Normally I avoid Walmart like the plague, but having just moved I am skint (broke, out of money, impoverished). My computer monitor was broken (cracked, actually) sometime in the process of moving residences, and I needed a replacement ASAP. So I was price comparing online, and the Dell SE198WFP seemed like a nice enough deal.

Walmart advertises the SE198WFP for $188.72 on their website, and the site also says it's in stock at my local store. **The website also specifically says "Not Sold Online."**

Well, we get to the Walmart in Okemos, Michigan and find the monitor. It is tagged as $198.00, $10 more than the price as listed online. I grab the girl at the electronics counter (as she sighs because I am interrupting her text messaging), and inform her I need a monitor. At this point I am assuming this is a non-issue, and they will happily give me the web advertised price. Not so.

As she is unlocking the monitor from its electronic alarm, I mention the price discrepancy. She now has a sour look on her face and says she can't sell it to me for that price. But I read The Consumerist every single day. I felt bad enough shopping at Walmart to begin with, I wasn't going to let them get away with this.

I point out that advertising one price to lure customers into the store and then trying to charge another higher price is tantamount to false advertising. She says there is nothing she can do (lies!), and I need to talk to a manager. I ask for a manager.

Well, she walks away and ostensibly calls a manager with the issue. We wait for around five minutes, and the girl comes back. I get some more information, but the manager never appears.

She proceeds to tell me that when a product is sold out online, the website says "Not Sold Online," but they can't "comp" themselves. She then informs me she dealt with this same issue earlier in the day; someone wanted to buy a computer advertised online for $50 less than the store had it listed for. She continued with this talk of not being able to "comp" themselves, and how even though the website says "not sold online," lists a price, and informs you of your local stores stock status, that the price isn't actually valid.

I wasn't having it. I asked point blank, "so you are unwavering on the issue?" She says yes.

My response is simple. I tell her that it was unacceptable for a corporately controlled chain to lure customers into their stores with no intent to honor prices advertised by that very same corporation. Furthermore I tell her to do so is illegal in the state of Michigan (it is). I go on to say that if they were insistent, I was left with a specific course of action. I would file with the state AG office, file with the BBB (even though it does nothing), call exec.. cu... tive... I am cut off mid-sentence. That's all she needed to hear.

In a huff, she unlocks the monitor, takes it to the counter, and rings me up at the web advertised price without so much as a call to her manager. Apparently they can "comp" themselves.

What concerns me is not a measly $10. What concerns me is that, as she evidenced, this happens often. How many customers are going to brick and mortar stores to pick up items advertised online, only to find prices markedly higher than advertised? And how many of those customers cave in, not being aggressive about their rights as a consumer?

-F Scott

We hear about this sort of thing often. Some general advice: Some stores have mouse-print on their websites that specifically excuse themselves from having to price match their own websites. If you're going to try to get them to price match, make sure to bring a printout of the website with you, as some retailers have a habit of trying to skirt the issue by tricking you into thinking that the "sale ended while you were in the car."

As far as Walmart.com goes, "not sold online" is a very misleading way to say "out of stock." You were correct to demand the "not sold online" price. We're so proud!

"So much for our Unbeatable Price Guarantee policy… It’s amazing to me how much this company keeps digging itself further into its own hole."

The Unbeatable Price Guarantee language on their website still claims:

Find a lower advertised price from another local store with the same item in stock, and we'll gladly beat their price by 10% of the difference. Plus, if you see a lower advertised price within 30 days of your purchase with us, we'll refund 100% of the difference.

Any truth to this?

Unbeatable Price Guarantee [Circuit City]

PriceProtectr will help you take advantage of any price-matching guarantees at 72 different stores. "If we notice the price drop any time within the price protection period, we'll send an email your way (and we'll keep sending them if the price keeps dropping)."

The founder of Spendfish has a collection of deal-related websites posted on his personal blog. It's a great place to start if you're not sure where else to look.

"A Universe of Gadget Advice" [New York Times]

the techs put me through to a level-two tech who, and I quote verbatim (because I asked him to repeat the line to me multiple times) accused me of "breaking my computer by attempting to uninstall bloatware." I said, "do you even know what bloatware is," and he said "yes, and it may be your fault that your computer is broken because you tried to uninstall it." I asked if I was supposed to check with Toshiba every time I added or removed a program from my computer. He had no answer for that.

Oh, and after the bloatware incident, Toshiba sent our reader a new hard drive—to the wrong address. And they "forgot" to schedule a tech to come install it.

Toshiba does not sound like a good direct-sales destination.

(Thanks to W.!)

For those of you new to this issue, Best Buy was caught using a duplicate website to fool customers who tried to compare internet prices with in-store prices.

Customers who asked why the price was higher in the store were often told that "the sale must have ended" in the time it took them to drive to the store. They were then told to "check the website" to see for themselves, then were shown an identical-looking website that displayed different "in-store" prices.

We think Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said it best back in May (right after he sued Best Buy):

"Best Buy gave consumers the worst deal - a bait-and-switch-plus scheme luring consumers into stores with promised online discounts, only to charge higher in-store prices," Blumenthal said.

"The company commonly kept two sets of prices - one on its Internet site and an often higher set on its in-store, look-alike, available on kiosks. The in-store site was an Internet look-alike, commonly with higher prices, which were charged to consumers. Best Buy broke its promise to give the best price - an Internet version of bait-and-switch - a technological bait-and-switch-plus.

"Best Buy used in-store kiosks to conceal lower online prices and renege on its price match guarantee. Consumers seeking bargains were led to believe that lower online prices had expired or never existed. Best Buy treated its customers like suckers, not patrons to be prized."

Attorney General, DCP Commissioner Sue Best Buy For Deceiving, Overcharging Customers [Connecticut AG]
(Photo:Thanks, MK!)

PREVIOUSLY: Connecticut Sues Best Buy For Tricking Customers With Secret Internal Website
UPDATE: Best Buy Still Using Its Secret Website
Best Buy Confirms The Existence Of Its Secret Website
Connecticut State's Attorney's Office Launches Investigation Into Best Buy's Secret Intranet Site
Best Buy's Secret "Employee Only" In-Store Website Shows Different Prices Than Public Website

I have read on your website about deceptive practices involving Best Buy where they advertise one thing on their website for a price, and then it is different when you go in the store.

Today I wanted to purchase a simple CD for Son Volt's new album, The Search. On bestbuy.com it is advertised at 9.99, available for in store purchase, or online. I drove to a local Best Buy store to find it listed for 13.99. I took it to the customer service counter, and the person at the desk showed me a website listing it for 13.99. He stated, "maybe thats a special on-line pricing for the CD." I shook my head in disgust and walked out. Misleading advertising will doom this company. Hopefully people will catch on at some point.

(Photo: cmorran123)

PREVIOUSLY: Best Buy Confirms The Existence Of Its Secret Website
Connecticut State's Attorney's Office Launches Investigation Into Best Buy's Secret Intranet Site
Best Buy's Secret "Employee Only" In-Store Website Shows Different Prices Than Public Website

"When I finally got to the retention specialist, dude was like "I can give you 10.74% on your account." I told him, "I am already an American Express customer, and I have an offer in my hand: 0% for 12 months on purchases and balance transfers. If you can't match that then close my account and go fuck yourself.""

Price-matching with lan.

" I hope the CEO of Chase Bank dies in a fire" [The Alpha John]