is it legal to double the price on an item because there are only two left?
there were two books left that had a special meaning to a customer. they sell for $5.00 each. the customer expected to pay $5.00 each. the bad business, buttinski boss butts in and says, "you can only have one for $10.00 were keeping the last one." is it legal to do this to a customer?
2010-03-04T17:13:02Z
the customer made a few calls in the area and found several of the same books for only $3.00! the boss lost the sale and between the customer and other merchants, was talked about in a bad way.
patrick2010-03-04T08:30:32Z
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In this case yes. In other cases, no. You can not double the price of gasoline just because there is a shortage. You can "reprice" an existing item on a store shelf however. the shopowner is an idiot to risk losing your business forever, for $5 however.
If the price tag is on the item and says $5 each, then legally it's a gray area. If it was an honest mistake where another customer accidentally put the book back in the wrong place (like a $5 bin/shelf), or an employee accidentally priced it wrong, then most businesses will honor the price, and fix the problem so it doesn't happen again. If the business doesn't want to honor it, then the customer could sue, or press charges for false advertisement. They may not win, but it's a possibility.
It's also possible that the customer could sue for discrimination, if she felt she was being discriminated against for some reason that's protected such as age, gender, race, etc.
yes its the business that purchased the item to start with. Its best to look on the Web if that happens to see whom else has the same thing with all the information one can find quickly on their now.
This is supply and demand affecting prices. It is perfectly acceptable. You don't have to buy it from that seller. If he is the only seller who has those books, as a seller he gets to set the prices.