even stainless. Must be a mail order business from Canada.

If its a small store or a store that doesn't get a lot of business, then I wouldn't say its illegal. One of the only places that sells high performance car parts around here has price stickers that aren't accurate either, some are higher (parts that are either mostly obsolete or have better, cheaper alternatives), and some are lower. Usually when people go there, its not to comparison shop, its cause they want the part right now and price is (mostly) irrelevant.

Sounds like a bait and switch to me...

Bait and switch is the practice of advertising a product at a low price, but refusing to sell the bait item. The classic case is from the 1960s. Sears would advertise a refrigerator at an amazingly low price. When you came into the store to buy it, they would have none to sell. They would tell you that you didn't really want that one anyway since it was a totally stripped down model and what you really need is this expensive one.

I worked for a Frigidaire dealer who did the same thing. Frigidaire had a model that was dirt cheap, but they would only sell one unit to each dealer so he could run an advertisement. You dare not sell that refrigerator, though. Frigidaire would get very upset with any dealer that did so.

Bait and switch is the practice of advertising a product at a low price, but refusing to sell the bait item. The classic case is from the 1960s. Sears would advertise a refrigerator at an amazingly low price. When you came into the store to buy it, they would have none to sell. They would tell you that you didn't really want that one anyway since it was a totally stripped down model and what you really need is this expensive one.

I worked for a Frigidaire dealer who did the same thing. Frigidaire had a model that was dirt cheap, but they would only sell one unit to each dealer so he could run an advertisement. You dare not sell that refrigerator, though. Frigidaire would get very upset with any dealer that did so.

I was going to say that techincally what the OP stated wasn't bait-and-switch. MD has some fairly specific laws on this practice, but it can be difficult to enforce I imagine. The biggest instances of bait and switch are the ultra low prices for normally big ticket items you see in the sunday ads. Of those, I'd say the biggest offenders are either electronic stores selling large TVs, or jewlery stores. I have some experience with the latter... One christmas I was hard up for ideas for my girlfriend, so I followed up an ad that said 'diamond earings for like $150'. I didn't know a damn thing about diamonds at the time, but I guess that sounded good. Of course, when I got there at like 9:30 a.m., "Oh, we don't have that particular set anymore. We do have this set with the higher quality stones in the platinum setting".

Oh yea... I've heard-tell there is also some sort of consumer law in MD stating that items must be sold at their labeled price. There are apparently exceptions for instances where an item was inappropriately placed in the wrong area, usually by a customer that didn't want to go back to where they got it from. This happens a lot at clothing stores when you see a really nice shirt in the clearance rack, that you just know shouldn't be there.

I've kind of had some experience with this (or Best Buy didn't want to deal with me at the time.) I don't buy movies often, but if I do, it's usually from the bargain section. You know, movies that have been around a while that a store is trying to offload by selling them 4 for $20, or the like. I grabbed four such movies one time at best buy and they all rang up regular price. When I asked about it, it was because only three of them were registered as part of the deal. The fourth, 'being john malkovich', was regular priced, therefore I didn't get the deal on the previous three either. I explained that it too was on the rack with the others. He then tried to say that a customer probably misplaced it there. Actually, the way he said it I think he was trying to imply that I somehow put it there. In anycase, I told him that there were infact at least 4 other copies of that same movie still there. I even walked him to the rack and pointed it out. If someone misplaced them there, they took a whole bunch with them. The guy called his manager out and I got the lower price.

If they stuck to their guns, I would've just walked away from the sale. It just wasn't worth it to me. Trying to envoke some law I'm not sure really exists is no way to spend your evening.

Here in Colorado the store has to sell the product for the advertised price. One day I noticed tuna steaks for $ .99 a pound, the nine for the dollar amount had fallen off the price sign. I asked the meat clerk about it and he said that he'd give me a pound of tuna for a buck, but joked with me that I couldn't have more or he wouldn't have a job the next day. It was awesome tasting tuna.

To me this is a little bit different. That's not hitting the store for bad business practice, that's hurting them for a mistake or an accident. $.99 is totally unreasonable for tuna. But it was nice of the clerk to give you some for that price.

Good info here. If they don't give me the lowest price, then I don't need it.

I once insisted on an advertised propane price of .99c. Wow, less than a penny a gallon? Fill it up!

The manager told that's how you write 99 cents.

Hmm...well, I'm no Harvard MBA, but I know .99c is less than 1c!

On the other hand, I review a lot of contracts, and many of them have a clause where a gross error can be renegotiated. For example, if the product cost $1,000 but only $100 was written down, the contract can be renegotiated.

In Michigan the difference in the price from the tagged price to the scanned price times 10, upto $5.00 is given back to the customer. I worked for Kmart and Michigan was always busting them for this. (now Kmart is on Chicago as Sears Holdings)

I once insisted on an advertised propane price of .99c. Wow, less than a penny a gallon? Fill it up!

The manager told that's how you write 99 cents.

Hmm...well, I'm no Harvard MBA, but I know .99c is less than 1c!


Ever heard of this:
Verizon .002 cents screw up (http://verizonmath.blogspot.com/2006/12/verizon-doesnt-know-dollars-from-cents.html)

I have a Verizon unlimited data plan in the U.S. and recently crossed the border to Canada. Prior to crossing the border I called customer service to find out what rates I'd be paying for voice and data. The data rate I was quoted was ".002 cents per kilobyte."

I was surprised at the rate so I confirmed it with the representative I spoke to, and she confirmed it "point zero zero two cents per kilobyte." I asked her to note that in my account.

I received my bill and was charged $.002/KB - which is dollars - "point zero zero 2 dollars per kilobyte". As it is translated to cents would be .2 cents or 2 tenths of a cent - which is a 100 times greater rate than I was quoted.

Metric hardware is a way of life here north of the 49th, common as dirt, even stainless. Must be a mail order business from Canada.

Maybe these guys ship... http://mdmetric.com/

I used to buy from them (for the company) waaay back when getting things like m17 bolts was common practice.

If only I could find a hardware store that actually sold metric stainless. FInding metric fasteners is hard enough, let alone stainless. I think I should have gotten it at the listed price, that is what has happened at every store I've gone to.

Not a problem finding metric stainless here. A good hardware will have them. Always buying them for the boat. I keep grabing the metric when I need, you know,:D the "American" brand.

Not a problem finding metric stainless here. A good hardware will have them. Always buying them for the boat. I keep grabing the metric when I need, you know,:D the "American" brand.

You don't tell the store it is for a boat do you? By law they have to double the price if you do that!:D

Ever heard of this:
Verizon .002 cents screw up (http://verizonmath.blogspot.com/2006/12/verizon-doesnt-know-dollars-from-cents.html)

I work for them!! I was hoping someone would bring that up because well I can't and all :D

When I ran the front end of a little grocery in connecticut was when they passed that law we had to honor the stickered price if lower. There was one person I had to follow around the store because she had been known to
A) have her own price gun.
B) peal off stickers from certain items and put them over the existing price on say baby formula.
During all those coffee price surges we had to make sure to peel off every price sticker before putting new ones on because stacked stickers could be peeled off.

If I remember correctly we only had to honor a certain $ or # of items at the _wrong_ price.

Varies state by state. Here in Cali, you have to sell by the advertised price.

i would think thats how it should be in ANY state.

You don't tell the store it is for a boat do you? By law they have to double the price if you do that!:D

That is why I go to the hardware store instead of your closest West Marine! You can always buy boat stuff someplace else rather than a marine store. Places triple the price for boat stuff.

They can always say it was mispriced or that it was a typo.... there is always an out. You don't think that if there was a misplaced decimal point that you would be able to buy a new car for $400.00 - that little dot makes quite a difference between $40000.


I believe that's true in Maine too.

That is why I go to the hardware store instead of your closest West Marine! You can always buy boat stuff someplace else rather than a marine store. Places triple the price for boat stuff.

Luckily, I worked for a boat rental operation and a boat dealership during most of my boat owning life, so I got my stuff at cost! :D

I'd report it to your local BBB and let them worry about whether it's legal or not.

The other thing I'd do is what your already doing. Put the word out and find somewhere else to shop.