Save Money by Paying Attention

I've already talked about saving money by paying attention to scanners. In this post, I'd like to detail how simply paying attention in general can save you some money. It did for us -- here's the story:

A couple weeks ago my wife and I were in Office Max looking for a wireless mouse for her computer. We had $30 in "Office Max dollars" to spend from a cheap printer purchase we'd made a few months ago, but we still wanted to get a good deal. We had done a bit of shopping around and knew what we wanted to pay, so when we saw a display of wireless mice on an endcap, we walked over to check them out.

What we saw were several colors of Microsoft wireless mice. All were priced $29.99 except for the blue ones. They were $19.99. Obviously, we assumed there must be some difference -- shorter battery life, not as many features, etc. -- between the blue ones and the others. Why else would there be a $10 difference?

We compared the blue ones to the others and there was absolutely no difference. We looked some more, studying the fine print found on almost all tech products. Still, we found no difference. Then it dawned on me -- there wasn't a difference, they had simply mis-priced the blues ones. I told my wife this and whispered for her NOT to call the salesman over (he was lurking in the background) as he'd probably notice the difference, change it, and we'd be out a potential bargain. Instead, we compared a bit more and became convinced that there was no difference in the blue ones. They had simply mis-priced them.

So we took one, walked over to the register, and handed it to the cashier. The mouse rang up at $29.99, but he noticed the priced that was marked and then credited us to get it to $19.99. He immediately called one of the floor staff and asked them to check the display and make sure there were no other mice marked at $19.99. We could have told him that there were two more. :-)

In the end, we saved $10 by simply paying attention. Our only mistake -- we didn't buy the other ones at $19.99 too!

Comments

[Nohbdy]

"Our only mistake -- we didn't buy the other ones at $19.99 too!"
You surely aren't advocating purchasing a product just because it is a good deal? If you're just spending money on something you don't need, it's not a deal! :)

[FMF]

Nohbdy --

I would have purchased them for either of the following reasons:

1. To give to others as gifts (replacing a more expensive purchase I could have made.)

2. To sell them to others. I could mark them up $5 each and it would still be a good deal for both of us.

That said, both of these are probably more hassle than they are worth.

[Mike Reduas]

Yeah, it happened to me one time. When I went to Home Depot and I was looking for picture hanger. I found one that costs about $1 for 5 pieces of picture hanger. Then I walked up to self-service machine and it rang up as $0.10 so I was shocked at that price for those picture hangers! I went ahead pay cash at that machine. Then I went back to the aisle to double-check, yep... it was right price but they priced it wrong on their database. So I decided to take them all (15 packages) and it costs me 1.50 plus tax. It would have cost me $16 dollars altogether. (now I have 80 pieces of hangers for just spending $1.60!)

Now I have plenty of hangers to use for the years to come!

[Ross]

Interesting... I wonder what the threshold would be before this would become a moral dilemma.

If the price was marked correctly, but the cashier had given you $10 too much in change, would that change expecations?

Most people would tell the cashier right away, giving the change back. Technically, it was a mistake on the part of the store, so it's not too much different than mis-marking the price in the first place. It's still an extra $10 in your pocket by accident. The only real difference is the way in which the till would be re-balanced.

Not trying to scold or cause guilt, but I do find it genuinely interesting that people would treat the two situations differently.

[Angie]

Even better are the people who realize an item is ringing up MORE then the sticker price. At a place like Walmart they will take $3 off or give it for free.

At Super Walmarts there are TONS of items like this. A loaf of bread ringing up 2.19 vs 1.99. People will just keep going in different lines or coming back the next day to and stocking up on the same item because it is free.

The store usually can't change the register immediately so it will always stay for a few days that way.

[cmadler]

I once found a $45+ dollar CD set (which I wanted) mispriced at $0.99. It was such an obvious (to me) mispricing, that I actually asked the store staff, but they confirmed that $0.99 was correct (must have been wrong in their computer too), so I bought it. There were no other copies of that set in stock at the time, but when I revisited the store a few weeks later, they had another copy of it market correctly at $45+.

[BobV]

Ross, good comment. I am trying to look at that in a lot of different ways. If a cashier makes a mistake, it very well might come out of his/her pocket. Whoever priced the item wrong probably is not going to have to make up the difference. But, the store itself is still out the $10. The manager probably had the prerogative to say, we made a mistake, it was mis-priced so if you want it, it will cost you the extra $10. I doubt that is going to happen in most stores. Keeping the customer happy is worth the $10. So somewhere in the story , a decision was made to allow the purchase at the price labeled as part of the cost of doing business.

[Ross]

BobV, good thinking. I think you found the piece of the puzzle that I overlooked. It was indeed a conscious decision on the part of the store's manager to accept the undercharge. A cashier giving too much change doesn't fit that description. Moral dilemma averted!

[Blaine Moore]

I think you are all missing a point. His only mistake wasn't purchasing the other 2 mice - it was in purchasing a Microsoft mouse! Heheh.

Now instead of spending $40-$50 on a decent wireless mouse, he spent $20 on a mouse that will need replacing in 6 months and have to purchase a more expensive one anyway.

(I've owned 2 Microsoft mice. Now I don't bother to purchase them anymore. And 6 months is a generous estimate, based on my experiences with those two mice.)

[My Life ROI]

How many people would scream theft if a store charged your credit card $29.99 when an items sticker price said $19.99?

I think both parties owe it to each other to be honorable in the transaction.

But, good observation skills nonetheless!

[Personal Finance]

I was in a similar situation ones, however the person at the register could not change the price and called the manger and the manager refused to honor it so we ended up walking out of the store, send in a complaint letter to the head office we got a gift certificate for $80.

[Michigan Lady]

YES! I was at Wal-Mart shopping for christmas presentents in December and I found The Office Season 2 marked $19.99. I thought that was pretty cheap! I walked over into another aisle and saw a bunch more of them marked for $39.99. Just mis-marked! I got a whole season for 50% off!!! There were a stack of mis-marked ones. And a stack of regular priced ones...mmm...which one would you choose?

[Jim]

If an item is obviously mismarked then that is one thing, but FMF wouldn't have known if $19.99 or $29.99 was the right price. It could have just as easily been that $29.99 was the old price and $19.99 was the new, correct price. You don't know until you check out. The store made the choice to give him the $19.99 price so I see no wrong doing morally.

The moral/ethical question here is interesting though. What if this were a small mom and pop shop? Would you be more likely to voluntarily report such a price tag difference?

Jim

[Sanjay]

you should think of other side too...If you buy few more items and one is price tagged as $19.99 and on register it scanned as $29.99, You will pay more because you won't realize as few more items you are buying.

You can 'save' by paying attention at register while each item is being scanned, this is true for Grocery too...

[Santos]

There is no moral "dilemma". It is quite clear. Knowingly paying $10 less (FMF knew the intended price was $29) is stealing.

What if you take an item tagged at $10 but rung at $20 at the register and you pay without realizing it. Would you be congratulating the store for being so clever?? Disappointing...

[whatever you choose to call me sir]

I agree with Santos, no moral dilemma, but for exactly the opposite reason. For all we know the blue ones are clearance. Things get marked down all the time for no apparent reason. In this case, good for FMF. Maybe they don't carry the blue ones anymore. If it is in any way possible the price is correct, buy it and go. If there is a question as to it being grossly mispriced, you have to ask about it. People make mistakes, even employees of companies. If a $500 item was marked for $3 I would assume it to be in error and point it out. The question is in where the line is drawn. If your conscience tells you to ask, do it.

[Joel]

There is a clear moral problem and the author knew it and admitted it.

Read carefully this paragraph I have quoted from the article verbatim:

"I told my wife this and whispered for her NOT to call the salesman over (he was lurking in the background) as he'd probably notice the difference, change it, and we'd be out a potential bargain. Instead, we compared a bit more and became convinced that there was no difference in the blue ones. They had simply mis-priced them."

The author is convinced they mis-priced them. He tempted his wife into his sin by conspiring against the salesman. Whether the item was mis-priced or not, whether it was a clearance item, or a new price.. is all irrelevant. The author fully committed to conceal what he thought was an honest mistake and steal from the store.

You should be ashamed of yourself. Just plain ashamed. Not only did you do it, you come home and brag to the world of your theft.

I found this blog via links from other Christian forums as a Christian-oriented financial blog and after reading some of these articles I'm disappointed and at times disgusted. I shall be sure to let my friends know to avoid this blog.

[Jason]

This particular mouse is on sale all the time at Office Max, Office Depot, etc for $19.99.

I recently had a similiar "Moral" situation at my local grocery store. My fiancee and I decided to compare prices at our local grocery store and our local Walmart. We purchased mostly sale priced items at the grocery store that we knew were cheaper than Walmart. We purchased around 20 items. After getting home, I reviewed the receipt and found that I was over charged on 3 items. I returned to the store, and pointed out the error to customer service. Instead of returning the difference between sale price and what I was charged, the customer service person refunded the total amount I spent on the 3 items (~$11.00). She explained their store policy was if an item rings up wrong, then it is free. The next day I returned to the store and purchased one of the same items (a 1 lb. tube of hamburger) I was overcharged for the day before along with a couple of other items I forgot the day before. Original price was $2.79 and sale price was $2.29 on the hamburger. I got to the register and was shocked that the hamburger again rang up for $2.79. I pointed out the error and she removed the item from my bill and gave it to me for free. This was over 36 hours after the first time I was overcharged.

The whole process made me wonder about the store's policy for correcting the pricing. At first I felt bad getting it for free because the store was losing money on the transaction. But then I realized they were probably not losing money because there was probably 100 other people who bought hamburger that day thinking they were getting it for $2.29, but paying $2.79.

I retured to the store 3 days later and was glad to see the price had been corrected.

[mahony]

The moral dilemma goes away in Massachusetts. If the item is marked at $19.99 that is the selling price (by law). If a cashier gives you an extra $10 there is no such law. See, socialism has its benefits.

[LotharBot]

"I've owned 2 Microsoft mice. Now I don't bother to purchase them anymore."

I've found Microsoft mice (and joysticks) to be incredibly reliable. I've been using them since 1995 or so.

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Also, I think it's shady to say "I think this price is wrong but I'm not going to say anything just yet so that I can increase my chances of getting it for the lower price." Asking your wife NOT to call the salesman over because you didn't want him to notice the misprint means you made an intentional decision to weasel some money out of the store through dishonesty. The right way to handle it would be to call the salesman over, say "why is this cheaper than the others?" and if he decides it's a misprint, ask him if you can get it at the cheaper price anyway. That's completely above the board, totally honest, and still probably lets you get the discount.