Target: 0 Me: 1

[Free4Life11]

You quoted me in particular and showed me a pic of a sign. I never said the sign didn't exist, I followed your lead and posted pics of other signs. It's no big deal. Was just showing the variances

You're right and I'm sorry I admit I was in a mood earlier

 

[momto2inKC]

You're right and I'm sorry I admit I was in a mood earlier

No worries...it's hard to read someones 'tone' on a message board

 

[OneEyedCats]

Good for you OP. Actually, I see this as a win for "the consumer." There are laws against such tactics by sellers. It could very well have been an accident that the items ended up in the wrong location. However, do you really trust the corporation that much? One dollar (for drugstore items) or a thousand dollars (for, say, a car), it it still wrong to use a sale to lure the customer in and then at the register say "Oh that sign? It doesn't apply to the item in your cart." Stores make tons of money every year from people that pick up things they think are on sale and 'accidentally' pay full price at the register because they didn't scrutinize the receipts.

As well, don't feel too bad for Target. I am sure they got markdown funds from the manufacturer before they put the items on close-out and still made a profit.
Oh, and if the manufacturer missed funding Target for even one or two units, you can bet their accounting department will find it on a post audit and debit the manufacturer half a year later. [LOL - can you tell Target is one of my customers?]

Do you think all of those consumers are going back and post-auditing the stores? (i.e. - checking receipts when they get home) Nope. Even if they do that, who wants to go though the hassle of going back to the store for "just a dollar?" Pure profit for the corporation.

Now, I am a big fan of Target. I would say they are an ethical company (from my perspective) and do not think they would purposefully pull any kind of bait and switch scheme. However, I am also a big fan of consumer rights. I'd be curious to see if everyone's reactions would be the same if it was $1K on a no-name used car lot vs. $1 at a store that everyone knows the name of.

 

[undertheradar]

One win for a shopper, multiplied by more shoppers who will try to accomplish the same victory = higher prices for the regular shoppers who can tell the difference between an error and a misplaced item. Sorry, prices are high enough without people attempting to exploit things. Not worthy of bragging about in my book.

 

[allison443]

Tonight I was at Target picking up a prescription. As I walk past the clearance end cap I always keep my eyes open. There was a giant sign that said "30% OFF or MORE!" in huge letters, along with "price as marked" in small type at the bottom .

So far so good, especially when I spy 4 boxes of Benedryl single dose spoons. These things are gold for an allergy mom, I keep them scattered everywhere (cars, diaper bag, almost every room in the house) just in case my ds has an anaphylactic reaction. So I look a little more closely at the price on the box and it's $5.49 down to $4.66. Seemed a little high so I price checked it on the machine. Then I sauntered over to CS with the two boxes I wanted to buy to tell them it wasn't 30% off. Here's where the fun began.

CS tells me that they are only 15% off and that the part of the sign that says "priced as marked" means they could be clearanced at any price including 15% off. I told her that didn't make any sense, it's not what the sign said, and I was going to go back and take a picture. As I'm back there, I see a stock boy and ask him to look...he agrees the sign says "30% OFF" and nothing more. So I asked for him to call a manager back. In the meantime, I overhear the front of the store CS girl on the radio asking him to check the price signs. Kind of humorous since I'm standing right there. I tell her over the radio it definitely says 30% off.

Manager shows up and hems and haws. Says things get moved around and it's all clearance stuff at different prices. I point out to him that there's another whole end cap 3 rows down where the sign says "15% OFF", but these 4 boxes were here where it says 30% off. He flips the 30% sign over so it now reads 15% and tells me I can have a price override.

New price for me: $3.86 x 2. Not bad.

I was with you until I read the bolded....I agree that things get moved around by customers all the time. The fact that these particular items scanned at 15% off would indicate they were on the wrong endcap. I don't think stores have to give you the "rack price" if something is placed on the wrong rack. That happens all the time...customers put something back on the wrong rack. That doesn't mean the next customer gets the sale price, kwim?
Personally I don't consider 15% off to be clearance-I wait for the 75% off!!