Fly2HMO From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Posted (2 years 10 months 3 weeks 5 days 10 hours ago) and read 1293 times:
Stupid question: Isn't there a law out there saying that if somebody advertises X product at Y price, even if it's incorrect, they HAVE to sell to you at that incorrect price? Or is it an urban legend?
A brand new Golf, advertised for $2 grand. MSRP is $17 grand for these.
I know many places have disclaimers saying they can not honr incorrect prices and yadda yadda yadda, but however, many other places don't have those disclaimers, as in those adds.
So, could I walk up to the dealer and have him sell it to me at that price, even though there may be a big sticker on the car saying the correct price?
I'd like to hear about this, cuz I really want a Golf bad
JBirdAV8r From United States of America, joined Jun 2001, 4459 posts, RR: 22 Reply 1, posted (2 years 10 months 3 weeks 5 days 10 hours ago) and read 1287 times:
Quoting Fly2HMO (Thread starter): Stupid question: Isn't there a law out there saying that if somebody advertises X product at Y price, even if it's incorrect, they HAVE to sell to you at that incorrect price? Or is it an urban legend?
Urban legend. In addition, disclaimers are usually in the fine print.
What I don't know is how the FTC would feel about such a "whoopsie" if it had a detrimental effect to the competition. Like if thousands of people went down to Fred's VW to get that $2000 Golf, didn't get it, but bought $20K GTI's instead--and stole all of Mark's VW's business. That's one for the legal beagles of A.net.
einsteinboricua From Puerto Rico, joined Apr 2010, 2043 posts, RR: 6 Reply 2, posted (2 years 10 months 3 weeks 5 days 9 hours ago) and read 1252 times:
Quoting JBirdAV8r (Reply 1): Quoting Fly2HMO (Thread starter):
Stupid question: Isn't there a law out there saying that if somebody advertises X product at Y price, even if it's incorrect, they HAVE to sell to you at that incorrect price? Or is it an urban legend?
Urban legend. In addition, disclaimers are usually in the fine print.
It depends on the region. In Puerto Rico, for instance, if there's no disclaimer then it's sold at that price and it's something the government enforces very strictly.
For instance, I worked at Toys R Us during the 08 holiday season (ugh...worst time and place to work...EVER ) . If a customer found, say, a Barbie doll for $5.00 because it was incorrectly labeled but the cash register marked it at full price (around $10-$12...whatever), if the customer raised a complaint, then we would verify the situation. If the doll was, indeed, incorrectly labeled because there was no special offering but rather a printing error, then the customer could leave with the Barbie doll for $5.00. Of course, after that, the label would be removed until another one is printed.
If you don't show a price, then you can charge full price since that what the customer is prepared for. If it was on a sale catalog or had a label and the customer caught on, then unless the area lacks a law that protects consumers, then the customer should be allowed to leave with the item at the price it was advertised/labeled.
However, another thing is when there's a price and there are other things in the fine print. Take cell phones for instance. Some companies offer you a free phone. That sounds great, until you read that you have to sign up to their ultimate offer where you pay $80 per month.
What about airline tickets? "Your fare total is $150". Get to the airport: there's a baggage fee and a service fee for said baggage fee. There's also a carry on fee...eventually your trip is not worth $150...BUT there's a disclaimer that states the fees you will incur, so in that case, there's not much you can do except travel lightly or go another way.
"You haven't seen a tree until you've seen its shadow from the sky."
gatorfan From United States of America, joined Oct 2009, 330 posts, RR: 1 Reply 3, posted (2 years 10 months 3 weeks 5 days 9 hours ago) and read 1252 times:
an advertisement is usually considered an invitation to make an offer and NOT an offer to sell. However, if the ad specifically identifies the individual item for sale then it may constitute an offer which can be accepted by the buyer.
If car dealership specifically listed the VIN number of the car and advertised it for $2K, then the first person to show up and tender the $2K would have a very strong argument that an enforceable contract had been formed.
ATCtower From United States of America, joined Dec 2007, 480 posts, RR: 3 Reply 4, posted (2 years 10 months 3 weeks 5 days 9 hours ago) and read 1236 times:
The courts have ordered, and however short it may be, this is your answer...
Advertised in a publication, ie. advertisement, newspaper, coupon, etc. it is not legally obligated to endorse the stated price.
A tag of a price on a store shelf is not an advertisement, but rather an offer of said price for said product and holds a compulsory obligation to oblige said price.
By reading the above post you waive all rights to be offended. If you do not like what you read, forget it.
flymia From United States of America, joined Jun 2001, 6297 posts, RR: 6 Reply 7, posted (2 years 10 months 3 weeks 5 days 8 hours ago) and read 1198 times:
I think the law is if you buy it at the price and its a confirmed purcahse etc.. its yours at that price. But if they find the error of course they dont have to sell at the price which is an error. This is for advertisements.
If a bag of chips says 50cents on the counter and they charge me $3 that is illegal. So I guess if a car sticker on the window of the car says $5,500 but its a $55,000 car does the dealer need to sell it at $5,500 if you see that sticker?
"It was just four of us on the flight deck, trying to do our job" (Captain Al Haynes)
petertenthije From Netherlands, joined Jul 2001, 3231 posts, RR: 13 Reply 8, posted (2 years 10 months 3 weeks 5 days 7 hours ago) and read 1181 times:
In NL you can take advantage when it is not obviously a mistake. A car sold for 2.000 instead of 20.000 is an obvious mistake and therefor won't qualify. A car sold for 15.000 instead of 20.000 is ok though. If it goes to court, then it is up to the shop keeper to proof a mistake was made.
Often when something like this happens the shop keeper will still sell at the advertised price, possibly with some strings attached. This to avoid bad publicity.
falstaff From United States of America, joined Jun 2006, 5673 posts, RR: 29 Reply 9, posted (2 years 10 months 3 weeks 4 days 20 hours ago) and read 1088 times:
Back in 1992 I bought a Pioneer cassette tape changer for $99.95 from Service Merchandise, in St. Louis. The item should have been listed for $399.95 but the circular in the Sunday paper was wrong and I got it for the advertised price. Seven years later it was stolen from me in a burglary. I wish I still had it those things aren't common and it was a real conversation piece.
connies4ever From Canada, joined Feb 2006, 3857 posts, RR: 13 Reply 10, posted (2 years 10 months 3 weeks 4 days 20 hours ago) and read 1080 times:
Quoting gatorfan (Reply 3): an advertisement is usually considered an invitation to make an offer and NOT an offer to sell. However, if the ad specifically identifies the individual item for sale then it may constitute an offer which can be accepted by the buyer.
If car dealership specifically listed the VIN number of the car and advertised it for $2K, then the first person to show up and tender the $2K would have a very strong argument that an enforceable contract had been formed.
My understanding as well from by business law course a few years ago - and for Canada, which still essentially uses British common law (except in Quebec, of course).
einsteinboricua From Puerto Rico, joined Apr 2010, 2043 posts, RR: 6 Reply 11, posted (2 years 10 months 3 weeks 4 days 19 hours ago) and read 1056 times:
Quoting flymia (Reply 7): So I guess if a car sticker on the window of the car says $5,500 but its a $55,000 car does the dealer need to sell it at $5,500 if you see that sticker?
That's a bit too obvious and no doubt someone will point out the mistake. BUT that should be the way to do it. We're talking smaller things like a coat for $100 and being labeled as a $30 coat...stuff like that.
"You haven't seen a tree until you've seen its shadow from the sky."
IADCA From United Kingdom, joined Feb 2007, 972 posts, RR: 7 Reply 12, posted (2 years 10 months 3 weeks 4 days 8 hours ago) and read 976 times:
Quoting einsteinboricua (Reply 11): That's a bit too obvious and no doubt someone will point out the mistake. BUT that should be the way to do it. We're talking smaller things like a coat for $100 and being labeled as a $30 coat...stuff like that.
This thread is two separate questions.
The first is, does the erroneous advertisement create an offer to sell at that price. As pointed out, in most situations, no.
The second is what happens if they do sell it anyway - as in, someone makes a valid offer and acceptance: can it be re-formed or rescinded because of one of the mistake doctrines? This is generally a situation of unilateral mistake, in which case it somewhat depends what state you're in, but generally if the non-mistaken party knows of the other's mistake and tries to take advantage of it anyway, that party won't get the benefit of the mistake - some places, this will allow rescission, others just reformation. In other words, if you see a 50,000 dollar car offered for 5k, it's not going to work. However, if they go beyond the advertisement and actually do more to reinforce an actual willingness to sell it at a ridiculous price, you might have a valid case.
photopilot From Cuba, joined Jul 2002, 2439 posts, RR: 20 Reply 14, posted (2 years 10 months 3 weeks 4 days 1 hour ago) and read 927 times:
In Ontario, the consumer gets the price the product is advertised at, or the price marked on the item, even if it is wrong. The caveat however is that a business is only required to sell ONE ITEM at that price, then is allowed to change the price to the correct price. In other words, they complied with their advertised price by technically selling one, then made the correction.
Now, in the case of a car dealer or something like that, what simply happens is that the manager or someone else buys the "one" and that's it. So as a consumer, if you see an obvious mistake in a price you've not likely to be able to be the one to get that price.
In a store however, if you're shopping and notice a LEGITIMATE price tag on a item and it's wrong but a low price, you can legally demand the store to accept that price. However, the store has now sold you one item, and again, can legally go and change the prices.
One other wrinkle is that a store is not allowed to "overprice" an item with a second sticker. If a price is being changed, the old price sticker MUST be removed and the new price sticker put on. If the stockboy is lazy and just slaps a new price sticker that is higher, over the old lower price sticker, you can legally demand the lower price just by peeling up the higher price sticker.
It's all under the Consumer Protection Laws against false or misleading advertising or bait and switch.
andz From South Africa, joined Feb 2004, 8298 posts, RR: 11 Reply 15, posted (2 years 10 months 3 weeks 4 days ago) and read 910 times:
Quoting photopilot (Reply 14): If the stockboy is lazy and just slaps a new price sticker that is higher, over the old lower price sticker, you can legally demand the lower price just by peeling up the higher price sticker.
That applies here too but price stickers are extremely rare in these days of barcoding.
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From Puerto Rico, joined Apr 2010, 2043 posts, 
. If a customer found, say, a Barbie doll for $5.00 because it was incorrectly labeled but the cash register marked it at full price (around $10-$12...whatever), if the customer raised a complaint, then we would verify the situation. If the doll was, indeed, incorrectly labeled because there was no special offering but rather a printing error, then the customer could leave with the Barbie doll for $5.00. Of course, after that, the label would be removed until another one is printed. 
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