Shopping Discussion

Advice for Price Discrepancy

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  • Dec 15th, 2013 12:01 am
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Newbie
Dec 24, 2005
88 posts
14 upvotes

Advice for Price Discrepancy

I ordered something from a major online retailer and at the time when I checked out, it confirmed my total to be $150. But when I got the email invoice from them, the price was listed as $230. I told them that the price was listed at $150 when I checked out, but they say it was $230. I advised them not to ship the item before they investigated what happened, but of course, they shipped the item. Unfortunately, I have no screenshots of the order confirmation screen that showed the item priced at $150. Now they are telling me to return the item for a refund, but I think they should honour the price that was confirmed to me on their website. I mean, I would not have purchased it otherwise. Any tips on how I can hold them accountable for their glitch and offer the item to me at the lower price? I figured this forum would be a great place to ask since you're all savvy shoppers. Thanks.
8 replies
Deal Addict
User avatar
Oct 13, 2007
4920 posts
3840 upvotes
Edmonton
Who is the retailer? Was it a timed offer or one that expired just before you made the purchase? How long was the item in your cart before you hit "buy"? What time of day did you make the purchase?
Deal Addict
Sep 6, 2009
2182 posts
209 upvotes
Unfortunately unless you live in Quebec, the retailer is under no legal obligation to sell you an item at a price error. Now ethically they should have contacted you first before they shipped/charged your credit card.
Brand NEW FUJIFILM F900EXR FOR SALE ASKING $225
Sr. Member
User avatar
May 6, 2006
781 posts
264 upvotes
Depending on what browser you used, and how the retailer had things configured, you may be able to pull the order confirmation page from your cache. For example, setting the address to about:cache in Firefox allows you to view cache entries. If you do this then set the browser to offline first, to prevent it from redownloading anything.

However, nagasadow's point is still valid. Furthermore, you may have problems even with a screenshot, since those are very easy to manipulate.
Deal Fanatic
Mar 21, 2002
6827 posts
1482 upvotes
Manitoba
supashoppa wrote: Any tips on how I can hold them accountable for their glitch and offer the item to me at the lower price? .
That's like asking "Any way I can hold Santa Claus accountable for failing to deliver my present last Christmas?"

No.
Deal Addict
Jan 19, 2006
4624 posts
1064 upvotes
Vancouver, BC
woof wrote: That's like asking "Any way I can hold Santa Claus accountable for failing to deliver my present last Christmas?"
LOL, that's a pretty poor comparison.
Member
Aug 5, 2012
263 posts
68 upvotes
If the order confirmation screen showed $150, your credit card then should be billed $150. Why don't you call your CC to check how much was charged to the card?
Member
User avatar
Aug 13, 2013
245 posts
32 upvotes
nagasadow wrote: Now ethically they should have contacted you first before they shipped/charged your credit card.
If most online retailers are like FS or BB everything is automated unless something fails, so they would not know unless a customer contacts them.
Deal Guru
Mar 14, 2005
13811 posts
2516 upvotes
If you paid by credit card or paypal, the $150 should show up on the credit card or paypal records. If they charged you $230 without your permission, complain to the credit card company or paypal, and have it charged back/refunded (after you refuse to accept the delivery). If they won't honor the $150 price, then never shop there again and come back here to tell us the name of the company. There is no legal contract in place because you did not agree to buy at $230, so you are not obligated to pay that.

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